Anita Loughrey's blog. This is my journal about my experiences and thoughts on writing. As well as news about me and my books, it includes writing tips, book reviews, author interviews and blog tours.
For more information about me and my books see my website: www.anitaloughrey.com. Follow me on Twitter @amloughrey, Facebook @anitaloughrey.author and on Instagram @anitaloughrey
Cress Watercress is written by Gregory Maguire and Illustrated by David Litchfield. It was published by Walker Books.
A classic in the making, Cress Watercress is a lavishly illustrated woodland tale with a nostalgic sensibility and modern flair, from the author of the novel Wicked, which inspired the hit musical. Gregory Maguire turns his trademark wit and wisdom to an animal adventure about growing up, moving on and finding community.
When Papa doesn’t return from a nocturnal honey-gathering expedition, Cress holds out hope, but her mother assumes the worst. It’s a dangerous world for rabbits, after all. Mama moves what’s left of the Watercress family to the basement unit of the Broken Arms, a run-down apartment oak with a suspect owl landlord, a nosy mouse superintendent, a rowdy family of squirrels and a pair of songbirds who broadcast everyone’s business. Can a dead tree full of annoying neighbours, and no Papa, ever be home?
In the timeless spirit of E. B. White and The Wind and the Willows – yet thoroughly of its time – this read-aloud and read-alone gem for animal lovers of all ages, features an unforgettable cast that leaps off the page in glowing illustrations by David Litchfield.
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is the author of the incredibly popular books in the Wicked Years series, including Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which inspired the musical. He is also the author of several books for children, including What-the-Dickens, a New York Times bestseller, and Egg & Spoon, a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of the Year. Gregory Maguire lives outside Boston.
David Litchfield
David Litchfield started to draw when he was very young, creating comics for his older brother and sister. Since then, his work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and books and on T-shirts. His first picture book, The Bear and the Piano, won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. He is also the illustrator of Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Prasadam-Halls and War Is Over by David Almond. David Litchfield lives in Bedfordshire.
Praise for Cress Watercress: …the story strikes a resonant chord: Like Cress, we must all continue to seek pleasure and connections in a dangerous and uncertain world. – The New York Times
David Litchfield’s illustrations have such bright, glowing colours that even the nocturnal scenes seem bathed in light. – The Wall Street Journal
A hungry fox, a sneaky snake, a blundering bear, and “human beanpoles” add drama and suspense to Cress’ mini adventures, which are luminously depicted in Litchfield’s color illustrations. . . this novel of family and friendship will please fans of animal fantasies. – Booklist
It is with great pleasure I join the blog tour for Kate Foster and her latest book The Bravest Word.
My stop on this amazing tour will be a book review.
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Title: The Bravest Word
Written by: Kate Foster
Cover by: Thy Bui
Published by: Walker Books
Blurb
A rescue story of love and trust between a boy and a dog from the talented author of Paws.
Matt is a football superstar. He can handle anything. Except lately his chest feels empty and his head is screaming. He can’t concentrate in school or enjoy football anymore, and he is so, so tired. When Matt stumbles across an abandoned dog, there’s no doubt in his mind that he has to save him. But maybe the dog isn’t the only one who needs help.
Review
Matt used to love football but now it makes him anxious and he no longer wants to play, he wants to be alone and avoids his friends, homework is a chore and he feels tired and listless all the time. He does not understand why life does not hold any joy for him anymore. Even his favourite computer game has lost its appeal.
The Bravest Word is an intense emotional portrayal of depression written by someone who has experienced it from the overwhelming sadness, fear and guilt to the physical tightness in the chest and aching limbs. The character development is strong and realistic. I found reading this book to be quite emotional on so many different levels. It is excellently written and covers this more prevalent than recognised mental health issue with sensitivity and compassion, which will help young readers to understand and feel empathy. This book is a positive step in building awareness for a condition that is often overlooked.
