I was in stitches, giggling my way through this, it was just so funny. As I read it in November I really wanted to slip it into our December book club but unfortunately the logistics didn't work out. Despite the humour, it sensitively touched on family and especially families at Christmas time when everything 'has to be so perfect'. We join the crazy antics of Oscar and Molly as they get unexpectedly caught up in a quest to help the Angel Gabriel find Mary, Joseph and their donkey in a race to save Christmas. You'll be laughing and crying all the way through..

Jenny Pearson can do no wrong. She is my go to recommendation for my 9 - 11 readers who like funny stories (or any stories) as they are genuinely hilarious (even the chapter titles are amusing), but also her books are so full of heart and are cleverly written. She has a brilliant talent for capturing the child narrator’s voice and effortlessly weaves her trademark humour through all of the characters, their everyday interactions, mannerisms and relationships.
Although this story centres round Christmas, it could be enjoyed throughout the year and really is a story for all ages - not just children - making it a perfect read-a-loud for the classroom or bedtime.

Oscar’s family are summoned to the country home of his rich paternal grandparents’ house, a fate they usually manage to avoid, due to their grandmother’s famous Christmas performances in which the whole family is expected to take part. Almost as soon as they have arrived however, Oscar and little sister Molly are enlisted by the Angel Gabriel to find the lost members of the nativity who have somehow ended up in Chipping Bottom by mistake: if they can’t be found Baby Jesus will not be born in Bethlehem and Christmas will not happen! Trying to locate Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men whilst keeping them hidden from the adults is the source of most of the action and Jenny Pearson’s characteristic laugh out loud humour. The relationship between the siblings is a delight, and the reactions of the adults towards each other will be familiar to anyone who has enjoyed or endured a large family Christmas gathering with several generations under one roof.

It’s Christmas! Shepherds watching flocks by night, angels singing in choirs of exultation, Mary and Joesph trekking to Bethlehem. Well at least that’s how the story goes right? However, things have all gone a bit awry in Jenny Pearson’s festive-filled, Christmas cracker.

Mum can’t think of anything worse than spending Christmas with her in-laws at Barlington Hall and having to participate in the family nativity performance. But given it is the centenary nativity celebration and with grandfather unwell, mum has relented and the whole family are traipsing off to Chipping Bottom and the stately home of Lord and Lady Cuthbert-Anderson.

Things take an unexpected turn on the first night when Oscar and Molly discover a confused Angel Gabriel out on the lawn. The self-proclaimed ‘chief announcer’ of important news has inadvertently catapulted himself and some significant biblical friends into the twenty-first century and there’s going to be a massive problem if he cannot get everyone back to where they need to be by Christmas eve. Fail to do what’s needed and there’ll never be a Christmas again! Worse than no carrots, no Rudolph, no roast dinner, no carolling, no movies and no chestnuts roasting on an open fire…mum and dad will never meet and that will mean no Oscar and no Molly. Will the kids be able to help an angel in a pickle and fix this merry mess…

I have been saving this for the festive season and what an absolute belter it is. Jenny Pearson is the queen of hilarious and heartfelt storytelling and she delivers a tree-mendous story that is a must read over the holidays. She gets kids, she gets families and she gets Christmas, capturing all of the chaos, arguments and family fun that everyone can relate to.

Fun and touching, Operation Nativity is a rollicking adventure to save the first and every other Christmas that will have you laughing until your belly hurts and quite possibly shedding a tear or two. A fast-paced plot, fabulous characters (big shout-out to Molly who’s honest outbursts are seen as nothing more than wild imagination), and plenty of entertaining black and white illustrations by Katie Kear will have readers ho-ho-hoing their way from beginning to end.

Saving the fate of Christmas is no easy task for Molly and Oscar who find themselves balancing family activities with a madcap treasure hunt. Watching the kids sneaking around the countryside to locate Gabriel’s friends is absolutely hilarious and there are plenty of hijinks that ensue. If helping the time-travelled gang understand modern day life wasn't hard enough, there’s the small matter of hiding an angel, a shepherd, a wise man and a turkey in the bathroom. When the kids are not involved with their madcap, fun-filled festive treasure hunt they are rehearsing and perfecting their roles in the actual nativity performance, baking cookies and making mince pies with mum, carolling for the neighbours and trying to come to terms with the news that this is likely to be their Grandfather's last Christmas.

As with all of Pearson’s stories, there are deeper themes and meanings that pull at the heart strings. This time she addresses the importance of making memories, appreciating family, cherishing loved ones, death, and offers the timely reminder that it is not about the presents under the tree, it is about those that sit with you around the tree that matter most.

Jenny brings plenty of ‘joy to the world’ and her latest treat is more than just a stocking filler. All everyone should want for Christmas is this book.

Recommended for 8+.

With huge thanks to Usborne and NetGalley for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really easy and fun read in the lead up to Christmas. The characters were eccentric and though there were elements that felt 'unbelievable', for a Christmas story with a twist, suitable for YA this was a great find.

