Nosy Crow's Blog, page 137

Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon has been shortlisted for a Laugh Out Loud Book Award!

The shortlists for the inaugural Laugh Out Loud Book Awards (Lollies) have been revealed, and we are absolutely thrilled that Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon, written by Blue Peter Best Book Award-winning author Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Gemma Correll, has been recognised in the 9-13 category!

The awards were established last year to celebrate funny books for children – and we are so pleased for Pamela, Gemma, and the brilliant Petunia Perry!

Petunia Perry has decided to write her memoirs. She wants the world to know what it’s like to start secondary school with a best friend who stages one-person flash mobs in the canteen, a mother who over-shares at parents’ evenings and an unwelcome suitor who draws pictures of her as a unicorn. But it’s when she decides to start a band with a spoon-player and a lead-singer who’s a cat that things take a turn for the truly crazy…

This is an absolutely hilarious novel about how to fit in when you don’t want to conform – you can take a look inside below:

Buy the book.

Schools can now vote for the books they’d like to win – voting closes on 10th June! You can find out more on the Lollies website, here.

Congratulations, Pamela and Gemma – and good luck!

 

Come and work for Nosy Crow: we’re looking for a designer to join our team

Lovely Sophie Gordon is flying the nest after two years to be a designer at Bloomsbury. We’ve hugely enjoyed having her here, and we wish her the very best of luck in her new role. We’ll miss her.

So now we are on a quest, and we’re still growing (we’re publishing nearly 100 books this year), so rather than replace Sophie directly (Sophie’s an assistant designer), we have decided that we need someone who can work really independently as we’re working on so many new projects, so we have decided we need a designer.

We would like 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 the 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 (including picture books, novelty books, activity books and the exciting new non-fiction that we are working on for our partnerships with the  National Trust and The British Museum) 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 Stephanie Amster via email (stephanie@nosycrow.com) by midnight on 26 February 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.

The Nosy Crow Fifth Birthday Party

This week we celebrated our fifth birthday with a party for authors, illustrators, agents, librarians, booksellers, reviewers, and other friends of Nosy Crow – and here’s a few photos from the evening!

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright author Christopher Edge, Nosy Crow’s Head of Fiction Kirsty Stansfield, and Albie Bright cover illustrator Matt Saunders

Illustrator Elissa Elwick and The Grunts series author Philip Ardagh

Author Greg Gormley, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam illustrator Steven Lenton, and Hush-A-Bye Bunny illustrator Holly Surplice

Illustrator Jamie Littler, Nosy Crow’s Managing Director Kate Wilson, and My Best Friend and other Enemies author Catherine Wilkins

Refuge author Anne Booth and illustrator Sam Usher

The Big Monster Snoreybook author-illustrator Leigh Hodgkinson, Nosy Crow’s Editorial Director Camilla Reid, and Bizzy Bear illustrator Benji Davies

Moonlight School series author Simon Puttock and agent Jane Willis

Journalist Anna James, festival director Jane Churchill, and literary scouts Helen Boyle and Sylvie Zannier-Betts

Nosy Crow’s Senior Designer Zoe Bennett, Dave’s Cave author-illustrator Frann Preston-Gannon, Junior Designer Chloe Forbes, and Design Assistant Sophie Gordon

Author Karen McCombie and literary scout Natasha Farrant

Dear Scarlett author Fleur Hitchcock, Kirsty Stansfield, literary agent Kate Shaw, and My Brother is a Superhero author David Solomons

Illustrator Sarah McIntyre and Poles Apart author Jeanne Willis

Literary agent Sophie Hicks, Catherine Wilkins, Kate Wilson, Captain Beastlie’s Pirate Party author Lucy Coats, and Witchworld series author Emma Fischel

Zoe Bennett, Benji Davies, and Nosy Crow Rights Manager Ola Gotkowska

Pip and Posy series illustrator Axel Scheffler drawing on our birthday wall

The party in full swing!

Thank you very much to everyone who made it such a special night – here’s to the next five years!

It’s February Publication Day at Nosy Crow!

