How Winston Came Home for Christmas

Alex T. Smith has drawn and written stories since he could hold a pencil. After considering several career options (space traveller, cake maker, professional rabbit), Alex decided to train to do the job he’d wanted to do since he was five – an illustrator specializing in the world of children’s publishing.Alex graduated with a first-class degree in Illustration in 2006 and also won second place in the Macmillan Prize for Illustration in his final year. Since then Alex has gone on to work for a wide variety of clients, not just in the publishing industry, as well as writing and illustrating his own picture books, many of which have won prizes and have been read on TV during the Bedtime Hour on the CBeebies channel. Alex is also the creator of the bestselling Claude series for early readers, which appear in their own TV series on Disney Junior. His much-loved How Winston Delivered Christmas and the witty retelling of The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Grandma is Overly Generous are both set to become future Christmas classics.When not working, Alex enjoys doodling in his sketchbook, reading, people-watching and eavesdropping. He is also a big fan of cake and a nice cup of tea. He lives with and under the constant ‘supervision’ of his canine companions in Warwickshire.

This spectacular volume works like an advent calendar, with 24 and a half chapters and an activity (a present, decoration, treat or act of kindness to craft or cook or practise) for every (or any) day from December 1 to Christmas. It tells a heartwarming story of Winston the mouse, who lives in a toyshop, journeying through France, Germany, Sweden and the North Pole to reunite with loved ones. And the exquisite illustrations are a tour de force.