Nosy Crow's Blog, page 124
August 3, 2016
It’s our August publication day!
It’s our August publication day!
We’ve got some absolutely AMAZING new books out this month – from board books for the very young, to perfect picture books for toddlers, great young illustrated fiction, and some brilliant novels for older readers. Here’s what you can find in shops in August!
There are two new books in the fantastic Sing Along With Me nursery rhyme board book series illustrated by Yu-Hsuan Huang out this month. Each book comes with five slider mechanisms, and both an instrumental and vocal version of the nursery rhyme – simply scan the QR code on the first page for little ones to listen and sing along! Here’s a look at the two new Sing Along With Me books, Happy Birthday and Hey Diddle Diddle:
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Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Pets, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is out now – the latest book in the fantastic Flip Flap series, with more crazy creatures, made-up animal names and funny rhymes. It’s irresistibly bonkers fun for all the family! What do you get if you cross a rabbit with a dog? Why, that would be a Rog! And how about a snake and a gerbil? Well, that would be a Snerbil, of course! With its sturdy, split pages and spiral binding, 121 possible combinations, silly names and animal noises to make you giggle, this hilarious rhyming flip-flap book in a fun format is perfect for pre-schoolers. Little readers will adore flipping Axel’s animals again and again to see what crazy creatures they can create – and to find out what strange noises they make too!
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It’s publication day for the first paperback edition of Old Macdonald’s Things that Go – a brilliant new take on the old nursery rhyme classic, written by Jane Clarke and illustrated by Migy Blanco. Old Macdonald’s farm is full of pigs, cows, sheep, hens and horses, but what he really loves is his COLOSSAL collection of vehicles! From bicycles, tractors and buses, to boats, fire engines and aeroplanes, there are LOTS of things that go on Old Macdonald’s farm, and the animals love to join in with the fun, too. Perfect for anyone who loves farmyard animals AND vehicles! Here’s a look inside the book:
It’s publication day for The Doughnut of Doom, the hilarious new picture book by Elys Dolan, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-shortlisted author-illustrator of Weasels, Nuts in Space, and The Mystery of the Haunted Farm. It’s another ordinary day in FoodTown and Nancy McNutty – peanut butter sandwich and rookie reporter – desperately needs a big break. So, when news comes in of a monster doughnut on the rampage, she’s straight on the case – and boy, is that doughnut hungry! But when Nancy McNutty discovers that the doughnut actually has a nut allergy, a plan begins to form. All they need now is a plucky hero who will sacrifice themselves for the good of all food kind…! Taking inspiration from 1950s B-movies, Elys Dolan’s latest comic classic has pages to pore over, illustrations packed with detail and plenty of crossover humour that will appeal to adult and child alike. Here’s a look inside The Doughnut of Doom:
We Love Dinosaurs by Lucy Volpin is in shops now – a vibrant celebration of dinosaurs in all shapes and sizes. Whether they’re big, small, fast, slow, stripy, spotty or anything in-between, there’s just so much to love about dinosaurs – and this joyful picture book is PERFECT for little dinosaur experts. With bright and elegant watercolours, loveable dinosaurs full of personality and a rhythmic rhyming text that will have everyone chanting along, this is sure to become a family favourite. Here’s a look inside We Love Dinosaurs:
It’s publication day for The Invincibles: The Hamster Rescue by Caryl Hart and Sarah Warburton, the incredible author-illustrator duo behind the Princess and the… picture books. In Nell and Freddie’s second adventure, it’s Hamish the hamster to the rescue! It’s Freddie Spoon’s birthday on Friday. But Nell’s been invited to Lucy Perkins’ party and really wants to go. It takes a hamster and her big brother Lucas to show her where the fun really is! Gorgeously illustrated throughout, hilarious, and true to life (just about), these books have the perfect amount of detail and adventure to keep kids coming back to read and read again. Here’s a look inside The Hamster Rescue:
Witchwild, by Emma Fischel is out today – the third book in a bewitching series that delivers an ingeniously imaginative twist on witch fiction. Witchen Week is here, the best holiday of the year! Flo loves to go swimming in the bright blue seas around Kronebay. But dark secrets lurk in the waters, and Flo will face terrible dangers before the week is out. She fought off ghouls, she fought off the Haggfiend, but can she fight off the most horrifying creature of them all? This is perfect for 9+ readers who like imaginatively-written fantasy – and with fantastic cover and character illustrations by Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, and stunning neon-pink sprayed edges, it is a simply IRRESISTIBLE book. Here’s a look inside Witchwild:
And finally, its publication day for Pugly Solves a Crime – the second book in the fantastic series by Pamela Butchart and Gemma Correll. When Pugly hears that Big Sal the guinea pig has been GUINEA PIG-NAPPED he knows it’s time for him to become a PUG-TECTIVE! Is GLITTERPUFF the fancy poodle, or TINY the dramatic chihuahua behind the crime? Maybe it’s Big Sal HIMSELF! Time for Pugly to put on his special DETECTIVE HAT and join forces with Clem the cat to find clues, interview suspects, and have a stake-out with real STEAK. Watch out criminals, Pugly is on the case! Easy to read, laugh-out-loud funny, and hilariously illustrated throughout, the Pugly books are great first readers for 5+ year olds. Here’s a look inside Pugly Solves a Crime:
Congratulations to all of this month’s authors and illustrators! If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter with the form below.