It’s publication day for our February books! As we all stumble around the office today with our heads pounding from our 5th birthday party last night (blog post with embarrassing dancing pictures to follow), this is a reminder of what gets us out of bed in the morning: publishing fantastic children’s books! We have a wide range of novelty, activity, picture book and fiction titles out today, from debut picture books like Hrefna Bragadottir’s beautiful Baxter’s Book, to sequels in well-established and best-selling series, such as Attack of the Demon Dinner Ladies, written by Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Thomas Flintham.

First up today are the first two titles in Axel Scheffler’s new Sound-Button Story books, Higgly Hen and Gobbly Goat! These charming little board books have big sound buttons featuring noisy farmyard sounds. Little fingers will just love pushing the sound button to hear Higgly’s clucking or Gobbly’s bleating on every page. And mercifully, for parents, press the button once to start the sound, press it again to stop it!

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Buy the book online here.

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Buy the book online here.

Also publishing today is Baxter’s Book, the brilliant debut from Hrefna Bragadottir. This is a charming book about books, featuring the adorable (and unusual) Baxter, who dreams of starring in a book, but soon discovers it isn’t quite as simple as it seems… Brimming with heart and humour, this is a remarkable picture book debut.

Take a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

Also out today is Hush-a-Bye Bunny, by Holly Surplice. It’s time for Bunny to go to bed in this reassuring night-time story from the creator of Guinea Pig Party. With a sweet, rhyming text and delightful illustrations, Hush-a-Bye Bunny is perfect for comforting sleepy little bunnies who don’t like being left alone when it’s time to turn out the light.

Take a look inside:

Buy the book online here.

Old Macdonald’s Things that Go is also out today. This brilliant new take on the old nursery rhyme classic is 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:

Buy the book online here.

Also publishing today is the hilarious Attack of the Demon Dinner Ladies, written by Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Thomas Flintham.

Izzy and her friends are suspicious. School dinners have changed for the worse and the dinner ladies are wearing hats and smiling creepily. Why are seagulls having around and WHAT’S in the new pie?! But it’s when Maisie disappears that they KNOW. The dinner ladies are evil and they’re going to ATTACK! This is the fourth title in this laugh-out-loud, award-winning series.

Take a look inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

It’s also publication day for the next title in The Secret Rescuers series, The Baby Firebird, written by Paula Harrison and illustrated by Sophy Williams. In a magical land far far away it’s up to a small group of secret rescuers to keep magical creatures safe from the grasp of the evil Sir Fitzroy and to keep passing on the secret challenge to new girls – keeping the adventures going! Set in a fantasy world populated by dragons, unicorns, storm wolves and firebirds, this brilliant series, by the author of The Rescue Princesses, is packed with magical adventures and baby creatures in peril.

Here’s a peek inside the book:

Buy the book online here.

And finally, we are very pleased to be publishing today the first title in a brand new National Trust series of beautiful and innovative colouring books. The Colouring Book of Cards and Envelopes: Nature includes twenty-four gorgeous designs by Rebecca Jones, filled with woodland animals, flowers, butterflies and birds, and is perfect for all ages to decorate and send to family and friends. With enough blank space inside for a message, envelopes to customize, and cute stickers to seal your card – this is the complete creative package!

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Buy the book online here.

Congratulations to all of today’s authors and illustrators!

My Brother is a Superhero has been longlisted for the Branford Boase award!

The longlist for the Branford Boase award has just been announced, and we are absolutely thrilled to see that it includes My Brother is a Superhero, the debut children’s novel by David Solomons!

The Branford Boase award is given annually to to reward the most promising new writers and their editors, as well as to reward excellence in writing and in publishing. It’s the only award that recognises a book’s editor in this way, and alongside David Solomons, My Brother is a Superhero’s editor, Kirsty Stansfield, is also shortlisted.

We are INCREDIBLY pleased and proud for David, Kirsty, and the book – My Brother is a Superhero is an absolutely amazing story: super-exciting, laugh-out-loud funny, and with enough heart to fill an entire galaxy.

If you’ve not discovered this fantastic story yet, here’s a look inside the book:

You can buy My Brother is a Superhero directly from us here. The Branford Boase shortlist will be announced in May, and the overall winner in July – congratulations, David and Kirsty, and good luck!

