To celebrate the National Year of Reading 2026, Her Majesty the Queen is giving every P6 child in Scotland, every year 6 child in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and every home-educated child of the equivalent age across the UK, a special edition of the award-winning children’s book, Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell. This initiative aims to create a shared national reading moment that brings children together around a single book at the same time, and at a crucial point in their reading lives when our research shows their engagement with reading declines most steeply.
Delivery and resources
Books will be delivered free of charge to schools between 5 October and 20 November. DPD will contact schools with delivery details and the number of boxes to expect. We ask that schools check the books on arrival and store them safely until they distribute them to their year 6/P6 children in December as a Christmas gift from Her Majesty The Queen. Free resources and an exciting online event for schools will be available to support the initiative – further details to follow. For questions about deliveries or book distribution, please contact QueensChristmasPresent@hachette.co.uk.
