Nosy Crow's Blog, page 145

Nosy Crow partners with the British Museum

The British Museum’s Chris Michaels and Nosy Crow’s Kate Wilson

We are hugely proud.

Last week, we were speaking about our partnership with the National Trust at The Bookseller Children’s Conference.

This week we are announcing that we have a partnership with the British Museum.

We’re proud to be associated with these two amazing, well-loved institutions and their work, and we’re proud that we won the pitches: it’s that a huge coup for us as an independent, smallish publisher with not quite five years’ of publishing.

We’ll be working with the British Museum in an exclusive partnership to create a broad range of children’s books to sell to the UK trade and beyond, launching in 2017.

The British Museum is “a museum of the world, for the world”. It is the UK’s leading visitor attraction and the second most visited museum in the world.

The books, which will be published with joint Nosy Crow/British Museum branding, will make history and art accessible to children aged 0 to 12. They will draw on the British Museum’s internationally recognized brand, its unparalleled collection of objects and its world-class expertise. Created in consultation with British Museum experts, the books will range from board books for toddlers with photographs of beautiful objects from around the world, to highly illustrated activity, adventure fiction and reference books for older children.

The books will have strong international appeal, given the breadth of the British Museum’s collection. Nosy Crow will have world rights in the books, and will be selling them internationally, both on an export and on a co-edition basis, without British Museum branding, if necessary.

Nosy Crow managing director and founder Kate Wilson said, “Working with the British Museum is an enormous privilege and we’re hugely proud of having secured this partnership. It’s also an exceptional responsibility: we want to make books that are beautiful, fun and that, above all, engage children of different ages, providing a context for historical objects and art around the world from Egyptian mummies to Mexican masks and Roman mosaics. Launching a year after our first books created in partnership with the National Trust, this is a second, completely different, but again hugely well-known and well-loved brand to be associated with.”

Chris Michaels, Head of Digital and Publishing, British Museum said, “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Nosy Crow. Nosy Crow are a trusted brand with an established reputation for producing exciting, dynamic and child-focused publications. With them we believe we can produce creative, informative and fun books of the highest quality – to help children meaningfully engage with the British Museum’s unparalleled collection, and to encourage them to explore world history.”

And now, the hard work begins.

Of course, we have a good idea of the kind of books we want to do, but we’d be interested to know if you have any thoughts about it. Do email hello@nosycrow.com with BRITISH MUSEUM PARTNERSHIP in the subject line.

Join us for the next Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon, with special guest Axel Scheffler

After a fantastic launch event last month, we’re enormously pleased to announce the second edition of the Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon, our new programme of quarterly evening events celebrating the art of illustration.

Once again, our host and salonnière for the evening will be Nosy Crow’s founder and managing director, Kate Wilson. And we’re absolutely THRILLED that our next guest will be none other than Axel Scheffler, best-selling illustrator of modern picture book classics including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Stick Man, and A Squash and a Squeeze, as well as Nosy Crow’s Pip and Posy series, Flip Flap books, and The Grunts series.

We’ll be returning to The Book Club, in Shoreditch, for Axel’s Salon, on the evening of Monday 11th January. After an interview with Kate 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 any of Axel’s books by buying one now with your ticket! General admission costs just £7. £11 will include entry to the salon, PLUS a signed paperback copy of any Pip and Posy book, or for £13 you can get either a signed hardback copy of any Pip and Posy book, or a signed Flip Flap board book. You’ll also be able to buy copies of any of Axel’s books on the night itself.

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

Booking is essential – get your ticket today!

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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Books are my Bag!

This week sees the launch of Books are my Bag – a nationwide campaign to celebrate bookshops. Now in its third year, this will be the biggest EVER campaign for bookshops – launching on Thursday and continuing all the way through to Christmas.

And we are very proud to be supporting the campaign and championing bookshops!

Weasels, Nuts in Space, and The Mystery of the Haunted Farm creator Elys Dolan will be illustrating a window for Books are my Bag at Red Lion Books on Saturday – and we’ve got some special Weasels prizes to give away to celebrate the campaign.

Books are my Bag are asking for your Desert Island Reads on Twitter and Facebook – tweet us yours to @NosyCrowBooks with the #BAMB hashtag, and we’ll give some highly exclusive Weasels mugs to our favourites!

You can find your local bookshop on the Books are my Bag website, here.

 

Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Jungle receives an Editor’s Choice Award

We were incredibly pleased to learn recently that Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Jungle, the third app in the hugely popular, award-winning Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap… series, has received an Editor’s Choice Award from Children’s Technology Review!

In their review, Children’s Technology Review write of Flip Flap Jungle:

“This is another excellent bite-sized starter app that is also a good language enrichment experience. The fonts and text highlighting also make it a noteworthy reading experience.”