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Win copies of our new trilingual editions of The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella!
Last month we launched major updates for our first two apps, The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella: brand new trilingual editions of each app, featuring Spanish and Chinese language versions of each story, alongside the original English.
For the very first time, you can experience these incredible stories in three different languages. And today, we’re giving you the opportunity to win copies of each app!
To win The Three Little Pigs or Cinderella, all you need to do is sign up to our apps newsletter, at this page or with the form below, and send an email to apps [at] nosycrow [dot] com with App Competition in the subject heading, along with the name of the app you’d like to win.
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If you’re new to the apps, here’s a quick look at each (in English):
And here’s a look at The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella in Spanish and Chinese!
As well as being great stories for Chinese and Spanish speakers, the trilingual element of these updates means the apps are also fantastic resources for children learning another language, for dual language-speaking homes, for school language lessons, and more.
Winners of our app giveaway competition will be notified at the end of next week – good luck!
August 2, 2016
Take a look inside our newly illustrated edition of The Velveteen Rabbit – the first Nosy Crow Classic
Next month we are incredibly proud to be publishing a brand new edition of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams – a treasured classic, revisited for a new generation with heartwarming illustrations from Sarah Massini. And you can take a look inside our beautiful new edition of the book for the first time today.
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.
The Velveteen Rabbit longs for this to happen until, one day, he finds that he is Boy’s very favourite toy. They play together through a long, golden summer and, even though Rabbit becomes shabbier and shabbier, he becomes “real” to the boy who loves him so much. The rabbits in the garden think otherwise – how can Rabbit be real when can’t leap and hop?
Here’s a look inside the book:
You can read a great blogpost by the book’s editor on how we created this new edition of The Velveteen Rabbit here. The book will be in shops in September – you can find out more 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 with the form below.
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August 1, 2016
Come to the next Nosy Crow Reading Group – we’re discussing Pax by Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen
Would you like to come along to the next Nosy Crow Reading Group?
In September we’ll be discussing Pax, written by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Kirkus, in a starred review, described the book as “moving and poetic”, and Rooftoppers author Katherine Rundell, reviewing the book for the New York Times, wrote that it is “half wild and wholly beautiful”.
We’ll be meeting on Wednesday, September 21st at 6.30pm, here at the Nosy Crow offices – 10a Lant Street, London, SE1 1QR – for a discussion of the book (along with wine and crisps). If you’d like to come along, just register for a place with the form below, or at this page.
You can order Pax online from Waterstones here – and here’s an NPR interview with Pennypacker about the book:
We’ll post some discussion points for the book a little closer to the date – we hope you can join us!
July 29, 2016
Work for Nosy Crow: we’re hiring a Production Assistant and an Operations Co-ordinator
Our Operations team is expanding, and so we now have two new positions we need to fill.
We’re looking for an Operations Co-ordinator
You’ll be responsible for the logistics of our titles – from factory floor to final warehouse and customer delivery – and work closely with our Sales team to ensure any special fulfilment requirements are met.
You’ll be the first point of contact for our Australian distributor, supplying material, communicating schedules, and processing all incoming orders.
You’ll also be responsible for a whole range of other tasks – the role is varied!
You’ll be calm, can-do and above all organised with excellent Excel and strong numeracy. Ideally we’d like you to have some experience of providing administrative support, it doesn’t necessarily have to be in children’s publishing, but it is important to us that you have a strong interest in what we do. You’ll have the right to live and work in the UK.
You can find out more about the role here.
We’re looking for a Production Assistant
You’ll assist the Production team in the production of our full-colour and black and white books and assist them in the processing, circulation and approval of material and in communicating with our suppliers.
Over time we’ll expect you to take on more responsibility for production of the mono list and reprints of some full-colour titles.
