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I have a new novelty book coming out in the UK today! Christmas Street is illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius and published by Nosy Crow.
The book is a follow-up to Alphabet Street, published in 2018. Like the first book, it’s a street of buildings with large flaps that open to reveal animal occupants engaged in activities described by an alphabetical rhyming text – however the occupants of this book are all celebrating Christmas and the festive season.
Christmas Street can be read as a conventional book or folded out to show all 13 shops as a wall chart or free-standing play scene.
And, once unfolded, you can turn the whole book around to find a snowy parkland panorama on the other side.
Although the book was always going to have a Christmas theme, I created several variations before arriving at the final text and layout. You can find out more about this process in my Author’s Note on the book.
I knew illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius would do a good job, but I was bowled over by her artwork when I first saw it. Her streetscape, interiors and parkland panorama are packed with appealing characters and details. The colour palette Ingela has used for this book, filled with seasonal reds and greens, combined with the garlands, ornaments and trimmings that decorate the buildings, give the whole street a wonderfully festive feel.
Most of the books I have written sit on a shelf in my office, but Christmas Street will be out on display, decorating my home this Christmas. I hope this book will bring some fabulous festive cheer to lots of other homes too!
You can order the book from your local bookshop or online from Hive using the sales link below.
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