It's Christmas day in the Antarctic, and Tom the Sailor is looking for a safe, cosy place on board ship for his pet rabbit to make her nest. At last Tom settles her in the hay, where she gives birth to 17 babies. This imaginative picture book is based on the diaries by men from Captain Scott's second expedition in 1910, in search of the South Pole. The original Tom - Tom Crean - was an Irishman. He later sailed with Shackleton before returning to scttle in Ireland. Meredith Hooper's warm, observant text is beautifully complemented by Bert Kitchen's stunning, detailed paintings of shipboard life and amazing Antarctic scenery.