You’ll work closely with the Rights team and their customers to ensure that co-editions run smoothly and schedules are met.
As a member of the wider Nosy Crow assistant team you’ll also provide general office support – including but not limited to answering the phone, processing post, arranging couriers etc.
You should have excellent organisation skills, strong numeracy skills and a keen eye for detail. You’ll be enthusiastic, thorough and hard-working and keen to work in publishing and on children’s books. We don’t expect you to have previous experience, but some knowledge of the book production process would be advantageous. You’ll have the right to live and work in the UK.
You can find out more about the role here.
Both of these roles are full-time and based in our crowded, but lively office in Borough.
To apply for either position, please send your CV and a covering letter to Imogen Blundell (imogen [at] nosycrow [dot] com). The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 14th August, and first interviews will take place on 23rd and 25th August.
July 28, 2016
Book your ticket for the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon, with Sam Usher
There are only a few tickets left for our upcoming Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon – the latest instalment in our new programme of evening events, dedicated to celebrating the importance of illustration, and featuring the incredible Sam Usher, the highly-acclaimed illustrator of Refuge, written by Anne Booth.
The Salon will be taking place on Monday 17th October, at The Book Club in Shoreditch. Doors will open at 6.30pm for drinks and conversation, and the main event will begin at 7.00pm. After an interview with Sam, there’ll be a Q&A with the audience, followed by a book signing and drinks.
Booking in advance is essential – you can book your place with the form below, or at this page. 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.
You’ll also be able to buy a copy of Refuge on the night itself.
If you don’t want to miss out on any of our future salon events, sign up to our mailing list below. We hope to see you there!
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July 27, 2016
Listen to Steven Lenton on Down the Rabbit Hole
On Monday we wrote about this week’s episode of Down the Rabbit Hole – featuring special guest Steven Lenton, illustrator of the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam picture book series.
And if you missed the episode, you can listen to it now on catch-up! Here it is:
Down the Rabbit Hole airs monthly on Resonance FM, 104.4FM, and online here. You can find an archive of previous shows here, and you can find out more about the show at the Down the Rabbit Hole website and Twitter account.
Here’s a look inside the latest fantastic Shifty and Sam picture book, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Diamond Chase – out now:
And here’s our animated trailer for the book:
July 26, 2016
Take a look inside Nothing Can Frighten a Bear!
This September we’re publishing a wonderful picture book by a brand new author-illustrator pairing: Nothing Can Frighten a Bear, written by Elizabeth Dale and illustrated by Paula Metcalf. This is an absolutely FANTASTIC book: beautifully illustrated, with an incredible rhyming text, and a gentle, reassuring message that’s perfect for young children. And today you can take a look inside the book for the very first time.
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 bedtime story is full of comic surprises and gentle reassurance. After all, the things that go bump in the night are never as scary as you might think!
Here’s a first look inside the book:
Nothing Can Frighten a Bear will be in shops in September – 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 with the form below.
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July 25, 2016
Tune in to Down the Rabbit Hole this week – with special guest Steven Lenton!
Down the Rabbit Hole returns to the airwaves tomorrow – the only radio programme dedicated entirely to children’s books, with a trio of unparalleled experts in its hosts, Katherine Woodfine, Melissa Cox, and Louise Lamont. And tomorrow’s episode will be especially exciting: one of its special guests will be Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam illustrator Steven Lenton!
You can listen to Down the Rabbit Hole at 5pm tomorrow on Resonance FM, 104.4FM, or online here – and you can find an archive of previous shows here. And you can find out more about the show at the Down the Rabbit Hole website and Twitter account.
Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow!
Here’s a look inside the latest fantastic Shifty and Sam picture book, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Diamond Chase – out now:
And here’s our animated trailer for the book:
July 22, 2016
Fond Farewells
To my fellow Crows, you are all brilliant and super talented, it’s been a pleasure to have work with everyone of you.
To the wonderful authors and illustrators who’ve trusted me to design their amazing books, it’s been an honour.
Thank you for imagining so many wonderful characters: baker dogs, dogs with suitcases, magical Grannys, witchy school teachers, messy pirates, bears on chairs, dinosaurs in diggers, lots of gorgeous princesses – and not forgetting my favourite toddlers, Pip and Posy. Too many to mention, but I’ll miss them just as much as their creators.
And a final thank you to Kate, Adrian and Camilla -thank you for the most incredible adventure, it’s been the most fantastic journey.
Love Steph x
P.S. And thanks for the lovely leaving gifts in the photo!
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