Nosy Crow's Blog, page 121

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:

Row, Row, Row Your Boat:

The Wheels on the Bus:

We’ll be releasing more wonderful Sing Along nursery rhyme videos in the coming weeks. You can find out more about the series here – and if you want to stay up to date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our newsletter at this page, or with the form below.

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Published on September 14, 2016 03:00

Cinderella is five today – and it’s the last day of our birthday app sale!

Our Cinderella app turns five today – and for the last week we’ve been celebrating with a birthday sale. Today’s your last chance to get the app at better-than-half-price – you can download it from the App Store for just $1.99/ £1.49 until midnight tonight.

Here’s our trailer for Cinderella:

And here’s another quick look at the app itself:

Cinderella was our second-ever app, and remains one of our most highly-acclaimed and best-loved stories: it’s the recipient of a FutureBook Digital Innovation Award, a Publishing Innovation Award, a Junior Design Award, a Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award, a KAPi Award, a Kirkus Star, and was named iLounge.com’s Best Children’s App of the Year. And, as of this year, it’s also available in a new trilingual edition, featuring Spanish and Chinese versions of the story.

You can find out more about our Cinderella app here – and you can download it from the app store at our special birthday price here.

If you do download the app, we’d love to hear what you make of it! You can contact us with your feedback on Twitter, here, on Facebook, here, or by email, to apps [at] nosycrow [dot] com. And if you enjoy Cinderella, we’d be enormously grateful if you’d consider leaving a review on the App Store – it really makes a big difference.

If you want to stay up to date with all of our app news (including sales, giveaways, and new app announcements), you can sign up to our apps newsletter at this page, or with the form below.

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Happy Birthday, Cinderella – we hope you enjoy the app!

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Published on September 13, 2016 00:30

Books to share with older children, and Booktrust’s Time to Read campaign

Reading charity Booktrust have recently launched an excellent new campaign, Time to Read, designed to encourage parents to spend timing reading with their children (and especially with older children). As part of their campaign, they’ve shared a list of recommended books to read with older children – and we were thrilled to see that the list includes Sweet Pizza by G. R. Gemin!

A great story that has immigration at its core, Sweet Pizza is perfect for fans of Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo – it’s got fantastic dramatic writing, strong characters, and big-hearted social realism.

In their review of Sweet Pizza, Booktrust write:

“Inspired by the true history of Italian immigrants in Wales, Joe’s story is a lively and revealing tale of cultural integration, family loyalty and shared experience. Diverse and entertaining characters, and an undercurrent of warmth and humour, make this an interesting and enjoyable read with plenty to keep readers engaged.”

You can read the full review here – and if you haven’t discovered Sweet Pizza yet, you can read the opening chapter of the book below:

You can find out more about the Time to Read campaign here, and you can find Booktrust’s full list of books recommended for sharing with older children here.

Thank you, Booktrust!

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Published on September 12, 2016 09:32

Three Nosy Crow titles longlisted for the 2017 UKLA Book Awards!

The longlists for the 2017 UKLA Book Awards have been announced today – and we’re absolutely thrilled that three Nosy Crow books have been recognised!

The UKLA Book Awards are the only awards judged by active classroom teachers – it’s a great honour to be longlisted.

Little Bits of Sky, by S.E. Durrant, and The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, by Christopher Edge, have both been longlisted in the 7-11 category of the awards.

Moving, wise, and beautifully written, Little Bits of Sky is a breathtaking debut for 9-12 year old readers, and an uplifting story of loss, love and finding your place in the world. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

Frank Cottrell Boyce called The Many Worlds of Albie Bright “A book with a big brain, big laughs and a big, big heart.” The Times, naming the book a Children’s Book of the Week, wrote: “Christopher Edge has written a clever story infused with science that wears its intelligence humorously, introduces complex ideas with the lightest of touches … Give the man his own element on the periodic table of children’s authors.” Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

And There’s a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins has been longlisted in the 3-6 category, too! A joyously illustrated picture book, with a clever single rhyme echoing Dr Seuss, this is perfect for sharing. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

You can also buy beautiful, limited edition, signed and numbered giclee prints featuring artwork from There’s a Bear on My Chair exclusively from the Nosy Crow shop – here’s a look at the prints on offer:

There's a Bear on my Chair | Ross Collins

Buy this print.

You can find out more about the UKLA awards, and read the full longlists, here. The shortlists for the awards will be announced in March next year, and the overall winners will be announced on June 30th at the UKLA International Conference.

Congratulations Sue, Chris, and Ross!

Booking is essential and tickets are extremely limited – save your place today!

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Published on September 09, 2016 01:56

Meet Sam Usher at the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon

There’s just over a month to go until the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon – and there are just a few places remaining!

