It’s Christmas Eve, and Father Christmas is climbing into bed completely shattered – he’s had his usual busy time delivering presents to children everywhere.
But just when he’s about to go to sleep he spots a lump inside his sack; there’s one present that has been forgotten, and it’s labelled up for a boy named Harvey Slumfenburger.
Of course, being Father Christmas, there’s no way he can rest until all his presents have been delivered, so our intrepid hero sets out once more – on his own this time, without his exhausted reindeer – on a journey to deliver the final gift. The only problem is, Harvey lives far, far away, right at the very top of the Roly Poly Mountain.
John Burningham’s classic story sums up all the very best of the Christmas spirit. There is nothing Father Christmas won’t do to make sure Harvey gets his gift, and there’s plenty of adventure along the way – from a snowbound plane and skidding jeep to a motorcycle crash, broken skis and so much more. But readers are all rooting for the guy with the white beard to give Harvey Slumfenburger the present he deserves. Well, what is it, you may well wonder? We won’t spoil the surprise here, but let’s just say, you’ll have to read right to the end to find out!
They had not gone very far when the skis broke with a crack and they both tumbled into the snow.
“I am so sorry, father Christmas,” said the girl. “My skis are broken and I can take you no further. But if you go up the slope and down onto the plain you will be near the bottom of Roly Poly Mountain, where there is a climber with a rope. Perhaps he can help you.”
“I am so sorry, father Christmas,” said the girl. “My skis are broken and I can take you no further. But if you go up the slope and down onto the plain you will be near the bottom of Roly Poly Mountain, where there is a climber with a rope. Perhaps he can help you.”
He had not climbed very far when the rope broke and Father Christmas nearly fell off the Roly Poly Mountain.
“I'm so sorry, Father Christmas,” said the climber. “My rope is broken and I cannot climb any higher. But if you carry on up that cliff and over those boulders you will see a little hut at the top, and that is the hut where Harvey Slunfenburger lives”
“I’m so sorry, Father Christmas,” said the climber. “My rope is broken and I cannot climb any higher. But if you carry on up that cliff and over those boulders you will see a little hut at the top, and that is the hut where Harvey Slunfenburger lives”
Father Christmas climbed onto the roof and down the chimney… and put the present in Harvey Slumfenburger’s stocking.
A 30th Anniversary Edition of Harvey Slumfenburger’s Christmas Present was released in 2023
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