Matt and his father find a dog tied and abandoned on their walk and decide to bring it home. Matt agrees to car for the dog, which he names Cliff after his grandad. He reads up about the dog’s behaviour online and recognises that Cliff has dog depression. Matt recognises that some of Cliff’s behaviour and reactions mirror his own and he begins to realise all the tiredness, anger and tears are symptoms of depression.
By highlighting these symptoms, The Bravest Word, will help others to recognise similar symptoms in themselves and others and will be in a better position to help, or will hopefully encourage them to ask for help.
A beautiful compassionate book. I hope to see more from Kate Foster in the future.
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About the Author
Kate Foster is an award-winning children’s author of middle grade fiction originally from a small town in the southeast of England and now living on the stunning Gold Coast in Australia with her family and second-hand dogs.
She is passionate about encouraging and teaching a wider understanding of autism and mental illness via a positive approach and representation in both her books as well as her presentations and talks.
To celebrate the release of The Ice Children by M. G. Leonard tomorrow, Thursday 2nd November 2023, I have decided to post my review of this beautiful book.
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Title: The Ice Children
Written by: M.G. Leonard
Illustrated by: Penny Neville-Lee
Published by: Macmillan Children’s Books
I requested to read this book from NetGalley because I enjoyed M.G. Leonard’s Beetle Boy books and the Twitcher series. I was not disappointed as I was instantly drawn in by the narrative of this modern day fairy tale.
M.G. Leonard explains in her acknowledgments how she was inspired by the familiar stories of The Snow Queen, Pinocchio, and The Selfish Giant to create an imaginative new story which will linger in your mind as do many timeless classics. The brilliant action-driven plot does not spend unnecessary time world building without moving the story forward. I can imagine The Ice Children making a lovely magical children’s Christmas movie.
The main character, Bianca has to use her detective skills to work out why more and more children are appearing as frozen statues in the park. She links the strange happenings to a mysterious silver book her brother discovered in the library. M. G. Leonard realistically portrays how children are not listened to in times of emergency and their ideas dismissed as childish fantasies.
The only option Bianca has is to stop the mysterious disappearances on her own and discover who is responsible for turning her brother and friends to ice. She uses the clues to transport herself to a wintery wonderland, highlighting how books really are doorways to other worlds. I particularly enjoyed reading about the different spirit animals each of the children had in the magical world. I wondered what my own spirit animal would be long before I reached the end. I decided it was probably a bear.
I adored the cover and illustrations by Penny Neville-Lee and believe they would be even more magnificent in a real book format rather than viewing on my kindle. They are beautiful and add to the magical atmosphere of this book. The short chapters made this a quick and easy read. I seemed to fly through the pages, devouring every word.
It was evident about half-way through there was no real antagonist. In fact the real villain of the book is us – the human race – whose extravagance and negligence has caused the global warming which the world is suffering from creating a world ‘where winter cannot survive.’
Bianca strives to show the children they can make a difference as they are the adults of the future. They have the power to make changes to build better habits which will help the environment. In this way, M. G. Leonard has pro-actively crafted a spell-binding novel, which successfully treads the thin line between conveying an important message and preaching. The Ice Children gives children the power to do something now to prevent climate change.
This book leaves you with hope that it will indeed touch people’s hearts and change the way they think.
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This review of The Ice Children has been previously posted on NetGalley and Goodreads. I would like to thank Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGalley for organising me a digital review copy of the book. Thank you.
You can find out more about M. G. Leonard and her books on her website www.mgleonard.com and follow her on social media: Twitter @mglnrd; Instagram @mglnrd; Facebook @MGLnrd.
I have also reviewed Spark by M. G. Leonard on my blog in December 2022. To read this review take a look at: Book Review: Spark
I also had the pleasure of interviewing M. G. Leonard for the #219 Jan 2019 issue of the UK national magazine, Writers’ Forum about her research for the Beetle Boy series. You can read highlights from this Writers’ Forum interview here: An interview with… M. G. Leonard
When reading this series of mystery adventure books I have come late to the party as I have to admit I have not read any of the other books in the Eerie-on-Sea series. Starting a series by reading book five, the last book, is probably not a good idea but as I am the sort of person that will flick to the end of a book to find out what is going to happen before I finish it, it is definitely par for the course. There is a sense of satisfaction knowing the conclusion and working out how the novel unwinds to get there.