Come and meet us: we’re holding an illustrator surgery at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair

Are you coming to this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair? Are you an illustrator? Would you like to meet us?

We’re holding illustrator surgeries on Tuesday, April 5 from 3.30-4.30pm and on Wednesday, April 6 from 12.00-1.00pm at the Nosy Crow stand (25 B 106) where you’ll be able to meet our editorial and design team, show us your portfolio, and receive some feedback on your work. We have back-to-back rights-selling appointments for the rest of the fair – if you’d like to meet us, those are the times you’ll be able to do so.

You might find this blogpost from two years ago interesting – advice for illustrators visiting the Bologna Children’s Book Fair from our Editorial Director, Head of Design, and Head of Picture Books.

And if you’d like to find out about other Nosy Crow books, events, and news, you can sign up to our newsletter below, and we’ll make sure you don’t miss a thing.

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We hope to see you at the fair – let us know on Twitter to @NosyCrowBooks if you’ll be there!

A sweet treat on Nosy Crow’s 5th Birthday

For the occasion of our 5th birthday and to say a personal thank you to bookshops and booksellers for their support of Nosy Crow in every one of the last five years, this week we’ve been preparing special parcels for bookshops!

Each one contains a bounty of Nosy Crow goodies but to truly show our soft centres when it comes to booksellers, they also contain something known to melt bookseller’s hearts…chocolates!

To help us to show our affection through confectionery, choc-affair.com raised the bar to create these Nosy Crow branded chocolates!

And there’s been a great response from Booksellers on Twitter already:

What an ace lunchtime browsing @NosyCrowBooks 2016 catalogue! Can’t wait to start ordering up on these! Thank you! pic.twitter.com/vrAgoASzbf

— Jordan Taylor- Jones (@JordTaylorJones) February 1, 2016

Thanks @NosyCrow for this lovely catalogue pack! Though it’s your birthday really. We should get you something! :) pic.twitter.com/6vpsq8nRO0

— WaterstonesL’boro (@WaterstonesLou) February 1, 2016

Many thanks to Choc Affair for all of their hard work!

Listen to The Many Worlds of Albie Bright author Christopher Edge on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row

Yesterday we blogged about The Many Worlds of Albie Bright author Christopher Edge’s impending appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row programme – and if you missed the live broadcast, you can catch up on the episode online now!

Here’s a link to listen to yesterday’s episode, featuring Chris’s interview with Samira Ahmed.

If you’ve not yet discovered The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, you can read the opening chapter of the book below.

When Albie’s mum dies, it’s natural he should wonder where she’s gone. His parents are both scientists and they usually have all the answers. Dad mutters something about Albie’s mum being alive and with them in a parallel universe. So Albie finds a box, his mum’s computer and a rotting banana, and sends himself through time and space to find her…

This is a truly special book with real heart and adventure: funny and wonderfully written, and perfect for 9+ readers (and non-readers) interested in science – an extraordinary novel for anyone who’s ever been curious..

You can buy special signed copies of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright exclusively from Nosy Crow, here.

 

The Many Worlds of Albie Bright author Christopher Edge will be on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row tonight!

We’ve been absolutely thrilled by the response so far to The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, the incredible new book by Christopher Edge, author of the Twelve Minutes to Midnight trilogy.

Piers Torday, author of The Last Wild, called The Many Worlds of Albie Bright “hilarious and full of heart”. The Times named it their children’s book of the week, writing: “In the world of children’s books, it’s the equivalent of proving the earth is round. 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.” And there’s been a FANTASTIC response to the book from bloggers, booksellers and librarians.

And tonight you can hear Christopher Edge discussing the book – and the story behind it – on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row programme! Chris will be discussing children’s fiction, quantum physics and The Many Worlds of Albie Bright with Samira Ahmed – you can listen in from 7.15pm.

If you’ve not discovered The Many Worlds of Albie Bright yet, here’s a look inside the book:

And you can also buy exclusive signed copies of the book directly from the Nosy Crow website! Buy the book here.

Here’s an amazing soundtrack for Albie Bright, created by Chris and available to stream through Spotify – and here’s a great blogpost explaining the science behind the book.

Listen in to Front Row on Radio4 later on tonight here.

Win copies of Nosy Crow’s February books!

It’s that time again when we start looking forward to the fantastic new crop of books publishing next month and, once again, we’re giving you the chance to win one of our brand new titles! Our February 2016 list really does have something for everyone: lovely little farmyard sound books from Axel Scheffler for younger readers, beautiful picture books about bunnies, books or even combine harvesters, and the much-anticipated next titles in two fantastic fiction series. As always, to celebrate publication day, we’ll be giving away copies of all of the books publishing next month. If you’re a resident of the UK or Ireland, then you could win any of the books below by subscribing to our Books Newsletter and sending us an email with the book you’d like to win!

 

First up next month are the first two titles in Axel Scheffler’s new Sound-Button Story books, Higgly Hen and Gobbly Goat! In Gobbly Goat, Gobbly is ready for lunch! But what can he find that’s yummy to munch? Join Gobbly in the farmyard on his quest to find a tasty morsel to eat. In Higgly Hen, Higgly has lost her chicks! Oh dear, wherever can they be? Follow Higgly around the farmyard as she searches for her missing chicks. Little fingers will just love pushing the big sound button to hear Higgly’s clucking or Gobbly’s bleating on every page.

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Also out next month is Hush-a-Bye Bunny, by Holly Surplice, author and illustrator of the extremely cute Guinea Pig Party. It’s time for Bunny to go to bed, but he doesn’t want to leave his mummy and when he gets all tearful, Mummy Bunny knows just the rock-a-bye lullaby to comfort her little one. Hush-a-Bye Bunny is perfect for comforting sleepy little bunnies who don’t like being left alone when it’s time to turn out the light.

Take a look inside:

Also up for grabs is Baxter’s Book, the fantastic debut from Hrefna Bragadottir.

Baxter LOVES books! He likes stories about scary wolves, cuddly bears and cute rabbits. If only he could be in a book, too! But when Baxter auditions to star in a book, the judges cut his dream short – what a curious creature, they cry! Poor Baxter! He knows he can’t be like scary Wolf, cuddly Bear and cute Rabbit, and decides he doesn’t want to be in a book anymore. But wait . . . what’s that on the bookshelf? Could it be Baxter’s very own book?

We are very proud to be publishing this wonderful debut book by a brilliant new picture book talent!

Take a look inside the book:

You could also win a copy 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, this beautiful picture book is perfect for anyone who loves farmyard animals AND vehicles!

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.

Here’s a look inside the book:

February also brings with it a bumper crop of great fiction titles. You could win the next title in The Secret Rescuers series, The Baby Firebird, written by Paula Harrison and illustrated by Sophy Williams. In a magical land far far away it’s up to a small group of secret rescuers to keep magical creatures safe from the grasp of the evil Sir Fitzroy and to keep passing on the secret challenge to new girls – keeping the adventures going! This is the third book in this brilliant series about magical mythical creatures and the girls who will do everything in their power to keep them safe.

Here’s a peek inside the book:

Last, but by no means least, is the hilarious Attack of the Demon Dinner Ladies, written by Pamela Butchart and illustrated by Thomas Flintham. Izzy and her friends have never liked school dinners. And they’re getting worse. The dinner ladies are acting strangely. Lollipop man mentions there is a new head dinner lady and calls her “a bit of a legend” (in a bad way) and that she used to be here a long, long time ago and has returned. Izzy and friends wonder if she is the reason for the strange behaviour. They wonder why she has returned. They find out she was fired. They speculate as to why and decide she’s a demon who’s returned to do bad things. Because why wouldn’t she be? This is the fourth book in the Baby Aliens series, and if you haven’t already had a chance to read about Izzy and her friends and their madcap exploits in this award-winning series, then now is your chance!

Take a look inside the book:

If you would like to win any of the books on this list, all you have to do is subscribe to our books newsletter (if you’ve already subscribed you’re still eligible for this competition) and send an email to tom at nosycrow dot com with “Newsletter competition” in the subject line and the title of your chosen book, and your address, in the body of the email. So, if you quite fancy one of the above books (we can only accept one entry per person), why not enter the draw – we’ll pick the winners next week. Good luck!