In 1930s Liverpool, young Bronwen and Dylan find kindness from an unexpected source when they are frightened by what they think is a ghost on Christmas Eve. Shirley Hughes was born in West Kirby, near Liverpool, in 1927, and studied fashion and dress design at Liverpool Art School, before continuing her studies at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. This wonderful heartwarming story was read to me as a child and brings back so many happy memories as I now have the privilege of reading it to my niece.

Her books include the wordless picture book Up and Up , collection of rhymes and poems Out and About , and for the very young The Nursery Collection .Hughes is so prolific and I highly recommend seeking out her picture books- not always so easy to find on this side of the ocean. Lovely time for read aloud with what I think are British traditions of Christmas pudding (Lucy and Tom stir), making cards, how they decorate and even what they give as gifts to each family member. She also collaborated with her daughter, Clara Vulliamy, on the Dixie O'Day series; which saw Shirley with an illustrator for the first time with Shirley writing the text and Clara creating the illustrations. Didn’t realize that until adulthood :) bought this book as soon as my daughter was born to read to her each Christmas season.

Her first book - Lucy and Tom's Day - was published in 1960, and she followed it with, among others, Dogger, and the Alfie series. Shirley Hughes is a great loss to children’s literature and this, of all her books, seems to me one that will last. My boys found it inspirational--and pointed out that we did Christmas crackers earlier in the week rather than at Christmas dinner. The illustrations are so detailed and the story is very cute with hilariously accurate depictions of children’s emotions.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. She won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and was awarded the OBE for her distinguished service to children's literature. The quiet joys of Christmas preparations and the day itself, with great sympathy for a child's perspective.

Yes, it is set in time, with ethnicity and class embedded, but is for me a beloved classic, and à compassionate and keenly observed account. Hughes has a lovely endearing style to her drawing - I will certainly be reading and collecting many other titles from her.The page where we see the presents that Lucy and Tom have both bought for their families raised a particular chuckle of recognition. Perhaps it's the spirit of the season that permeates this book, even for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere.