Nosy Crow's Blog, page 125

Kick back and enjoy the summer with our August titles!

The hot weather has arrived, and with it comes shiny new deliveries of next month’s publications. There is plenty to keep you chilling, from summery sing-a-longs to demon doughnuts…

All the Crows have been giggling over the next instalment in Axel Scheffler’s zany animal series: this time, it’s Flip Flat Pets. What do you get if you cross a budgerigar with a guinea pig? It’s a budgea pig, of course! And how about a tortoise with a fish? Why, that’s a tortish! A very silly but absolutely engaging book that will charm the whole family. You can pre-order the book here.

If your little one enjoys musical fun, then be sure to check out two new titles in the Sing Along With Me! series. The first, Happy Birthday, makes for a perfect gift: A bright, slider board book, which bursts with energy and cheering illustrations. With five slider mechanisms and both an instrumental and vocal version of the Happy Birthday song – simply scan the QR codeon the first page for little ones to listen and sing along! Click here to get a copy.

Hey Diddle Diddle will also be joining Yu-hsuan Huang‘s gorgeous series. The classic folk tune is brought to life with sturdy sliders and delightful surprises, its night-time setting perfectly soothing for bedtime. Buy the book here.

Love dinosaurs? Love them a LOT? Then Penny Dale‘s action-packed creatures are sure to be a hit! Smaller hands will be kept busy with our new board book three-pack, Dinosaurs on the Go! A compact summer holiday essential that offer hours of fun and great value for money. Enjoy sturdy editions of Dinosaur Dig, Dinosaur Zoom and Dinosaur Rescue – or give them as a perfectly-packaged gift.

Feeling peckish? Well, beware of what innocent snacks are capable of… It’s another day in Food Town and Alison McNutty, peanut butter sandwich and rookie reporter, needs a big break. So, when news comes in of a monster doughnut on the rampage, she’s straight on the case. But will she ever defeat the ravenous doughnut and save all food kind? The Doughnut of Doom is a thrilling and visually stunning effort from the acclaimed Elys Dolan. Have a look below, and grab yourself a slice of the action here:

We gave you a sneak preview here of the gorgeous artwork in We Love Dinosaurs, but happily now there’s no need to snoop about… the beautiful finished book has arrived! Whether they’re big, small, fast, slow, stripy, spotty or anything in-between, there’s just so much to love about dinosaurs! With a rhythmic rhyming text, bright watercolour illustrations, and lots of loveable dinosaurs, this joyful read is perfect for little dinosaur experts. Lucy Volpin has created something truly special. Don’t miss out – here’s how to get a copy. Here’s a preview:

New in paperback, a lease of life has been given to Old MacDonald’s Things That Go, from the brilliant collaboration that is Jane Clarke and 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. You can sing along too by scanning the QR code – or listen as you read! Take a look, and buy the book:

If you loved The Invincibles last time, you’ll be kept entertained all summer with the next instalment: The Hamster Rescue. Freddie Spoon is having a birthday party for the FIRST TIME EVER. Nell can’t wait to go, until she realises that she’s also supposed to be going to super-popular Lucy Perkins’s party on the very same afternoon! Disaster! But luckily Nell is looking after Hamish the school hamster, and Hamish is a very smart hamster. He makes a surprise appearance at Lucy’s snooty party and saves the day, then they all have LOADS OF CAKE! Hooray! Here’s how to get a copy. Have a read of the first few chapters:

Witchen Week is upon us. Dive into Emma Fischel‘s sensational Witchwild, illustrated by the incomparable Chris Riddell. Flo loves to go swimming in the bright blue seas around Kronebay. But dark secrets lurk beneath the surface, 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? Have a look at the opening chapters, and click here to get a copy:

Finally we have the hilarious and heart-warming Pugly back again – only this time, he’s on the hunt for a criminal! From Blue Peter Award-winning Pamela Butchart comes Pugly Solves a Crime: 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! You can get your paws on the adventure here. For starters, here’s what he’s been up to:

A mammoth month, catering for just about every age group and interest – be sure to snap up some copies by following the links or by asking in your local bookshop. Happy holiday reading!

A Q&A with My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord author David Solomons!

We had David Solomons – author of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winning My Brother is a Superhero and its newly-released sequel, My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord – in the office last week, and decided to ask him a few questions – about his new book, his literary inspirations, his favourite superheroes (and favourite superpowers…), the all-important Batman or Superman question, and more. And you can see his answers below!

What’s your new book about?

What makes a great superhero story?

Who’s your literary hero?

What superpower would you choose?

What’s your kryptonite?

Did you read comics as a child?

Superman or Batman?

What’s been the best thing about being published?

What’s the most underrated superpower?

If you haven’t yet discovered My Gym Teacher is an Alien Overlord, here’s a look inside the book:

You can find out more about the book here – and you can buy it online here.

 

Take a look inside The Doughnut of Doom by Elys Dolan!

Next month we are INCREDIBLY pleased to be publishing 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.

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. And today, you can take a a very first look inside The Doughnut of Doom!

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…!

Here’s an early look inside the book: 

The Doughnut of Doom will be in shops next month – you can pre-order the book online 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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Introducing Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Pets!

Next month we are publishing a book that I absolutely love: Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Pets, illustrated (funnily enough) by Axel Scheffler. Finished copies have recently arrived in the office, and they look GLORIOUS.

The runaway success of the Flip Flap series continues with Flip Flap Pets – more crazy creatures, made-up animal names and funny rhymes combine in an interactive split-page format. 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!

Here are just a few of the possible combinations that you can make:

Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Pets will be in shops from August 4th – you can find out more about the book, and pre-order it online, here. And if you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up our books newsletter with the form below.

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Today’s the last day to apply for a designer role at Nosy Crow

We’re looking for a designer to join our team at Nosy Crow, and today’s the last day to apply for the role – the period for application ends at midnight today.

We want to find someone hard-working, creative, clever and good at communicating, who’s got great taste in illustration and design (or, at least, taste that matches and complements ours!) and a strong interest in and understanding of visual storytelling of all kinds. They also need to be willing to muck in with goodwill: the team is phenomenally busy.

This is a full-time role and the successful applicant will be based in our crowded but lively office in Borough (near London Bridge, Borough and Southwark tube stations, and 15 minutes’ walk from Waterloo).

Candidates will have a minimum of 3 years’ experience in graphic design, probably exclusively in children’s publishing. Proficiency in Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator programmes, excellent proven book design and typographic skills, and a love of children’s book illustration are essential, along with good written and spoken communication skills, and the ability to work to a deadline.

The successful candidate will design and manage full-colour illustrated book projects (mainly the exciting new non-fiction and activity books that we are creating for our partnerships with the National Trust and The British Museum as well as those we will published under our own imprint) from initial layouts all the way through to production, supporting the illustrator or the author/illustrator throughout the creative process.

The designer will report to the Head of Design but will work closely with other members of the Nosy Crow team, particularly the editorial staff, to produce child-focused, parent-friendly, high-quality books.

If you think this sounds like you, and you would like to apply for the role, please send a CV and application letter, along with digital samples of your design work, to Kate Wilson via email (kate@nosycrow.com) by midnight on 15 July on 2016. If you have a bit more or a bit less experience than we are asking for (but a minimum of a year of hands-on illustrated children’s book design experience) then do still apply: it’s more important, in the end, for you to be the right fit than that you have exactly the right level of experience, and we can be flexible about the role level for the right person.

Join us for the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon, with special guest Sam Usher

We’re enormously pleased to announce the next edition of the Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon, our programme of quarterly evening events celebrating the art of illustration – and we’re absolutely thrilled that our next guest will be none other than Sam Usher, the highly-acclaimed illustrator of Refuge, written by Anne Booth.

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.

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

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!

Win copies of our The Three Little Pigs and Cinderella apps!

Last week 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 the week – good luck!

Take a first look inside Witchwild!

Next month we’re incredibly excited to be publishing Witchwild, by Emma Fischel – the third book in a bewitching series that delivers an ingeniously imaginative twist on witch fiction. The first finished copies of the book have just arrived in the Crow’s Nest – and they look incredible!

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.

And today you can take a look inside Witchwild for the first time! Here are the opening three chapters of the book:

You can pre-order Witchwild here – and if you’d like to hear about all of our new and upcoming books, and find out how to win copies, you can sign up to our books mailing list here, or with the form below.

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The next Nosy Crow Reading Group is almost here – we’re discussing The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell

The Nosy Crow Reading Group is back next week – we’ll be discussing The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence, the debut novel by Jennifer Bell.

And if you’re interested in coming along, there are just a couple of places remaining!

We’ll be meeting on Wednesday, July 20th 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).

As usual, we have a few questions prepared for discussion – here’s some of what we might talk about on the evening:

Who do you think this book is “for”?
How convincingly do you think Bell has created the world of Lundinor?
What did you make of Ivy and Seb as the book’s protagonists?

 

If you’d like to come along, just register for a place with the form below, or at this page – if the reading group becomes fully booked, you can add your name to our waiting list, and we’ll notify you if a place opens up.

You can order The Uncommoners: The Crooked Sixpence online from Waterstones here – and here’s the book’s trailer:

We hope to see you there!

Sweet Pizza has been longlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize!

The longlist for the 2016 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize has been announced today, and we are incredibly proud that Sweet Pizza, the wonderful new book by Cowgirl author G. R. Gemin, has been recognised!

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.

Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize judge Kate Saunders said of the book: “The warmth and charm of ‘Sweet Pizza’ are quite extraordinary; though there are some very moving moments, it is mainly a joyous and eccentric comedy.”

Joe’s family run the local cafe in Bryn Mawr. It’s seen better days and Joe’s mam wants to sell it. But it was started before the war by Joe’s Italian great-grandfather, and he can’t bear to see it shut. And Joe loves his Italian heritage: the language, the opera, the lasagne! As Joe looks down the depressing High Street, he’s determined to bring this diverse town together through good food and fine times! He vows to save the family business, and find out more about his past at the same time….

Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

You can read more about the prize, and find the full longlist, here – the shortlist will be announced in October, and the overall winner will be revealed in November.

Congratulations, Giancarlo, and good luck!