We are absolutely thrilled that our featured illustrator at this edition of the Illustrator Salon will be the incredible Sam Usher, the highly-acclaimed illustrator of Refuge.

Join us for the evening and discover how Sam creates his artwork, find out who and what his inspirations are, how he built a career as a children’s book illustrator, his process of creating a picture book from start to finish, how he collaborates with authors and publishers, his advice for illustrators, and more!

We’ll be returning to The Book Club, in Shoreditch, for Sam’s Salon, on the evening of Monday 17th October. After an interview with Sam there’ll be a Q&A with the audience, followed by a book signing and drinks.

And you can save money on a signed copy of Refuge by buying one now with your ticket!

General admission costs just £5. £9 will include entry to the salon, PLUS a signed paperback copy of Refuge.

Doors will open at 6.30pm for drinks and conversation, and the salon will start at approximately 7.00pm.

Here’s a look inside Refuge:

If you don’t want to miss out on any of our future salon events, sign up to our mailing list below.

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We hope to see you there!

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Published on September 08, 2016 02:14

Work for Nosy Crow: we’re looking for a Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant

We have an incredible opportunity for a hardworking, bright individual with the right to live and work in the UK to join our team at Nosy Crow as a Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant on a full-time basis, working in our London office near London Bridge.

The Digital Publishing and Marketing Assistant will work across the company, but primarily with the Business Development Manager and Commissioning Editor on Nosy Crow’s award-winning digital publishing, audio publishing, digital marketing, and events programmes. While the job is predominantly an administrative role, Nosy Crow is a fast-growing company with opportunities for career development.

The ideal candidate is likely to be educated to degree level, and, in addition…

Will be able to demonstrate a strong interest in children’s books, and in digital publishing and marketing
Will be highly organised (and willing to do a lot of admin stuff), with great time management skills, and excellent attention to detail
Will have perfect written and spoken communication skills in English
Will have strong digital skills, an interest in various digital and social media channels, and be comfortable using content management systems
Will be a self-starter with lots of initiative who is ready to ‘muck in’
Will be able to produce great copy, and will have some experience at writing – a blog, perhaps, or a student newspaper

You can read the full job description for the position here.

To apply, please send Tom Bonnick your CV, accompanied by an application letter, as soon as possible via email (tom at nosycrow dot com).

The closing date for applications is Friday September 23rd at midnight (UK time).

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Published on September 07, 2016 06:26

Cinderella turns five – and we’re celebrating with a sale!

Cinderella, our award-winning fairytale story app, turns five years old this month (this time next week to be exact). It’s our second-ever app, and remains one of our most highly-acclaimed and best-loved stories: it’s the recipient of a FutureBook Digital Innovation Award, a Publishing Innovation Award, a Junior Design Award, a Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award, a KAPi Award, a Kirkus Star, and was named iLounge.com’s Best Children’s App of the Year. And, as of this year, it’s also available in a new trilingual edition, featuring Spanish and Chinese versions of the story.

And we’ve decided to celebrate the birthday with a sale!

From now until the end of Cinderella’s birthday, on September 13th, you can download it from the App Store for just £1.49 ($1.99) – better than half price!

Here’s our trailer for Cinderella:

And here’s another quick look at the app itself:

You can find out more about our Cinderella app here – and you can download it from the app store at our special birthday price here.

If you do download the app, we’d love to hear what you make of it! You can contact us with your feedback on Twitter, here, on Facebook, here, or by email, to apps [at] nosycrow [dot] com. And if you enjoy Cinderella, we’d be enormously grateful if you’d consider leaving a review on the App Store – it really makes a big difference.

If you want to stay up to date with all of our app news (including sales, giveaways, and new app announcements), you can sign up to our apps newsletter at this page, or with the form below.

NameEmail

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Happy Birthday, Cinderella – we hope you enjoy the app!

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Published on September 06, 2016 10:38

Take a look inside The Princess and the Christmas Rescue!

Next month we’re enormously pleased to be publishing a wonderful new addition to the fantastic Princess and the… picture book series, written by Caryl Hart and illustrated by Sarah Warburton – The Princess and the Christmas Rescue. And today you can take a very first look inside the book!

Princess Eliza is AWFULLY lonely in her beautiful snow palace. Stuck inside all day with no-one to play, she’s becoming brilliant at building her own toys. Eliza can make anything with a few bits of wood and some string! Anything, that is, except the one thing she wants most… a friend.

As she sets off to find one, Eliza stumbles across a wintry grotto full of elves – but OH DEAR! Santa is poorly and there are still so many presents to make! Could Princess Eliza be the person to save Christmas?

