The Christmas Pig
The Christmas Pig is a Christmas fairy tale novel by J. K. Rowling. The story was published in October 2021. Upon release, the book received positive critical reviews and emerged a bestseller with high pre-sales on Amazon. Background. Rowling's ideas for "The Christmas Pig" first originated in 2012. She had always wanted to write a Christmas story, and was inspired by a pair of toy pigs her son had as a young child. She completed writing the book in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rowling said that, due to the pandemic, "I was unusually aware  of the need for human connection. I think that's why I kept imagining it being read aloud while working on it, something I've never done with any other book." She described the story as "about being lost and being found, about loving and being loved, about what stays with us and what falls away. It's also about hope and endurance." "The Christmas Pig" is illustrated by Jim Field. Release and reception. "The Christmas Pig" was published by Hachette Children's Group in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India, and by Scholastic in the US and  Canada. It was the number one bestseller on its first week on sale in the UK, selling 60,010 copies, the 16th book of Rowling's to reach number one in its first week. The novel also topped "The New York Times"s children's middle grade hardcover bestseller list. "The Times" called the book a "wonderful, timely" story. "The New York Times" stated, "Rowling has written a marvelously persuasive fantasy for our times, one that looks back to the past in its determination to enlighten and console." The "Evening Standard" called it "her best since "Azkaban"".