The Christmas Pig

The Christmas Pig is a 2021 children’s chapter book by British author J.K. Rowling. In the story, a young boy named Jack is struggling with major life changes after his parents’ divorce and his mother’s remarriage. When his stepsister destroys his beloved toy, a stuffed pig named DP, Jack goes to the Land of the Lost with a replacement toy, the Christmas Pig, as his guide. The only real boy in a world inhabited by lost objects, Jack risks his life to find DP and rescue the Christmas Pig from the villainous “ Loser,” who devours disobedient toys. Jack’s adventures depict Childhood Toys as Friends and Confidantes, and the novel also examines the importance of Forging Bonds through Love and Sacrifice and Coping with Loss and Change. 

J.K. Rowling is the author of the seven-volume Harry Potter series, which took the world by storm and paved the way for a plethora of similarly themed YA fantasy novels. The Harry Potter series has been adapted for the big screen, and a new television-based production has recently been greenlighted as well. In addition to her signature series, she has written an adult novel, The Casual Vacancy (2012), and cowritten a story that was adapted into a stage play titled Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She has also used the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith to branch out into the crime genre with The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013). 

This guide refers to the Kindle edition.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide include descriptions of bullying, divorce, and death.

Plot Summary

Young Jack loves his stuffed pig, who is named “Dur Pig” or “DP” for short. DP is his best friend, and when Jack’s parents suddenly divorce, the toy becomes his main confidante. After the changes to his family, Jack goes through many challenges, such as moving to a new house, attending a new school, and meeting his mother’s new boyfriend, Brendan, and Brendan’s 13-year-old daughter, Holly. 

When Holly becomes Jack’s step-sister, she begins to bully him, and her behavior makes life even harder for Jack. On Christmas Eve, Holly and Jack get into a fight in the car, and Holly grabs DP and throws him out the window. Hysterical, Jack insists on looking for DP, but the family cannot find him. That night, Jack’s grandparents give him a new stuffed pig, the “Christmas Pig.” This new toy uses the magic of Christmas Eve to come to life, then leads Jack into the Land of the Lost (a fantastical realm of lost toys and objects) so that he can find DP.

When Jack and the Christmas Pig enter the Land of the Lost, Jack learns that the region is ruled by the villainous Loser, who eats unwanted “Things.” The two sneak past several of the Loser’s guards and discover an area that holds sad, forlorn Things that humans have lost and no longer value. Then, Jack and the Christmas Pig meet Sheriff Specs, the leader of the Disposables, but they still cannot find DP. 

When the Sheriff becomes suspicious of them, they make their way to the next town, “Bother-It’s-Gone.” They investigate the little town and soon attract the attention of the mean-spirited mayor, a cheese grater, who begins to hunt them down with a team of helpers. A kindly lost Poem helps Jack and the Christmas Pig to escape, urging them to hurry across the Wastes until they reach the City of the Missed.

Jack and the Christmas Pig must now navigate the Loser’s territory. In this dangerous area, many broken and unwanted Things live in fear of being hunted and eaten by the Loser. A brave, compassionate Compass shows Jack and the Christmas Pig which way to go, and after narrowly escaping the Loser’s grasp, they reach the City of the Missed.

Jack and the Christmas Pig hide in a gondola and sneak into the city, where they meet a mysterious cloaked woman named Ambition. She takes them to the King, a rude and domineering man named Power. After a struggle between the King and the royal family, the King orders that the Christmas Pig and Jack be taken to the Loser. However, the two are rescued by Hope, who flies away with them and promises to take them to DP.

Jack is finally reunited with DP, who has been living happily on a beautiful tropical island called the Isle of the Beloved. All of the toys on this island are “dead” toys that were destroyed in the Land of the Living but have become immortal because of their owner’s intense love. Jack realizes that the Christmas Pig is no longer here with him, and DP explains that Jack must make a choice. He can either sacrifice the Christmas Pig to the Loser and take DP home, or he can leave DP on the island and rescue the Christmas Pig. Jack realizes that he must let DP go, so he sadly says goodbye to DP and resolves to rescue the Christmas Pig from a terrible fate. With Santa’s help, Jack flies back to the Wastes and travels to the Loser’s home.

Jack descends into the ashy crater of a cave, where the Loser lives. He finds the Christmas Pig and his broken angel caged together. The Loser is taunting various Things and eating them. Jack climbs the cave walls to rescue the toys, and when the Loser spots him, Jack defies the villain and gives all the imprisoned Things a new sense of hope so that they can break their cage locks and escape. Suddenly, someone in the Land of the Living discovers the lost angel, and as she is pulled upward into the real world, she takes Jack and the Christmas Pig with her.

Jack wakes up to find himself back at home; he is with the Christmas Pig and the angel under the Christmas tree. He realizes that Santa intentionally found the angel when he visited the house, thereby saving them all from the Loser. Jack tries to tell his family what happened, and an apologetic Holly believes him. The two step-siblings make amends and enjoy their new presents together. Jack happily goes back to bed, holding his new loyal companion: the Christmas Pig.