This is a FABULOUSLY festive rhyming picture book, celebrating the joy of giving (and making!) gifts at Christmas time. Here’s a very first look inside The Princess and the Christmas Rescue:

The Princess and the Christmas Rescue will publish on October 6th – you can find out more about the book here. And if you’d like to stay up to date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter at this page, or with the form below.

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Published on September 05, 2016 01:30

The inspiration behind I Saw Anaconda – a guest post by Jane Clarke

Today’s blog post is by Jane Clarke, on the inspiration behind her latest book, I Saw Anaconda, illustrated by Emma Dodd.

I Saw Anaconda was inspired by an unforgettable trip to Venezuela where my son Rob was working as an adventure tour guide. Rob, his brother Andy and I went to Los Llanos to look for anaconda. We squelched knee-deep through the marshland until we found one. Yep, I saw anaconda!

We were able to get up close to this one. It was very sluggish and sleepy, tummy bulging because it was digesting a huge meal. It wasn’t at all scary. We were careful not to disturb it because that might have caused it to regurgitate its dinner to get away from us.

On that trip, we saw lots of wonderful Venezuelan wildlife close up. We caught and barbecued piranhas, saw the eyes of hundreds of caiman glinting in the starlight, slept in a round hut with storks nesting on the roof, and used a primitive toilet where skinks and frogs lurked in the corners. We were bitten by loads of bugs, and were always on the look-out for leeches, ticks, and prowling jaguars. We were very aware we were just part of the food chain.

So that’s why I thought of a Venezuelan version of ‘There was an Old lady Who Swallowed a Fly,’ with the “I” of the story being an adventurous small boy who gets eaten. With a regurgitating happy ending, of course.

Huge thanks to the Nosy Crow team and Emma Dodd for bringing it to life with such clever paper engineering and illustrations. For me, ‘I saw Anaconda’ is a reminder of an amazing and unrepeatable experience with my two adventurous sons. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Thank you, Jane! Full of odd animals and ingenious flap reveals, I Saw Anaconda is a very funny, very silly lift-the-flap story in a great big format that’s perfect for 2+ year olds. You can buy the book online here.

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Published on September 02, 2016 05:23

It’s our September publication day!

It’s our September publication day – and our biggest month for new books ever! Here are all of the new Nosy Crow books that you can find in shops now.

We are VERY happy to be publishing a brand new board book in the brilliant Bizzy Bear series, illustrated by Benji Davies, today – Bizzy Bear: Spooky House. The ever-intrepid Bizzy Bear has come for a visit to a super-spooky Halloween house. As he climbs the rickety stairs and walks the cobwebby corridors, all sorts of creepy characters appear from doors and hidey holes. But where could he be going and what will he find there? Here’s a very quick look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

It’s publication day for I Saw Anaconda, written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Emma Dodd – a very funny, very silly lift-the-flap story in a great big format that’s PERFECT for 2+ year olds! Full of odd animals and ingenious flap reveals, this is the story of one little boy who watches as ALL SORTS of animals are swallowed up by a very hungry anaconda. With a flap on every spread,you can watch as every character gets gobbled up.. and thrown back up again in a final pop-up reveal. It’s funny and a little bit icky!

Buy the book online here.

There are two new books in our Listen to the… sound book series out today – beautifully illustrated by Marion Billet, and with six amazing real-life sounds in each book, adults and children alike will be enchanted by these charming board books. Here’s a look at the latest two titles – Listen to the Countryside and Listen to the Pets:

Buy the book online here.

Buy the book online here.

You can find Jannie Ho’s Halloween ABC in shops now: with smiling faces, bold shapes and bright contrasting colours to engage and hold the attention of inquisitive older babies and toddlers, this sturdy little board book is an excellent, gentle introduction to letter sounds and the alphabet sequence – perfect for read-aloud spooky fun.

Buy the book online here.

We are incredibly proud to be publishing a brand new edition of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams this month – a treasured classic, revisited for a new generation with heartwarming illustrations from Sarah Massini. Margery Williams’ classic tale is the first in a new series of highly collectible Nosy Crow Classics – created with lavish illustrations, these beautiful books will bring old favourites to a new generation. When the Velveteen Rabbit first arrives in the nursery, he is snubbed by the other toys. But the Rabbit soon makes friends with the Skin Horse who explains how toys can become “real”, if only they are loved enough. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

Nothing Can Frighten a Bear, written by Elizabeth Dale and illustrated by Paula Metcalf, is out today – a wonderful picture book by a brand new author-illustrator pairing. Snuggled up in bed one moonlight night, Baby Bear is sure he hears a monster outside. Daddy Bear insists there’s nothing scary in the forest and, anyway, nothing can frighten a bear. But as the family of bears set out to make sure, and all vanish one by one, it looks like Daddy Bear might not be as brave as he seems… This is an absolutely FANTASTIC picture book: beautifully illustrated, with a lovely rhyming text, and a gentle, reassuring message that’s perfect for young children. Here’s a look inside:

Buy the book online here.

