New children's book celebrating Brighouse, Halifax and Huddersfield launches this month

The book is a celebration of their hometown of Brighouse and the surrounding towns, Halifax and Huddersfield. The book features several well-known landmarks including The Piece Hall, The Victoria Tower on Castle Hill and the Stoodley Pike monument in Todmorden.

Sophie was a primary school teacher for 15 years and wrote the book during Lockdown 2020 when it was brought home to all how important our local areas are.

“I wanted the book to celebrate the wonderful places and people around me and I knew that Roger’s artwork would be perfect to do this. He has a way of capturing the feeling of a place and I have always thought that the bright paint colours he uses would look amazing in a children’s book,” Sophie said.

There are some recognisable Brighouse businesses featured in the story, including the Merrie England, The Flower Garden, Websters Furniture and Czerwik Fine Wines and Cheeses.

Owner of Czerwik, John Murphy, hopes that the book will encourage people to shop local and bring more visitors to the area: “Families will love this book, you can spot places you’ve been to and find new ones to visit. The story is great fun, I’ll be getting copies for all my friends and family.”

The book will launch on Saturday, September 10 at the Harrison Lord Gallery in Brighouse.

Between 9am and 5pm, Roger and Sophie will be signing copies of the book and a selection of the original paintings created for the book will be on display and available to purchase.

Roger is excited about this new way of showcasing his art, and said: “I’m delighted with how my paintings have been transformed into the illustrations and I’d love to welcome everyone to the launch event to see the original artwork on display.”

Join Roger and Sophie for the book launch and art exhibition on September 10 at the Harrison Lord Gallery in Brighouse.

Sophie will be holding a book reading on the day but spaces are limited. Contact Sophie [email protected] for availability.