Author and illustrator Hilda Offen joins the Calendar!

Hilda Offen is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator with many books in print. She won the Smarties Gold Award for her picture book Nice Work, Little Wolf! and her book The Galloping Ghost was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Book Prize and the Portsmouth Children’s Book Award. Hilda’s books  include the Rita the Rescuer series, Too Many Hats and Blue Balloons and Rabbit Ears, which was shortlisted for the 2015 CLPE Poetry Award.

Name three things on your Christmas list this year! I don’t really have a Christmas list – I just hope for lots of books!

Christmas is a time of family traditions – what are your best (or worst!) family traditions?  Singing!

There are wonderful stories shared at Christmas time. What is your favourite story to read at Christmas?  The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde.

If you could have Christmas dinner with anyone (alive today or person from history) who would it be? Jane Austen

Your lovely poems often feature nature and the world around us. If you could spend Christmas in any location in the world, where would it be? In Australia, somewhere in the rain forest.

As an illustrator, you draw amazing pictures to bring your stories to life.  How do you get creative at Christmas time? We love having children’s’ parties and of course, decorating the  Christmas tree!

Reader’s question from students at Warden Park Secondary Academy: where do you get your inspiration from? I get inspiration for poems from all over the place – when I’m walking around, sitting on trains, talking to people etc. Sometimes a phrase will come into my head and that will be the start of a poem.

Turkey or goose? Turkey.

Real or fake tree? Real.

Mince pies or Christmas pudding? Mince pies.

Stockings –  end of the bed or over the fireplace? The end of the bed.

Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve?  Christmas Eve.

Thank you for joining our festive Q & A! Merry Christmas!

Find out more about Hilda at www.troikabooks.com.