The first paperback edition of Wish…, by Emma Dodd, is out now – with flurries of foil throughout and featuring a tenderly-told rhyming text and heartwarming illustrations, this beautifully-designed picture book will soon become a bedtime favourite. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

It’s also publication day for the first paperback edition of The Mystery of the Haunted Farm by Elys Dolan – a brilliantly clever, hilariously funny picture book that’s perfect for sharing. Down on the farm, something isn’t quite right, so Farmer Greg takes refuge in a hotel and calls out the Ghost Hunters to investigate. After encountering the likes of Donkula and Frankenhorse, the Hunters declare this to be one of the most interesting cases of their career. Meanwhile, after experiencing the worst shower ever at Bates Motel, Farmer Greg returns to his farm and discovers that the monstrous creatures were, in fact, his animals, who’d dressed up to scare off a beast. But CREEPERS! What’s THAT? The beast’s true identity is revealed when the moon rises and a certain farmer sprouts a tail and great, BIG teeth… Featuring incredibly illustrative detail and Elys’ trademark wit, this is a smart, spooky treat from a major picture book talent. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

And the final picture book in our trio of new paperback releases this month is Ross Collins’ There’s a Bear on My Chair – a joyously illustrated picture book, with a clever single rhyme echoing Dr Seuss, and the recipient of the inaugural Amnesty CILIP Honour. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

We’re publishing two new books in the excellent Rounds illustrated narrative non-fiction series by Barry Tranter and Emma Tranter today – Olive Owl and Parker Penguin. Each book in this innovative series takes the reader on a journey through the animal’s life, explaining how they eat, grow, defend themselves, and reproduce. With a strong, clear narrative, friendly characters, fascinating facts and graphic illustrations, these are a fun and informative introduction to animal life cycles. Here’s a look inside each book:

Buy the book online here.

And there’s an app for Parker Penguin, too! If you like the book, you can find out more about the innovative story app that inspired it here – and here’s the app trailer:

We’re thrilled to be a launching a brand new two-colour illustrated fiction series starring everyone’s favourite canine duo, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam, today, with Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Spooky School, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Steven Lenton. Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam don’t just make amazing cakes – these two brave bakers solve wacky mysteries too! Halloween at St Spectre’s school brings out the cheekiest of ghosts! And who is to blame when the weather goes CRAZY? A power-grabbing red panda maybe? Certainly not the racoon gang fixing the museum’s toilets – they’ve got dastardly plans of their OWN! With three hilarious read-aloud stories, and beautiful two-colour illustrations, this is a fantastic book for 6+ year olds – it’s perfect for young children ready for the next milestone after picture books, and great for both independent reading and sharing. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

The latest book in the brilliant Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series, written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams, is out now – The Sleepy Snowy Owl. Oscar is a very sleepy snowy owl. He just can’t seem to keep his eyes open during the day and so he’s missing all the fun. So Zoe comes up with a night-time plan guaranteed to keep Oscar happy! Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

There’s a brand new paperback edition of The Grunts on the Run, written by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, available in shops now – the final book in the hilarious Grunts series. Over the years, the Grunts have managed to upset a lot of people. Some of them are angry and want REVENGE, even if it means breaking out of jail to get it. So Mr and Mrs Grunt and Sunny must go into hiding, and that means leaving behind Fingers, Sunny’s hard-to-hide elephant. But their enemies are hot on their (rather grubby) heels… Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Christmas, illustrated by Rebecca Jones, is out now – another amazingly innovative colouring book, full of beautifully-designed cards and envelopes to tear out and colour. The twenty-four beautiful festive designs include stockings, snowmen, snowflakes and more and are perfect for all ages to decorate and send to family and friends. With enough blank space inside for a message, envelopes to customise and cute stickers to seal your card – this is the complete creative package!

Buy the book online here.

And finally, today we’re publishing Press Out and Colour Birds, illustrated by Zoe Ingram – the first book in an incredible new activity series! Make your own beautiful 3D decorations with these board books of press-out ornaments. Each press-out design is intricately decorated with foil and perfect for all ages to colour in. Featuring 10 unique designs in each book, the press-out pieces can be slotted together to create bright and cheerful hanging ornaments. The gorgeous birds are perfect to hang around the home and add sparkle to any setting, and the Christmas book features festive decorations, ideal for adorning the Christmas tree.