Printed letters

Yesterday I was printing letters to make an alphabet for a book I'm working on. It's the first time I've used linseed oil based ink for a while and I'd forgotten how nice it smells! You may have noticed that the letters are all back to front so they will need some work in Photoshop!

Illustration Friday: Sweater

Sam was a bit distressed that his sweater was starting to come undone....

Not Me! in Taiwan

I'm not sure if it's out already or coming soon but I was very excited to see this :)

Nursery School Visit

A big thank you to all the staff and children at Histon Early Years Centre for making me feel so welcome yesterday. Also thanks to Michelle and Stef from Heffers children's bookshop for looking after me.

The children have been learning about storytelling and have even written and illustrated some great stories themselves. They've also made and decorated a storytelling chair that I got to sit in - it was brilliant! They were all very good at listening and participating in the stories I read which led to a very enjoyable time!

Awards News!!!

Over the past few weeks I've had some exciting news from my publisher - Not Me! has been shortlisted for two more awards (big smile appears)! It's so nice that people have nominated/ considered my book for these awards.

The first is the Heart of Hawick Children's Book Award in the Picture Book category. The award is for books by new authors and children at schools in and around Hawick pick their favourite. Also shortlisted in this category is Birdsong by the lovely Ellie Sandall who is also published by Egmont. See the whole shortlist here.

The second is the Nottingham Children's Book Award. Every year Nottingham's young children vote for their favourite book published in the last 12 months. Librarians visit under 5s settings in March and April to read the 4 short listed stories and the children vote on their favourite. Last year's winner was The Foggy Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt.

As I write, Not Me! is also still in the running for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards in the Never Too Young category. So far 4 books from the shortlist of 12 have been eliminated (2 go each week now) so a big thank you to everyone who has voted for Not Me!

Happy New Year!

I know it's been a while since I last posted but I really wanted to wish everyone a happy new year! Thanks for visiting my blog over the last year :)

Illustration Friday: Savour

Croc and Sam liked to savour their spaghetti!