Ruby in the Ruins
Shirley Hughes
Walker Books

Shirley Hughes has set her latest picture book in 1945 London, shortly after the end of World War 11.

Ruby and her mother have come through the Blitz safely and now in the aftermath of the bombing there’s a lot of clearing up to be done and changes to embrace.

Young Ruby has become used to sharing a bed with her Mum but now her long absent Dad is just home from the war and making his very large presence felt in their home.

Ruby has a lot of accommodating to do and spends a fair bit of time out with her friends playing, despite warnings, on the bomb sites near their homes.

One day Ruby, playing rather dare devilishly among the ruins, takes a tumble and needs adult help.

What happens thereafter provides the ideal opportunity for the warm loving relationship between Ruby and her Dad to be renewed.

A thoroughly heartwarming, unsentimental story of post-war family love, illustrated in the author’s inimitable signature style; it will be enjoyed by all ages both at home and in school.