The latest Doctor Who and Mr. Men mash-up chronicles Ten’s Christmas adventure: Book-Thirsty Thursday
By Lacy Baugher
The series of adorable children’s books that combine Doctor Who and Roger Hargreaves’ classic Mr. Men series gets a new Christmas installment featuring the Tenth Doctor.
Basically, Doctor Who stories for children told in the style of Roger Hargreaves’ classic Mr. Men and Little Miss books are precisely what we need in 2017. (And if you haven’t tried out this super cute – and family friendly – additions to the world of Who yet, you should probably get on that right now.)
Eight Doctor Who mash-up books already exist, with another quartet of adorable Mr. Men-style stories set to hit shelves in 2018. In the meantime though, you can still read a special holiday installment featuring the Tenth Doctor.
Doctor Tenth Christmas Surprise hits shelves this October, just in time to serve as a stocking stuffer for every Whovian you know. (Whether they’re a kid or not.)
What is essentially a literary Christmas episode, this Tenth Doctor adventure is a tad bit longer than the other Hargreaves-style installments in this book series. It even comes in a tiny hardcover version, with a jacket that sports sparkly snowflakes and Ten in a Santa hat along with his signature Converses. In short: It’s so cute. And the story inside is equally heartwarming.
Unlike some of the other stories in the Doctor Who meets Mr. Men series, Doctor Tenth Christmas Surprise doesn’t adapt an existing story into a more kid-friendly version. In a lot of ways, this makes sense, given that Donna Noble is his companion here. (And the only Christmas episode Donna featured in on the actual show involved giant spider monsters that lived in the sewers. Probably not great for kids, just saying.)
The robotic Santa Clauses and Christmas trees from previous holiday episodes The Christmas Invasion and The Runaway Bride return here. They’re also joined by some angry evil snowmen, though it’s not entirely clear whether they’re the same kind that terrorize the Eleventh Doctor later on in The Snowmen. (They don’t look quite the same, but you never know. It’s Doctor Who, after all.)
The story itself involves Ten and Donna facing an attack from an evil assortment of holiday-related creatures. There’s also a kidnapping, a daring rescue, a whole lot of hot chocolate and even Santa himself. Everyone’s favorite companion Donna remains as awesome as always, and even gets to save the day toward the end of the story.
As with the earlier installments in this series, Doctor Tenth Christmas Surprise is super cute. And it’s fun for Doctor Who fans of all ages. Ten is one of the most charmingly drawn of the Hargreaves-style Doctors, and, given the ongoing and generally eternal love for David Tennant’s take on the Time Lord, will probably prove quite popular.
Next: More Doctor Who and Mr. Men mash-up books coming in 2018
The newest addition to the Doctor Who Mr. Men series can be found in bookstores now.