Former Bury teacher inspired by niece's Christmas present to pen book

Adam Hughes, 42, originally from Bury but now living in Farnworth, was a teacher at Wesley Methodist Primary School in Radcliffe for around 10 years.

He said he was inspired to write a children’s book after a number of authors started coming into his school to inspire children to get reading more and he wanted to also have a go.

Adam said: “My book is all based around my niece who has just turned four.

“From being at school and reading children’s books all day means that I have quite a lot of experience of children’s books.

“I wanted to do something for my niece really and write her a book, so that was the inspiration behind it.”

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The inspiration for the book, titled Erin, Bauer and The Bright Pink Sledge, came after Erin received a pink sledge for Christmas from her grandparents in 2022.

Adam pulled her around the garden in the sledge with her pet dachshund Bauer also around, which is where the idea for the story came from 

Adam pulling Erin around on her pink sledge (Image: Adam Hughes) He said: “In the story, she basically gets a pink sledge for Christmas and sneaks out herself and goes on a little adventure.

“She meets different woodland characters along the way, and she can talk to the animals too.

“It’s a fun little story which started off just for her really.”

Adam is now planning to go into primary schools across Bury and Bolton to promote the book, which was released on Monday, October 28 and is available to buy online on Amazon, Waterstones, Blackwell’s and other book retailers, with the hope physical copies will soon be available in the shops.

Adam said: “I left teaching in July at the end of the school year because I wanted a bit of a change, and I wanted to focus on this book and promote it and take it into schools and libraries.

“I’ve been doing teaching for 10 years and I thought I needed a break, and what better way to still do something for children.”

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Another big inspiration in Adam's life is his mum, Alrene Hughes, who also became an author after retiring from being an English teacher at Woodhey High School in Ramsbottom.

He said: “My mum’s an author, she’s brought out five novels.

“She has done so well with it and is an inspiration to me.

“The book is mainly for my niece but it’s also for my mum too. She helped me out a lot with it, so I wanted to get it done for her as well.”

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So far, Adam is booked in to attend Ramsbottom Christmas Fair and around 10 schools in the area and is hoping to visit around another 10.

He also said he has some ideas for future books and would like to write a book for each month of the year.

He wants to write ones about Halloween, Bonfire Night, going on a summer holiday and a picnic in the spring.

But for this Christmas-themed book, Adam added: “The dream would be for it to be played on Christmas Day, like they do with The Gruffalo or The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

“I’d like to send it off to some animation places and see if they’d make it into a film.

“That would be the dream.”