You can read the full review here.

Combining rich reading, audio and illustration content into a single activity, Flip Flap Jungle is a deceptively simple and brilliant idea that will keep children playing and reading. Swipe any part of the screen to create 121 different combinations of animal halves, rhymes and silly, hybrid animal names – all read aloud and set to jungle music. Featuring brand new poems and animal artwork from Axel, a user-friendly interface that’s perfect for very young children, and text highlighting to support emerging and early readers, this app is a wonderful reading experience – and unbeatable value at only 79p/ 99¢ on the App Store.

Here’s a preview of the app:

New books from Nosy Crow: our October titles are out today

It’s our October publication day! We’ve got some fantastically winter-y and Christmas-y new books out today – so if you’re looking for Christmas gift inspiration, look no further! Here’s what you can find in shops today:

It’s publication day for two new books in Benji Davies‘ fantastic Bizzy Bear board book series – Christmas Helper and Space Rocket. These books are PERFECT for toddlers: Benji’s illustrations are bright, colourful and friendly, there’s lots for toddlers to get involved with in every book, and the sturdy mechanisms and chunky sliders will withstand the roughest treatment!

In Christmas Helper, Bizzy Bear has come to help Father Christmas get ready for a very special day:

Buy the book.

And in Space Rocket, you can join in the countdown and help Bizzy Bear’s rocket zoom into space!

Buy the book.

We’re launching a fantastic new novelty series this month – the Listen to the… sound books, illustrated by Marion Billet. Adults and children alike will be enchanted by these charming board books which are distinguished by the exceptional quality of the sounds that bring every picture to life. Aimed at the very young, the books have a button on every spread which triggers one of six sounds that introduce a character or object. They’re incredibly simple but utterly seductive, purely because the sounds themselves are so beautiful. A delightful and compelling series that everyone in the family will enjoy reading again and again. The first two books in the series are Listen to the Farm and Listen to the Music:

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Buy the book.

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Buy the book.

Violet Rose and the Very Snowy Winter by Jannie Ho is out today – the second book in the brilliant Violet Rose activity series. When Mia has an accident in the snow, Violet accompanies her to the hospital. Happily, Mia is soon on the mend, but Violet notices that the hospital is looking a little drab – perhaps it could do with some decorations to make it look more festive? Back at home, she and her friends get to work on garlands and cards, and they even make gifts for the hospital staff and patients! As Christmas approaches, life in Sunnyville becomes even busier – there’s the shopping to do, a concert to attend, and a feast to prepare. But disaster strikes when Sprinkles and Twinkles get lost in the snow – can Violet and her friends rescue them in time for Christmas?

A delightful, lavishly produced title, designed to get children reading, to inspire imaginative play and to build confidence in craft. Packed with activities, and with more printables on the companion website, this title represents real value for money. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

It’s publication day for Christmas for Greta and Gracie: a brand new picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Yasmeen Ismail. Greta and Gracie are sisters – Greta is chatty while Gracie is quiet and it’s all fine until, one day, everything changes. It’s nearly Christmas and together the sisters decorate the tree, shop for presents and even try a spot of ice-skating! But Greta, of course, always knows best – poor Gracie can’t get a word in edgeways. Then on Christmas Eve, while Greta is quietly sleeping, Gracie hears a funny noise . . . whatever could it be? She creeps downstairs to investigate, and the next morning her very special revelation leaves chitty chatty Greta lost for words! Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

And Poles Apart, written by Jeanne Willis, and illustrated by Jarvis, is also out today – another truly BRILLIANT new picture book. As everyone knows, penguins are only found at the South Pole. At least, they were until the Pilchard-Brown penguin family get lost on their way to a picnic and end up at the North Pole! Luckily, Mr White, an enormous polar bear, is on hand to help, and so begins a global adventure as he leads the Pilchard-Browns all the way home. Here are the opening spreads:

Buy the book.

The first stunning paperback edition of Snow Bunny’s Christmas Gift, illustrated by Rebecca Harry, is out today. Little Snow Bunny loves nothing better than playing with her friends in the wintry forest. Every day holds the promise of adventure for Snow Bunny, Fox, Bear and Mouse. But one particularly cold day, no-one wants to play and Snow Bunny is left all alone. Whatever will she do? With a little luck and a lot of imagination, she makes cosy winter gifts for all her friends, just in time for Christmas Eve. Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

It’s publication day for Hubble Bubble: The Wacky Winter Wonderland, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Joe Berger – three more stories of magical mayhem from the creators of the BRILLIANT Hubble Bubble picture book and illustrated fiction series. Find out what happens when a naughty toddler waves Granny’s wand in a posh shop. Can Granny build a raft that doesn’t sink? And enjoy a visit to Winter Wonderland with some surprises in store… Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

You can find The Moon-Faced Ghoul Thing, written by Barry Hutchison and illustrated by Chris Mould, in shops now – the third volume in the brilliant Benjamin Blank series. It’s the Feast of Scarrabus, and Ben and his friends are out, stalking the dark streets, armed only with bags of sweets. But Ben doesn’t play by the rules, and soon the Moon-Faced Ghoul-Thing is after him, dragging him into a dark realm from which there’s no return… Or is there? Here’s a look inside:

Buy the book.

