The Christmas Book

It was Christmas Eve in the little farmhouse. The air was full of good smells of spices and jam and hot cocoa. No one was expecting any presents, but there would be leaf bread, and cookies, and Grandmother’s embroidered tablecloth, and they would all do what they could to make the Yuletide bright.

Picking his way home across the lava field, Tomas knows that this Christmas won’t be quite the same – not without his Grandfather. But as the war draws closer, Tomas devises a plan to ensure his Grandfather’s stories will still be at the heart of his family’s Christmas – even if it means being braver than a boy ever dreamed he could be. Donning his grandfather’s jumper for courage, working hard at chores for neighbours, he takes his hard-earned pennies to shop for presents – only to find all the shops empty of stock. This is war time and rationing. There is just one shop still open – a bookshop.

Inspired by the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, where books are given as gifts on Christmas Eve.