3 to 7. It's a picture book to read aloud, about eight minutes from the first page to the last. Three year olds come for the balloon and the snowmen. Six and seven year olds can follow the words as they light up in the read-along, and some will read it on their own.

Is it the Christmas Secret film, or the novel?

Neither, they just share a name. Ours is a picture book for young children about a girl, Santa's red balloon and a circus hidden in the mountains.

Do we need a phone or tablet?

Not to read it. The whole story is on paper. For the extras, any recent Android or Apple phone or tablet will do: point the camera at a code and it opens in the browser. Santa and his balloon come into the room on iPhones and iPads, and on Android phones and tablets with ARCore. There's nothing to install and no account to make.

Is anything about my child kept or sent?

No. The name on the gift tag stays on your phone or tablet, and so does the count of Christmas Eve drops. The only thing we ever ask for is a grown-up's email address, and only if you'd like Dancer to visit. More on our privacy page.

Not even a little. Nobody gets lost and nobody gets told off. The most exciting moment is a set of footsteps coming closer and closer... and it's only Santa, with a finger on his lips.

Are there reindeer in it?

Only at the very end. Santa travels by balloon that night, so his reindeer get the evening off behind the circus, and you meet them on the bonus page.

From October 20, on Amazon, as a square paperback for $12.99. Amazon prints each copy when it's ordered and ships it like any other book.

Is it a good book for Christmas Eve?

It's the night the story happens, so yes. It's calm enough for bedtime, and if you open the read-along on December 24 there's a new drop waiting in the little box.

The Christmas Secret front cover: a girl in a red scarf runs through the snow after Santa's red and white hot-air balloon, over three mountains — Front cover

Our Christmas book · ages 3 to 7

The Christmas SecretA Christmas Eve picture book with a read-along

On Christmas Eve, a little girl sees Santa's red hot-air balloon float over the Golden Mountains. So she does what anyone would do. She runs after it, all the way to a place nobody is ever supposed to find.

The story read aloud, with snow on the pages
Your child's name on the gift tag
Santa in your room

Ages: 3 to 7
Pages: 34
Format: Paperback · 8.5 × 8.5 in

Out on October 20Look inside

Paperback, $12.99 on Amazon

The read-along · the first minute

This book can read itself to you.

There's a code on page 6. Hold a phone or tablet over it and the whole story is read aloud, about eight minutes of it. The words light up as they're said, snow keeps drifting down over the pictures, and up in the sky the balloon bobs about as if it's listening too. Here's the first minute, just as it plays.

There are three ways to use it: watch and listen together, play it at bedtime with the phone or tablet face down, or read it aloud yourself while the balloon's music plays softly underneath.

The story

It was so cold, she was sitting on an ice cube.

It's Christmas Eve in a little village behind the three Golden Mountains, and a girl is sitting on a bench outside. It's so cold that she isn't really sitting on a bench anymore. She's sitting on an ice cube. Then Santa's red hot-air balloon comes floating over the mountains, playing a tune so sweet that the snowflakes seem to turn into drops of sugar.

A red and white candy cane hangs from its ropes, and they say one drop from that candy cane can make any wish come true, however crazy. Off she goes, through a forest full of golden bubbles and past snowmen who sing while they make the presents, all the way to a secret Christmas circus in the mountains. One of the presents there has HER name on it.

She tells it all herself, years later, because it was the best Christmas of her life. It ends at home under the Christmas tree, with a little box she still opens every Christmas Eve. The pictures are soft ink and watercolor, and the words are made to be read aloud.

The Christmas Secret, pages 8 and 9: This is the story of the best Christmas of my life! The girl sits on a bench in her snowy village behind three mountains, and a tiny red balloon floats in the sky. — Pages 8 and 9, where it all begins. Read them here, then hear them in the read-along above.

What's inside

Four surprises tucked into the pages.

The book works on its own, on paper. Hold a phone or tablet over one of its four codes, though, and the story keeps going.

The story read aloud, with your child's name in it
The code on page 6 opens the read-along. Before it starts, your child can write their name. Later, when the girl helps a snowman lift a big heavy present and sees the name on the card, the name in the read-along is YOUR child's. The name stays on your phone or tablet and is never sent anywhere.
Santa and his red balloon, in your room
Scan the codes on pages 10 and 26 and tap the button. Santa comes to stand in your living room and wave hello, leaning on his candy cane, and his red balloon floats in beside him. You don't need an app for any of it.
Dancer the reindeer, by email
Did you notice there are no reindeer in the story? Santa took his balloon that night. The bonus page at the end shows where they were, resting behind the circus, and one of them, Dancer, would love to meet your child. A grown-up scans the code and leaves an email address, and Dancer arrives right away to dance in your room.
A new drop every Christmas Eve
At the end, Santa gives the girl a little glass box with one red and white drop in it, and every Christmas Eve since, a new drop has appeared. The read-along does the same. On December 24, every year, a new drop falls into the little box, so the book has a good reason to come off the shelf next Christmas too.

Look inside

Turn a few pages.

Real pages from the book. The four pages with codes on them stay in the book.

Pages 16 and 17. Under the balloon the mountains turn gold, and the forest fills with golden bubbles.
Pages 22 and 23. A present with her name on the card. In the read-along, it's your child's name.
Pages 28 and 29. Santa pulls a whole sleigh out of his pocket. Off she goes!

Have the book? Scan page 6.

Hold a phone or tablet over the code on page 6 and the read-along opens. On a computer, type in the address printed in small letters under the code. Santa waits for you on page 26, his balloon on page 10, and the last page keeps one more secret.

On Amazon soon

Out on October 20.

The Christmas Secret comes out on Amazon on October 20: a square paperback with 34 pages in full color, for $12.99. Until then, our elf has 24 doors to open with you.

Free for Christmas

Christmas things to make and do, free.

Before you choose

Is it the right Christmas book for your child?

If your question isn't here, send it to us and we'll answer it ourselves.

What age is it for?: 3 to 7. It's a picture book to read aloud, about eight minutes from the first page to the last. Three year olds come for the balloon and the snowmen. Six and seven year olds can follow the words as they light up in the read-along, and some will read it on their own.
Is it the Christmas Secret film, or the novel?: Neither, they just share a name. Ours is a picture book for young children about a girl, Santa's red balloon and a circus hidden in the mountains.
Do we need a phone or tablet?: Not to read it. The whole story is on paper. For the extras, any recent Android or Apple phone or tablet will do: point the camera at a code and it opens in the browser. Santa and his balloon come into the room on iPhones and iPads, and on Android phones and tablets with ARCore. There's nothing to install and no account to make.
Is anything about my child kept or sent?: No. The name on the gift tag stays on your phone or tablet, and so does the count of Christmas Eve drops. The only thing we ever ask for is a grown-up's email address, and only if you'd like Dancer to visit. More on our privacy page.
Is it scary?: Not even a little. Nobody gets lost and nobody gets told off. The most exciting moment is a set of footsteps coming closer and closer... and it's only Santa, with a finger on his lips.
Are there reindeer in it?: Only at the very end. Santa travels by balloon that night, so his reindeer get the evening off behind the circus, and you meet them on the bonus page.
When can I get it?: From October 20, on Amazon, as a square paperback for $12.99. Amazon prints each copy when it's ordered and ships it like any other book.
Is it a good book for Christmas Eve?: It's the night the story happens, so yes. It's calm enough for bedtime, and if you open the read-along on December 24 there's a new drop waiting in the little box. For the rest of the evening, there's a Christmas Eve plan to make and print.