CHILDREN’S BOOKS
What The Ladybird Heard at Christmas.
By Julia Donaldson. Macmillan, hardback £12.99.
The fifth adventure in Julia Donaldson’s series about the brave, clever little ladybird, gloriously illustrated by Lydia Monks.
It’s Christmas Eve. Ladybird has gone to stay with her friend Spider in a big old country house – rumoured to be haunted! But who else is there…?  Oh no – it’s Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len, who’ve cooked up a horrid plot to steal the presents from the children’s stockings! With the help of the other animals in the house – a Great Dane, a Siamese cat, a parrot, and the spider, the ladybird is determined to foil the burglars’ dastardly plans and SCARE them away!
A delightful rhyming picture book for ages 3-6, what a Christmas treat! Julia will be signing copies of this, and her other books, at the Steyning Late Night Shopping on 7th December.

Operation Nativity.
By Jenny Pearson. Usborne books, hardback £12.99.                    
When Oscar and Molly rush outside to investigate a crash in the night, the last thing they expect is to find a dazed Angel Gabriel, who has accidentally crash-landed in the village of Chipping Bottom, 2000 years ahead of his big announcement in Bethlehem! And where are the shepherd, the wise man, Joseph and Mary, and the donkey – swept up with Gabriel but now mysteriously AWOL, somewhere, in 21st Century Hampshire… ? If Gabriel can’t track them down and get them back to Bethlehem, then Christmas will cease to exist…. and so will Oscar and Molly! Operation Nativity is ON and the race to SAVE CHRISTMAS has begun!
An exciting, joyous and hilarious Christmas time-slip story with heaps of heart, humour and thrills, perfect for readers aged 8-11.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas.
Poems chosen & illustrated by Chris Riddell. Macmillan, hardback £9.99.
A perfect family gift to treasure for years, this is a beautiful book with stunning shiny endpapers containing a marvellous selection of festive poems, from the traditional (The Night Before Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas) to the modern (Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah), all illustrated in Chris Riddell’s inimitable style. We have a few signed copies!

ADULT BOOKS
Endurance : 100 Tales of Survival, Adventure and Exploration.
Edited by Levison Wood. Head of Zeus, hardback £25.
A perfect gift for the armchair adventurer in your life, this anthology contains 100 of the most fascinating accounts of human endurance throughout history, chosen by explorer and bestselling author Levison Wood. Endurance is packed full of you-couldn’t-make-it-up true stories and adventure fiction classics, from the high seas to the poles, from inhospitable jungles and deserts to the unknown realms of space, through physical and mental despair to euphoric highs.  Includes extracts about and by Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, Amelia Earhart, Marie Colvin, John Krakauer, Solomon Northrup, Ella Maillart, Freya Stark, and Alex Honnold, to name but a few!
 
Winter People.
by Grainne Murphy. Legend Press, paperback, £8.99.
An absorbing read for lovers of literary fiction, this thoughtful, compassionate novel comes highly recommended by bookshop staffer Gill.
The novel follows 3 separate, unconnected people over 3 days, on the wild Atlantic coast of Ireland; Sis, in her 70’s, is facing the loss of the house where she grew up, raised a family, and buried her husband. Peter, in his 40’s, is struggling to cope with his elderly foster mum’s dementia, and the illness of his childhood friend, and Lydia is dealing with a burden of guilt after a tragic accident…
Winter People is a character-led novel which takes a quiet, contemplative look at love & loss, and Nature’s role in healing.  A really poignant emotional slow-burner which is written with great beauty and clarity.