This was an easy read with some funny moments. I felt that sometimes the humour was a bit cliched and perhaps more aimed at adults than at children. But it's a fun (and in places original) story involving the nativity characters that children would enjoy in the run up to Christmas day.

Brilliantly Christmassy book of Biblical proportions where several time-traveling nativity characters need rounding up & returning to Bethlehem.

Jenny Pearson manages to deal with the true meaning of Christmas, matters of life & death, and still delivers sleighloads of laughs!

When Oscar and Molly rush outside to investigate a crash in the night, they're not expecting to find a dazed Angel Gabriel wandering around their grandparents' back garden. And they're certainly not expecting to find themselves in a race to save Christmas.

But if they don't track down a missing shepherd, wise man, donkey and the actual Mary and Joseph, who've all crash-landed in Chipping Bottom, not only will Christmas cease to exist, but they will too.
Operation Nativity is on.

This is probably one of my favourite retellings on the Nativity. It was so well written and as an adult I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Oscar was a brilliant main character and the love that he felt for his family could be felt on every page, and the reason why he wants to save the birth of Jesus and Christmas so that he makes sure his parents meet is totally adorable.
I genuinely laughed out loud in places and cried in others. It screams Christmas to me and I loved every second of it!
Full of love, laughter and some traditional Christmas hi jinx’s, a wonderful heartfelt story and in my opinion, a Christmas must read!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny Pearson is such a fab writer, her books are full of humour and great adventures.
This one is no exception, time is of the essence to find the people who have crash landed and then save Christmas.
such a fun and fast paced adventure.

I love Jenny Pearson’s books and this was no exception. It’s the heart warming story of an extended family coming together for the Christmas holidays. However, unbeknown to the adults, the real angel Gabriel has used a little too much of his power and has accidentally time travelled Mary, Joseph, a wise man, a shepherd and a donkey 2000 years into the future. It needs Oscar and his little sister Molly to find and reunite them all if they are to save Christmas.

My favourite character was Molly. I loved the way she repeatedly told the adults exactly what had been going on and they repeatedly ignored her. Oh the perils of being young! This added a lot of humour to the story.

I enjoyed the parallels between the family staging their own nativity, intersecting with the original nativity story. A message about the importance of family and cherishing memories of dearly departed loved ones makes this a charming festive story.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Operation Nativity' sees Oscar retelling the story of Mary, Joseph, a wise man, a shepherd and a donkey accidentally being transported to the village of Chipping Bottom in the 21st Century because of a mistake made 2000 years ago by the Angel Gabriel. It is up to Oscar and his little sister, Molly, to save Christmas.
Oscar's family usually spend Christmas at home, just Oscar, Molly, mum and dad and sometimes his mum's mum. This year though, they have been invited to his dad's parents at their huge house, Barlington Hall. Oscar is quite excited to be doing something different, but mum doesn't want them to go because they'll have to take part in the 'family nativity'. This is something that Oscar's grandma takes VERY seriously, with scheduled rehearsals, proper costumes and extremely blunt feedback. Oscar's dad tells them that grandad is poorly and all the uncles, aunties and cousins are going as well, so it doesn't really seem like they have much choice.
On their first night in Barlington Hall, Oscar and Molly see something glowing fall from the sky and crash land in the sheep field. Despite Molly's insistence that it is an angel, Oscar is more than a little surprised to find out that it is in fact the Angel Gabriel and he needs their help.
'Operation Nativity' is laugh out loud funny and there are hilarious misunderstandings of the modern world by characters used to living 2000 years ago, as well as the sheer enthusiasm of an energetic 5-year old. I loved that there was also a serious message in dealing with Grandad's illness and the importance of learning to get along and sometimes doing what makes others happy. A really heartwarming (but funny) family Christmas story. Perfect for children age 9 and up.

Christmas is a time for families and sometimes you have to make sacrifices to do what is right.. Can Christmas be saved and the nativity go ahead? Great characters who are full of Christmas cheer. A perfect Christmas read to give you a warm glow.

This was great fun! A sweet, funny, festive tale with an unusual cast of characters, guaranteed to put a Christmassy smile on your face.

Operation Nativity
By Jenny Pearson
Published by Usborne

What an absolute treat!! Another MUST read from Jenny Pearson, author and teacher who “just knows” how to keep you & your audience on the edge of your seat.

This funny, heartwarming story full of family and their traditions at Christmas made me laugh out loud! But equally full of hope, humour and love especially when life throws you a tough challenge.

When Oscar and Molly hear a crash and a bang they rush outside to investigate, but they're not expecting to find a dazed Angel Gabriel wandering around their grandparents' back garden. Or a donkey and maybe some other members of the nativity! And so begins the race to save Christmas. If they don't track down a missing shepherd, wise man, donkey and the actual Mary and Joseph, not only will Christmas cease to exist, but they will too. And that is another story!

Operation Nativity is a MUST for the Christmas class read, just the right Christmas gift you were looking for or just to cheer yourself up. Praise for Jenny Pearson - a classic in the making!

