Stories by Firelight by Shirley Hughes

I love this book. In winter when it is early evening and the light fades in the late afternoon it is comforting to pass houses with their lights on shining out from the windows. Sometimes you can't help glancing inside as you pass and you catch glimpses of activity within. This is my favourite time of day in winter. People are returning home and planning to stay in. Fires are lit, heating is turned up, lamps are turned on and meals are prepared. This is the time when this book should be read to children as they cosy up on the sofa.

It is a collection of short stories and poems that are beautifully illustrated. The pages seem to capture the coldness of the world outside and the contrasting warmth within our homes so well. I particularly love “A Midwinter Night's Dream” with no text, just wonderful pictures capturing the dream of a young boy before Christmas.

Shirley Hughes is one of the most highly respected children's authors and illustrators. She is still working today in her eighties. Her childhood days during wartime were filled with reading and making books and the blitz provided her with images that she was able to use in her drawing and stories. "The Lion and the Unicorn" is set in 1940, and tells the story of a little boy who is evacuated out of the London Blitz to a great Tudor mansion in the country. Little research by Shirley Hughes was needed for this book. She had seen evacuees at the station in London with labels on their coats carrying little suitcases. This story deals with the courage these children needed to live through the separation until they could go home again.

Throughout all her stories Shirley Hughes helps children to deal with day to day problems and difficulties and little worries that all young people have. Her books encourage children to explore their world and their imaginations and she must be credited with introducing so many children around the world to a lifetime of pleasure in reading.

Contributed by Nicky

(Published 2nd Dec 2016)