A Christmas story about a lonely old widower. Since his wife died, old Mr Hegarty has lived alone, with just his cat Cat and dog Jacko for company. The last in the street before the wharves and warehouses, his house is one of the few that remain in the area. Most of them have been pulled down and replaced by building sites full of cranes, concrete girders and men in hard hats. Mr Hegarty passes them on his way to the old Lane, whose busy market and cafe are an enduring refuge in an ever-changing world. It is in the Lane that Mr Hegarty finds himself one Christmas Eve, enjoying the cheerful bustle, before returning home in the dark. It seems like it will be just another quiet, uneventful Christmas for the lonely old widower. But then, in the middle of the night, he hears a faint crying that leads him to a disused church and a very special discovery. Susan Hill is the author of "Air and Angels", "Mrs de Winter", "The Woman in Black", "Can it be True?" (winner of the Smarties Book Prize), "The Glass Angels", "Septimus Honeydew", "Friends Next Door", "A Very Special Birthday", "Beware Beware", "The Walker Book of Ghost Stories" and "The Christmas Collection". John Lawrence is a winner of the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award, and has twice been shortlisted for the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award, for "Emily's Own Elephant" and "A New Treasury of Poetry". He has also illustrated "Watership Down" and "Christmas in Exeter Street".

 

There are 26 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 1995 by Walker Books Ltd .

John Lawrence has contributed to over one hundred books for children and adults as an illustrator and wood-engraver. Twice Winner of the Francis Williams Book Illustration Award, his illustrated titles include The Mysteries of Zigomar by Allan Ahlberg; Christmas in Exeter Street and the Walker Treasure A Year and a Day. Susan Hill is the author of many books for children, including several My Readers and her acclaimed novel Whistle in the Dark . She lives in Portland, OR.