We’ve published Dark Tree Shining by Paula Harrison today – the sequel to Red Moon Rising, and the second book in an incredible fantasy series. Laney and her friends have to stop the Shadow Faerie hunting down the missing Myricals, or he will harness the power of the magical objects and rule the faerie world. And then darkness will reign… Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

And finally, it’s publication day for The Secret Rescuers: The Sky Unicorn, written by Paula Harrison and illustrated by Sophy Williams – another fantastic Secret Rescuers adventure. Ava is a dancer with a travelling troupe of entertainers. When Clover, a little unicorn, is trapped by Sir Fitzroy and used to lure the other unicorns into danger, Ava hatches a cunning plan. She and Sophy will disguise themselves and foil Sir Fitzroy’s plot, and the unicorns will be safe! Here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

Congratulations to all of today’s authors and illustrators!

Would you like to be a Nosy Crow app beta tester?

Would you like to try out our new and upcoming apps before anyone else – for free?

Our next brilliant fairy tale app is almost ready, and we’re looking for parents and their children to become beta users to test all our new apps, as well as occasional major updates for our existing apps, before they’re released on the App Store.

In order to be eligible for the beta testing programme, you’ll need an iOS device running some version of iOS 8 or later.

You don’t need to be a tech expert, but ideally you’ll be a keen app user, of children’s apps in particular.

If you’re successfully recruited, all that we ask is that you give us certain feedback on the apps that we send you (whether the app crashed or had bugs, if there were parts that you found difficult to use or unresponsive – that sort of thing). We won’t share any of your personal information with anyone, and you can stop being a tester whenever you’d like.

As well as getting the chance to try new Nosy Crow apps before they’re released, testers will also receive Nosy Crow app goodies as a thank you – like these packs of beautiful Jack and the Beanstalk postcards:

If you’re interested in joining the beta testing programme, sign up to our apps newsletter below – we’ll be inviting all of our subscribers to participate later this week.

We hope you’ll join us in making our apps even better!

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Use Your Imagination is longlisted for a UKLA Book Award!

The longlists for the UKLA Book Awards were announced this morning, and we were absolutely thrilled to see Use Your Imagination, by Nicola O’Byrne, recognised in the 3-6 category!

The UKLA Book Awards are the only awards judged by active classroom teachers, and 77 of them have been selected from schools in Bristol and the Midlands. This year’s awards are sponsored by MLS, Lovereading4schools and Lovereading4kids.

And we couldn’t be more pleased for Nicola and Use Your Imagination: it’s a wonderfully clever, inventive picture book all about storytelling and the power of imagination – the story of an imaginative rabbit, who outwits a wolf and becomes the hero of his own adventure. Here’s a look inside the book:

To celebrate the longlisting, we’re offering a 20% discount on Use Your Imagination when you buy the book from the Nosy Crow shop – just enter the code UKLA at the checkout page. The offer will last until the end of the week, and you can find the book here.

Congratulations, Nicola!

Come to the next Nosy Crow reading group – we’re discussing George by Alex Gino

Would you like to come along to the next Nosy Crow Reading Group?

In October we’ll be discussing George, by Alex Gino, which the New York Times called a “timely, touching novel” and Kirkus described, in a starred review, as “warm, funny and inspiring”.

We’ll be meeting on Tuesday, October 20 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 the book online from Waterstones here.

We’ll post some discussion points for the book a little closer to the date – we hope you can join us!

Today’s your last chance to get a free, signed Pip and Posy book

Today’s the last day of our very special Pip and Posy offer – a FREE signed hardback copy of either Pip and Posy: The Super Scooter, or Pip and Posy: The Little Puddle, for everyone who buys one of our beautiful, signed and numbered, limited edition Pip and Posy giclee prints.

All you need to do to receive one of these signed books is add the title of the book that you’d like to receive in the ‘Order notes’ on the payment page.

These beautiful Pip and Posy prints are produced at a local Southwark press – printed on A3 (29.7 x 42.0cm) heavyweight (308gsm) Hahnemuhle German Etching paper with a hand-deckled edge finish. Each print is signed and numbered by Axel, and one of a limited run – and available exclusively through the Nosy Crow website.