My real concern was not understanding what was going on because I had missed so much. I needn’t have worried. Mermedusa is a complete story in itself with a gripping beginning with Herbie finding a broken lost watch and immediately wanting to discover the mystery behind it and why it stopped at midnight; an exciting middle complete with monsters looming from the eerie mist and quite frankly the most brilliant ending.
I was impressed with the writing and characterisation. Yes. There is references to events throughout the previous books but these are concisely explained giving us just enough information to move the plot forward without bogging us down in the past.
Herbert lemon and Violet Parma are our protagonists and their names certainly bought a smile to my face. The author Thomas Taylor (who could be a secret superhero with a name like that) obviously has an obsession with sweets. Herbie is the lost and founder at the Nautilus Hotel. it is his job to find and return things to the residents of the hotel. It is written form his point of view in third person. Violet is a feisty and loveable character. the friendship between her and Herbie is heart-touching and relatable. they are both strong characters who the reader is rooting for. the mystery behind their missing parents gives the reader an emotional connection to the characters.
I enjoyed this fast-moving plot which kept me turning the pages. it is full of suspense and delightful twists and turns. ideal for upper middle grade with a love of fantasy adventures with imaginative monsters.
You can buy copies of Mermedusa by Thomas Taylor from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org which supports local, independent bookshops. Thomas has also said in a recent interview with him that if you would like a signed and drawn-in book, then please order through his local indy bookshop www.hastingsbookshop.co.uk, and leave a note in the order form.
See the interview I did with Thomas Taylor that went live on my blog on Monday here:
I would like to welcome Thomas Taylor to my blog today to talk about his Eerie on Sea series, published by Walker Books.
Thank you for inviting me onto your blog, Anita.
Tell us a little about yourself and your inspiration for the Eerie on Sea series. Was it always planned to be five books?
I’m an author and illustrator of children’s books, though I’m mostly writing these days.
My Eerie-on-Sea books are inspired by my experience of moving to a seaside town in 2010, and discovering how such places are in the off season, when the tourists have gone home, and the weather turns bad. Winter by the sea is a moment of dramatic sunsets, bonkers weather, strange sights and eccentric characters. This is also the best time to find treasures washed upon the beach. It’s the season when those local legends of sea creatures and smuggler ghosts, which seemed so laughable in the summer, suddenly make you look over your shoulder as you hurry home in the dark.
As for the number of books, I can’t say it was always planned to be five. But As I wrote Malamander I realised that there was far more material than could be accommodated in just one book. The auction that saw Walker acquire the book resulted in a three book deal, however A trilogy also never seemed enough for me. The question I faced as I wrote Gargantis, the sequel to Malamander, was how many books more than three should I aim at? Seven seemed to be pushing things too far, but five had a nice round feel to it. And I could see that five books would allow me the space to resolve Herbie and Violet’s narrative arc properly, whilst also telling five distinct stories. I was very happy when Walker agreed.
What would you say are the underlying themes of the series as a whole?
There is a strong theme of things being lost and things being found running through the books, like letters through a stick of rock: Herbie’s job as Lost-and-Founder; Violet’s past as a baby who was lost, and who now wants to be found; Herbie’s own past as a boy who was washed up on the beach and has to find himself; the countless little examples of the same in the secondary characters, from lady Kraken’s back story, to the magical experience Mr Seegol had as a young man and which he longs to experience again.
As a keen beachcomber, I’ve seen the way lost things are changed by the tide, and repurposed by the people who find them: Yesteryear’s broken lemonade bottle is today’s sea glass gem, and tomorrow’s piece of jewellery. But it’s also the ‘mermaid tears’ of legend: trash turned to treasure by the tide, and then turned to story by human imagination.
Friendship is another theme. As is trust, and the importance of doing what’s right, and of trusting ones own instincts to determine what is right.
