The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas is a magical Christmas adventure which touches ever so gently on childhood grief wrapped up in a big heart-warming adventure full of family and friends.

Readers will be able to listen to 20 original songs, written and recorded by Matt Lucas to accompany the story, bringing the joy of a musical to book form. The lyrics of each of the songs will be available at the back of the book, along with QR codes throughout the book allowing readers to access a website where they can hear the songs and sing along to lyric videos.

The audiobook, voiced by Matt himself, will also feature the music integrated throughout the story, making it an extra special festival musical treat.

The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas is Matt Lucas’s first middle grade fiction book and will be illustrated throughout with energetic, joyful artwork from new talent Forrest Burdett. Published in hardback on 28 September 2023 and perfect for readers aged 8+, this novel is Home Alone meets The Christmas Carol in a hilarious adventure with a big dollop of festive magic.

About the book

Leo LOVES Christmas.

And this Christmas needs to be absolutely perfect, because it’s the first one without Mum. Only it all keeps going wrong! The fairy lights are in a tangle, the tree’s wonky and the Christmas biscuits taste AWFUL. Soon Leo decides he’s had enough – he makes a heartfelt wish that it would all GO AWAY.

Then Leo wakes up on Christmas morning – and it’s gone!! All of Christmas! But Leo isn’t going to let it get away that easily, so he sets out on a mission to undo his wish and get Christmas back.

Matt brought joy to the nation during Lockdown as the author of picture books including Thank You, Baked Potato, which raised money for charity Feed NHS to provide hot meals for health workers, and his boredom-busting activity books My Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Silly Book of Jokes, Pranks and Games. Matt was also a World Book Day author during its 25th anniversary year in March 2022 with his laugh-out-loud £1 book My Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Silly Book of True or False.

Lucas said: “I’ve loved working with Farshore on my picture books and non-fiction, and am delighted to be releasing my first novel with them - and it’s a musical one, with 20 songs in it. It’s been a joy writing this book and creating original songs to bring the story to life. I hope readers enjoy going on this festive adventure with Leo as much as I have!”

The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas by Matt Lucas is on sale now priced £12.99 published by Harper Collins.

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