Everyone knows that Rudolf is famous for his red nose, but there’s another Reindeer with a rather distinctive black nose. Here’s what happens when – oh no! – his nose goes missing.

Preparations are well in order as Santa’s biggest day of the year approaches, and a rather peckish Santa is having a quick supper to sustain him through the long night ahead. A liberal sprinkling of pepper should enhance the flavour, but, uh-oh, it’s making a certain reindeer sneeze. And atchooo! His nose has disappeared…

A game of Christmas chase is afoot as Reindeer follows his nose, quite literally, as he flits from one comic situation to another trying to retrieve. What’s more, if Reindeer doesn’t fit in, Santa’s present delivery could be in jeopardy

Toddlers will delight in the comic chaos that pursues as Reindeer’s nose is mistaken for a button, a bauble and a ball. Just as he’s about to admit defeat, Santa entices him to try a juicy grape. Or is it?

This is a sweet and funny story, illustrated in Nick Sharratt’s inimitably sunny style, that’s perfect to read aloud and will certainly get toddlers in the festive mood afor Santa’s arrival.

We just have one small gripe. Call us sticklers, but a reindeer with a black nose does slightly throw us when we’re used to the star with a red one. It could be that the red nose would get lost (if you’ll pardon the pun) against the red cover. But perhaps the cover could have been a bold black against Reindeer’s red nose. Just a thought, Walker Books…

But we still have to give top marks for the addictive squeaky nose that we just couldn’t resist honking – several times.

Did you know? Santa’s reindeer were first named in the 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas, commonly known as The Night Before Christmas. Their names are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. The enduring popularity of the Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has led to Rudolph often joining the list.

Fun fact Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that if Rudolph has a red nose, it is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. Mmm, not so fun fact, after all.

Illustrator notes Born in Bexleyheath in 1962, Nick Sharratt grew up in Suffolk, Nottinghamshire and Greater Manchester, the eldest of four children. After an art foundation course at Manchester Polytechnic, Sharratt got a place at St Martin’s School of Art (now Central St Martins) in London to study graphic design. To date, Sharratt has illustrated close to 250 books, ranging from board books for babies to novels for young teenagers. He has worked with authors including Julia Donaldson, Jeremy Strong, Michael Rosen, Giles Andreae, Kaye Umansky, Kes Gray and most notably Dame Jacqueline Wilson and has also written around 40 of his own books. Sharratt was the official illustrator for World Book Day in 2006 and has a fellowship from Hereford College of Art. He is also the proud recipient of a gold Blue Peter badge.