Was the passing of time between each book important for the Eerie on Sea series and why?
It was a challenge certainly. Most readers, I think, didn’t notice that the five books take place over the course of a single year, until I pointed it out in the last book, Mermedusa. The series runs from Midwinter to Midwinter, with a large gap over the summer, during which the town of Eerie-on-Sea becomes ‘Cheerie-on-Sea’ — replacing the letters C and H that blow off the pier every year, and pretending the be a normal little seaside town again, to attract tourists.
With the five adventures fitting into the autumn and winter of a single 12 month period, I had to make sure that the consequences of one book were still felt in the next. It also gives a relatively tight period for character growth to take place in. But I felt strongly that I couldn’t let Herbie and Violet grow out of their childhood as the stories ticked by, and they are as approximately ‘twelvish’ at the end as they were at the beginning.
How did you manage to conclude all the mysteries and tie up all the plot points from all five books without missing anything? Talk us through your planning process to achieve this.
I don’t really plan my books. I tend to rely on a lot of day-dreaming, then a lot of feverish story telling. I pay for this sloppy technique whenever I take a wrong turn and have to undo a few chapters. But it does keep things fresh and surprising. For example, in Malamander I had no idea that Erwin the cat would have the magical quirk that he has until he exhibited it in a scene. I got goosebumps when that happened, so, of course, I kept it in, in hopes that the reader would get goosebumps too.
I also have very good and observant editors.
How did you come up with the names of each of your monsters and the legends behind them for each of the books in the Eerie-On-Sea series.
With Malamander, I realised that even though I was creating a legend about a sea monster, I could help the legend seem more ‘real’ if I based its name on a real word. After listing a lot of probably candidates, I hit on ‘salamander’ because I saw that if I changed the S to an M, I would have a ‘Mal’ sound. Mal in French and Spanish means ‘bad’ or ‘evil’, which works in English too: think of ‘malevolent’ and ‘malign’. So ‘Malamander’ sounded monstrous to me.
Having done this once, it was then a challenge to create the other titles. But in brief: Gargantis was a squashing-together of ‘gargantuan’, ‘gigantic’ and ‘Atlantis’, Shadowghast was a simple joining of two words to evoke a kind of spectral creature, Festergrimm was a play on Frankenstein, the themes of which are touched on in the book, and Mermedusa is ‘mer’ from mermaid bolted onto ‘Medusa’ from Greek myth.
Will you be revisiting Eerie-On-Sea? What’s next?
I would love to write another Eerie-on-sea book one day, but it would be a standalone, and not part of Herbie and Violet’s story arc. I think Herbie and Violet would be in it though, but as secondary characters. In the meantime, I’m working on a new idea which is proving hard to get right, but which is exciting. All I can say about that is it will have more of the same sort of intrigue, mystery, creatures, magic, nice things to eat, good friends and dastardly going-on.
What writing advice would you give to people aspiring to be a children’s book writer?
I find it hard to give advice. Certainly, I think an aspiring writer for children needs to be very aware of current children’s books, and reading the books that are being published right now. However, it’s important to write the books you want to write and believe in, and not work to trends or over worry about what others are doing. Good storytelling, compelling voices, and rich characterisation are always in high demand, even if you are writing in a genre that seems over-represented. So, enjoy your own stories! Readers will notice if you don’t.
What are your social media links where can people find out about you and your books?
Instagram is probably my main social media these days (@thomskagram), though I’m still on Twitter, or whatever it’s called (@ThomasHTaylor). My website is: http://www.thomastaylor-author.com
Where is the best place for people to buy the Eerie-On-Sea series?
Your local independent bookshop! Or, failing that, any branch of Waterstones. If you would like a signed and drawn-in book, then please order through www.hastingsbookshop.co.uk, and leave a note in the order form. That’s my local indy. Thank you!
Keep your eyes peeled for my review of Mermedusa, the final book in teh series, which is due to go live on the 18th October. That is this Wednesday.
Thank you again Thomas for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog.