Here are the five pieces of Axel’s art available as limited edition prints:

From Pip and Posy: The Little Puddle:

From Pip and Posy: The Super Scooter:

From Pip and Posy: The Snowy Day:

From Pip and Posy: The Scary Monster:

From Pip and Posy: The Big Balloon:

The signed editions of both Pip and Posy books are also available to buy separately – you can buy The Super Scooter here and The Little Puddle here.

This special offer will end at midnight tonight – so if you’d like a beautiful, signed art print AND a signed book, don’t delay!

The Nosy Crow Reading Group Verdict on The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine

Last night the Nosy Crow Reading Group met to discuss The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow by Katherine Woodfine, the first book in a new mystery-adventure series, which Rooftoppers author Katherine Rundell described as “a wonderful book, with a glorious heroine and a true spirit of adventure.”

It’s a book that provoked a lively discussion and some spirited debate between our reading group members – about the plot, the characters, the setting, the narrative voice – and although there was by no means unanimous agreement, this was, I think, a book that the majority of us enjoyed. And before I carry on, please be warned: SPOILERS AHEAD!

The setting

The element of Clockwork Sparrow which proved the most popular was, I think, its setting: many of our group commented on how much they enjoyed the time and place of the novel. Woodfine’s Edwardian-era setting, and in particular the glamorous department store of Sinclair’s (which is practically a character in itself), came in for particular praise: described alternately by our group as “a beautiful evocation of a world”, “dazzling”, and “Agatha Christie for little ones”. Several of our members commented on the department store, and we loved the abundant references to food, clothing, and other period details, with one person saying that the large amount of detail helped them to jump into the story straight away. And overall, we felt that the Edwardian setting worked well (several people were particularly interested in this period, and thought that Woodfine had handled it adroitly), and gave the book some interesting things to say about class.

A few of our members felt that perhaps there was a little too much period detail for some children, however – and that the book would have limited appeal as a result. And although several of us admired the way the book addressed class and social hierarchy, a couple of people felt that it was consumeristic – overly celebrating a department store and its wares.

The plot

While some of our members found that the amount of period detail helped to draw them into the book’s story, for others, The Clockwork Sparrow started a little slowly – although I think, broadly speaking, we agreed that the pace definitely picked up in the second half. One person commented that they read the first three quarters quite happily, but without feeling that they couldn’t put it down – but then found the final quarter gripping and captivating.

All of us, I think, liked the code-breaking elements of the book (and some of us would have liked to see even more of this), and the clockwork sparrow itself was particularly interesting as a plot device for a couple of our members, who enjoyed the way it became more than just another valuable jewel. And while we did not talk about them at great length, we liked the use of illustrations to break up the story (although several of us would have like more illustration).

A few people commented on what they felt were scenes relying a bit too heavily on narrative exposition – such as the scene during which Sophie hides behind the curtain in the theatre – and a couple of our members felt that more could have been made of the mystery, whodunnit elements of the story. But overall, I think we found a lot to admire in the plot: we particularly liked the ending, and for many people, realising that the book was going to have a sequel (and that, therefore, every plot element – like the identity of the Baron – did not need to be resolved in this book) was a relief. Several of us spoke of looking forward to the next book in the series, and thought that The Clockwork Sparrow had a lot of good things to build on for book two.

The characters

The characters of The Clockwork Sparrow provoked, I think, some of the strongest disagreement between our group. While several of us loved the characters (one person described the four protagonists as “a great group of friends”), others felt that Sophie was too “nice” (one person would have liked Sophie to have more misery inflicted upon her (!) and felt that “too much good stuff happens to her”)… whereas some people didn’t think that Sinclair himself was nice ENOUGH.

A number of our group felt that the overall cast of characters was quite large, and hard to keep in one’s head – and one person, who read with their children, commented that reading it aloud was made difficult by the amount of “character hopping” and shifting view point. Several of us had expected Sophie and Lily to be the book’s two chief characters, when in reality it felt like more of an ensemble to us (one person commented that they would have liked Sophie to be “the hero of the piece”).

The verdict

Despite these quibbles, this was a book that the group as a whole enjoyed (I’m trying to be impartial in my write-up here: I loved it). A comparison that came up often was to Robin Steven’s Murder Most Unladylike series, and I think that fans of those (also excellent) books would like this, too – although this is, to my mind, pitched a slightly older audience.

Perhaps the clearest sign that we liked this book was that the most heated moment of the evening came not when we discussed its merits or its flaws… but when we tried to decide exactly who we thought The Baron really is: Sophie’s father? Sinclair? Or someone else entirely? That, I think, is the sign of a good mystery story.

The Nosy Crow reading group will be back in October – if you’re interested in attending, send an email to tom at nosycrow dot com, and we’ll add you to our mailing list.