Joanne Bardgett - Year 3 teacher of littlies, lover of children’s books.
#Netgallery
#Usborne

When Oscar and his younger sister Molly discover the family are spending Christmas at their grandparents' home, Barlington Hall in Chipping Bottom, they are more excited than their parents who would do anything to get out of going. On their first night they hear a crash and see a blinding flash of light. rushing out to investigate they discover a shaken Angel Garbriel who has made a total mess of announcing the birth of Jesus. He urgently needs to find Mary, Joseph, a donkey, a wise man and a shepherd who he has accidentally brought two thousand years into the future. If he doesn't get back to the right time before Christmas it will change the whole course of history.
Oscar and Molly agree to help him but with only 4 days to go it's not going to be easy.
What follows is a hilarious, at times very moving, trek across the fields around Chipping Bottom whilst juggling the family nativity play and keeping Angel Gabriels mishap secret.
I found myself laughing out loud many times while reading this. Absolutely perfect for a great Christmas read. Yule love it!!

WHAT an amazing writer this is. And what a book! A true Christmas classic in every sense. It had me snort-laughing all the way through as well as holding back some tears because Jenny is so amazing at that beautiful blend of being brilliantly funny but also so sensitive. This is a very, very special story. One that wraps around you like a warm hug on an icy wintery night.

A wonderful Christmas story with a twist.

If you are a fan of Christmas, then you will love this book. A brilliant story about working together, family and Christmas. The humour in this book reminded me of Frank Cotterell-Boyce and it was interspersed with poignant moments. I laughed outloud and cried big fat tears!

This is a different take on the nativity, but with all the usual characters from the traditional story. The characters are really likeable and inwas rooting for them the whole way through the book. Even Grandma grew on me!

This is a must read for everyone at Christmas.

I enjoyed this book but I could see my students enjoying it even more. From the moment the Angel Gabriel crash landed the book had me smiling and laughing. I loved Molly and her fearless attitude ! I could see my students laughing along with this story and can’t wait to get a copy for the classroom

Operation Nativity is as exhilarating as sliding down a bannister wrapped in holly and as funny as watching someone else slide down a bannister they didn't know was covered in holly!

I was expecting a story about trying to put on a nativity play, and I got that. Oscar's grandmother puts on a very special nativity play every year in her local church, and she is incredibly particular about it. I loved the mother's reactions to being invited to her mother-in-law's house for Christmas because of her past experiences with the play, but also that ironic disappointment at not being given a part! The pregnant aunty not being able to act enough like a pregnant Mary was hilarious too. But it's not so much the play itself as the way people react to it, particularly the grandad sitting watching it, I swear I could see the look in his eye, part nostalgia, part mischievous twinkle. Molly was just brilliant throughout too! I found her sweet and hilarious and loved Oscar's attempts to cover up her blatant and extremely inconvenient honesty.

That's one of the (many) things that make this book so special. It hits that perfect balance between chaos and peace that I'm sure many of us recognise as so intrinsic to Christmas. Families come together and nothing is perfect, and so much may be irritating, but it's family and there's just so much love there when all is said and done.

What I wasn't expecting coming into the book is the totally magical storyline going on at the same time as the nativity rehearsals, and this aspect of it was absolutely hilarious! Poor Oscar and Molly have to traipse around in the early hours of the day looking for time-shifted and lost members of the original Nativity, Mary, Joseph, a wise man, a shepherd and possibly a donkey. Having found some of them, the efforts they had to go to to hide them from the rest of the family had me in hysterics.

There's so much joy in this book, and it is full of all the things that make Christmas special, from family and plays and carol singing to presents and baking biscuits and mince pies together. But there's a sadness too. In particular there's a conversation between a young boy and an angel that had me absolutely weeping. It's approached with tenderness and sensitivity, but this is a story about losing people we love just as much as it is a story about finding lost people.

Sadness and joy in perfect balance with everything that makes Christmas special.

Operation Nativity is everything a Christmas story should be: light-hearted, innocent, and fun with a powerful message about the importance of family and love.

Peace on Earth? Not this year for Oscar and his costume-loving little sister, Molly. Their family has been summoned to their wealthy grandparents huge house for the annual family nativity. Their mum has managed to convince Dad to avoid it for quite a few years but with news that Grandfather isn’t well, they decide to make the journey.

This is not your usual nativity, especially when “the” Angel Gabriel crashes down outside the house reporting a catastrophic time-travelling, history-altering disaster that will cancel Christmas as we know it. Oscar and Molly set out on a race against Christmas to track down the rest of the nativity cast with hilarious results.

Operation Nativity had me laughing to myself from beginning to end – so much so that my children kept asking if I was laughing at something they’d said or my book. There is something for everyone in this delightful, incredibly read-aloud-able story. Adults will appreciate the chaos and humour of the traditional nativity and family life at Christmas while children will love the hijinks of trying to keep a glowing angel hidden, controlling a donkey and sneaking around to try to put things right. I’ll certainly be saving Operation Nativity to read with my own family in the run up to Christmas and it will be on my Christmas shopping list for many children.