Title: Caring Conservationist Who Are Changing Our Planet
Written by: Kate Peridot
Illustrated by: Sarah Long
Published by: Walker Books
In Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet, Kate Peridot, takes on a whistle stop tour around the world to discover the stories of 20 conservationists and the endangered animals they are helping to save, including the blue whale, honeybee, Indian tiger, the last kākāpō, Komodo dragon, orangutan, rhino and the sea turtle. Sarah Long’s bright vivid illustrations capture the heart of the conservationist and the endangered animal.
This is a cleverly designed book full of inspiring facts about a wide variety of diverse conservationists and the endangered animals they are campaigning to save. The activities are fun and engaging I am sure young children will be eager to build a bug hotel, draw a campaign poster, or make their own nature documentary, to name but a few.
This vibrant non-fiction book is positive, uplifting and packed full of information, with 20 fun activities for children to try, this book demonstrates no one is too small to make a difference.
Useful for use in the classroom to support work in the science programme of study for – Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, in particular, Working scientifically and Living things and their habitats. The ideal book to buy to keep your children active and happy during the holidays.
You can buy copies of Caring Conservationist Who Are Changing Our Planet by Kate Peridot and Sarah Long from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
The Great Fox Heist is the second book in the Great Fox series. This fast-paced mystery adventure is full of magical misdirection and distraction. Flick Lions and her friend Charlie are in Switzerland to take part in another competition to steal a priceless diamond necklace from one of the most secure bank vaults in the world, whilst still searching for answers about her father’s mysterious disappearance, never knowing who she can trust. Flick is a strong, dynamic character who the reader can easily identify with.
The Great Fox promises several times that at the next stop her father will be there but he never materialises. Even by the end of the book she has not yet discovered where her father is. But the reader does have a greater understanding of why The Bell system should remain a secret.
Just like the first in the series, The Great Fox Heist, is cleverly written with a well-crafted plot that builds up the tension as Flick searches for answers. The heist is well thought out and believable. Flick’s prosthetic leg is shown through her cautious way of climbing but is never seen as a hinderance and does not restrict her achieving her goal.
There have been a lot of crime style mystery books for middle grade recently but The Great Fox Heist is unique as it is from the thief’s point of view. Unlike other books in this genre it invites the reader to solve how the heist was done and send the author a message with the promise of being able to help with the next assignment. What a fantastic incentive to get readers to invest in the characters and the series. I know I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
You can buy copies of The Great Fox Heist by Justyn Edwards from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
It is with great honour I am hosting Kate Peridot for the last slot of her book tour with her first non-fiction book Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet, published by Walker Books.
Conservation is something dear to my own heart and more and more children today are becoming passionate about caring for their environment. I am a volunteer at my local BBOWT nature discovery centre where I do activities with groups of children on different aspects of nature and conservation, so I am particularly excited about being able to interview Kate about Caring Conservationists.
In Caring Conservationists Who Are Changing Our Planet, Kate Peridot takes us on a whistle stop tour around the world to discover the stories of 20 conservationists and the endangered animals they are campaigning to save, including the blue whale, great panda, honeybee, the last kākāpō, and the sea turtle. Sarah Long’s bright vivid illustrations capture the heart of the conservationist and the endangered animal.
This is a cleverly designed book full of inspiring facts about a wide variety of diverse conservationists and the endangered animals they are campaigning to save. The activities are fun and engaging I am sure young children will be eager to build a bug hotel, draw a campaign poster or make their own nature documentary to name but a few.
This vibrant non-fiction book is positive, uplifting and packed full of information, with 20 fun activities for children to try, this book will show children no one is too small to make a difference.
Useful for use in the classroom to support work in the science programme of study for – Key Stage One and Key Stage Two, in particular, Working scientifically and Living things and their habitats. The ideal book to buy to keep your children active and happy during the holidays.
The author, Kate Peridot, writes both fiction and non-fiction children’s books. Originally from London, she now lives with her family in the South of France. She writes wild and adventurous stories about animals, people and STEM that encourages a can-do spirit, a quest for knowledge and a sense of adventure. A further nine books non-fiction books are in production launching between 2023-2025.
