It's Christmas Eve, but the weather is warm and the grass still green. Before falling asleep, a boy makes an urgent wish for a snowstorm like the one in his swirling snow globe. Later that night, something magical begins to happen. First one flake falls from the cloudless sky, then more and more and more. The world outside the boy's window is soon taken over by the tumbling, twirling snow creatures that have brought the storm with them. And that's not all they've brought Santa himself makes an appearance with another surprise for the boy-a pair of skates to wear as he skims across the frozen pond the next morning, marveling at the world transformed by his Christmas wish. Full of superbly surrealistic illustrations, this enchanting picture book features eight translucent pages that draw the reader into the magic of a seemingly impossible wish come true. Illustrated by Simon Bartram.
Author
Marcus Sedgwick was born in Kent, England. Marcus is a British author and illustrator as well as a musician. He is the author of several books, including Witch Hill and The Book of Dead Days, both of which were nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award. The most recent of these nominations rekindled a fascination with Poe that has borne fruit here in (in The Restless Dead, 2007) the form of "The Heart of Another" - inspired by Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." Of his story, Sedgwick says, "This was one of those stories that I thought might be a novel originally but actually was much better suited to the tight form of the short story. I had the initial idea some years ago but was just waiting for the right ingredient to come along. Poe's story, as well as his own fascination with technique, provided that final piece of the puzzle." He used to play for two bands namely playing the drums for Garrett and as the guitarist in an ABBA tribute group. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Book Award 2002).