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Thank you, Kate, for agreeing to be interviewed as part of your blog tour about your recent non-fiction book, Caring Conservationists who are changing are planet.
What was your inspiration to write a non-fiction book for children about the high-profile people involved in conservation and the endangered animals they are trying to save?
I live in the South of France and the impact people have on nature is more visible day to day than in the UK. I’ve stood on a melting glacier in the Alps, seen coastal pollution from tourism, and we’re in the second year of a drought. Despite a semi-arid climate, I’ve created a garden from scratch and slowly watched the animals move into the hedgerows and flower borders and it’s been really rewarding to watch a mini eco-system develop. There are bats, dragonflies, swallows, and giant toads that eat the mosquitos. Fireflies hide in the hedgerows and pine martins and wild boar steal our fruit! Nature, when given a helping hand, knows exactly what to do. Conservation is both a global issue but also a personal one. Children love animals and being out in nature. They want to understand and help, and I wanted to show them there are lots of people who feel the same way and are making a positive difference.
How did you decide which conservationists you would choose for your book, Caring Conservationists?
Charlie, the editor at Walker Books, and I agreed we wanted to feature mostly conservationists who were working within their own communities or protecting animals in the country where they grew up. Conservation often starts at home and children would identify with this. We also aimed to have a conservationist from every continent, protecting very different animals and also doing different types of conservation work. There is sustainable farming, growing super corals, rewilding, a park ranger, raising awareness of climate change and lots more.
The conservationists are as young as 4 years old and as old as 96! There are also a few famous conservationists from the recent past, such as Gerald Durrell and Jacques Cousteau, who inspired others to follow in their footsteps. Their charitable organisations continue to inform and train the next generation of conservationists.
Why is it important to raise awareness and educate young children about global conservation?
Children are naturally curious and will have their own favourite animal or two. I’ve included different conservation challenges and types of conservation jobs. In the media, the activism side of conservation often dominates and unfortunately, can be seen negatively, but that is only a small part of conservation work and there are a lot of quiet conservation projects where individuals and communities are making a big difference. This book shows children there are many ways to help nature and they can decide what they want to do. It can be as small as making a bug hotel out of bamboo straws, leaving water out for hedgehogs in the summer, learning about endangered animals nearby, or getting involved in school tree-planting projects.
Tell us a little about the format and activities in Caring Conservationists?
Children love non-fiction books because they can open a page and read bite-sized snippets of text almost in any order and dip in and out of any page. This makes fact-based books super appealing for a range of ages and reading abilities. On each page, we have the conservationist’s story as a narrative, and then there are short fact boxes about the animals. There’s another story box about the conservationist’s legacy as an animal champion, plus an activity too. Sarah, the illustrator, has done a wonderful job capturing the likeness of the conservationists, the animals and creating beautifully themed borders. There’s so much to look at on each page.
Do you have a favourite activity in the book?
That’s a difficult one, there are 21 to choose from. Thinking back to my 7-year-old self, I would have loved to make the reef collage or local wildlife scrapbook. I loved art! I would also have wanted to make a den with my brothers to watch out for any animals that flew or crept into our garden from the woods behind our house. If we were allowed to camp out after dark, even better!
Did you have any writing rituals whilst writing Caring Conservationists? Tell us a little about your writing process.
In every conservationist story, I looked for the moment the conservationist knew they had to do something to help, and I wanted to capture that hope and positivity. I don’t have any writing rituals as such, it’s mostly me in my quiet office with my notes and computer. I do about 2 hours then stop for a break. Otherwise, I just keep going each working day until the story and facts work together and the manuscript is ready for the editor to edit and the illustrator to draw.
How did you do the research for Caring Conservationists?
The majority was desk work, and some great information was supplied by the conservationist’s charitable organisations. I also visited St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire, founded by Les Stocker and his family, which has a visitor centre and the Oceanography Museum in Monaco, which was originally curated by Jacques Cousteau. This had the history of Jacques’s work, and his submarine, which features in the illustration, and also information about coral reefs, blue whales, melting polar ice caps and actual sea turtles swimming around. There’s also a zoo nearby for endangered animals which has New Zealand’s vulnerable flightless birds and some very noisy leaping lemurs, all of which make an appearance in the book.
Is there anything else you would like to tell readers about your books and writing for children?
I have two more animal books launching this spring/summer.
My Animal Family is available from 4th May, illustrated by Nick Jones, and published by DK and is for children of 6+ years. There are 15 animal families in the book and an animal from each family tells their story of family life. Discover who’s the boss, who looks after the babies, and who’s in charge of getting the dinner. Children can compare each animal family to their own family and choose their favourite.
Meet the Bears is for all bear lovers, whether that’s real bears or teddy bears! It’s illustrated by Becca Hall and published by Welbeck and for 4+ year-olds. It’s available from the end of June. Pack your teddy and join an around-the-world adventure to meet the world’s eight species of bears. From polar bears to giant pandas, from spectacled bears to the Asiatic moon bears. Which bear family does your teddy belong to?
And I have further animal and STEM books in the illustration stage which will be out next spring.
Wow! This is all so interesting. Thank you Kate for being so generous with your time in answering my questions. I look forward to seeing many more of your books on the shelves.
You can purchase Kate’s books books from most independent booksellers or online from uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
To take a look at the other stops on the tour check out the tour schedule:
Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield
Rain Before Rainbows was published in 2020 just as we were emerging from lockdowns and the scary time of Covid was behind us. It was released by Walker Books in conjunction with Save the Children to raise awareness for the ‘Saves the Stories’ campaign. It is a beautifully colourful picture book, which is easy to read and leaves the reader with a magical feeling of love and a positive outlook for the future.
Our female protagonist and her fox friend are forced to leave their home and most combat the fierce wind and rain in the dark. They encounter raging storms and symbolic scary dragons travelling across the sea before reaching a brighter new world full of promise and new friends.
This is a clever well-crafted picture book where every word is there for a reason. There is a rhythmic quality that builds around the theme of hope. So there may be ‘rain before rainbows’ and ‘clouds before sun’ but with a little patience and determination we can all survive the bleakest times and scariest of dangers. The illustrations are full of poignant details that add to the atmosphere of the book.
It is the ideal picture book for discussing hopes and dreams in a PSHE lesson giving young children a chance to reveal their own desires. It will also be perfect for talking about refuges having to leave their homes.
A great edition to bookshelves and libraries.
You can buy copies of Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield from your local bookshop, or online at uk.bookshop.org, an organisation with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops.
Another exciting read by M G Leonard. I particularly like the great unique selling point of being about a group of young ornithologists who solve crimes, using their birdwatching skills. Pure genius. Spark is the second book in this crime adventure series and this time, the story is from Jack’s point of view.
On his way to meet his best-friend Twitch (Vernon) and the other Twitchers at their secret hideout in Aves Woods Jack discovers an injured cat. Despite the cat lashing out and scratching him he carries it over a mile to the nearest vet where it can be treated. The vet informs him the cat has been shot and it is not the first cat in the area to be shot. The first cat died. The owner of the cat, Colonel Mustard, asks jack to find out who is shooting the cats. Jack is excited about solving the mystery and believes it is the perfect quest for the Twitchers over the Autumn half-term. To Jack’s dismay his best friend does not believe him and is much more excited about the fact a rare Lammergeier vulture had been spotted by the Twitcher grapevine and is heading their way.
Spark is a story about what it means to be a true friend. It was great to learn more about Jack and his venture into twitching and finding his spark bird. Whilst searching for clues to solve the mystery of who shot Colonel Mustard jack uncovers an even bigger crime and they must all pull together to catch the criminals.
A brilliant book for all middle-grade readers. The plot zips along and will keep the readers reading until the end.
I have previously reviewed this book on NetGalley and Goodreads.
Much To Do About Writing 