Nosy Crow's Blog, page 148

One place has opened up for our How to write Children’s Fiction masterclass

If you missed the chance to book a place onto our sold-out How to write Children’s Fiction Nosy Crow Masterclass, then today is your lucky day: a single place has opened up for the event this October!

It promises to be a FANTASTIC day: we have some incredible speakers lined up, including David Solomons, author of the brilliant, laugh-out-loud debut novel My Brother is a Superhero, talking about funny writing, Helen Peters, author of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-shortlisted The Secret Hen House Theatre, who’ll lead a session on debut fiction, Tracey Corderoy, author of the amazing Hubble Bubble young fiction books, talking about creating a series, superstar literary agent Louise Lamont, speaking on the role of an agent, and members of the Nosy Crow team including Kirsty Stansfield and Kate Wilson, who’ll cover editorial essentials, the importance of thinking internationally, and more.

As part of the day, there’ll also be individual manuscript critique sessions for anyone who submits their work in advance – if you’ve written, or begun writing, a children’s novel, this is a fantastic opportunity to receive some one-on-one advice from an expert.

The masterclass is taking place here at the Crow’s Nest – 10a Lant St, London, SE1 1QR – on Saturday October 10th, and ticket price includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea and coffee breaks, a glass of wine (and homemade cake) at the end of the day, and our manuscript critique sessions. You can book the VERY LAST place at this page, or with the form below.

We hope to see you there!

One place has opened up for our How to write Children's Fiction masterclass

If you missed the chance to book a place onto our sold-out How to write Children’s Fiction Nosy Crow Masterclass, then today is your lucky day: a single place has opened up for the event this October!

It promises to be a FANTASTIC day: we have some incredible speakers lined up, including David Solomons, author of the brilliant, laugh-out-loud debut novel My Brother is a Superhero, talking about funny writing, Helen Peters, author of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-shortlisted The Secret Hen House Theatre, who’ll lead a session on debut fiction, Tracey Corderoy, author of the amazing Hubble Bubble young fiction books, talking about creating a series, superstar literary agent Louise Lamont, speaking on the role of an agent, and members of the Nosy Crow team including Kirsty Stansfield and Kate Wilson, who’ll cover editorial essentials, the importance of thinking internationally, and more.

As part of the day, there’ll also be individual manuscript critique sessions for anyone who submits their work in advance – if you’ve written, or begun writing, a children’s novel, this is a fantastic opportunity to receive some one-on-one advice from an expert.

The masterclass is taking place here at the Crow’s Nest – 10a Lant St, London, SE1 1QR – on Saturday October 10th, and ticket price includes lunch, morning and afternoon tea and coffee breaks, a glass of wine (and homemade cake) at the end of the day, and our manuscript critique sessions. You can book the VERY LAST place at this page, or with the form below.

We hope to see you there!

Get 10 fantastic Nosy Crow apps for half price with the Nosy Crow Super Pack bundle – on sale this week!

Today we’re launching a special sale for the Nosy Crow Super Pack app bundle, for one week only – get more than 50% off TEN Nosy Crow apps!

As part of Apple’s Play All Day promotion, the Nosy Crow Super Pack will be available for just $18.99/ £13.99 until August 27th – down from $39.90/ £31.50 if you bought the apps separately!

Included in the Nosy Crow Super Pack are the following fantastic apps:

The Three Little Pigs


Cinderella


Little Red Riding Hood


Jack and the Beanstalk


Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Farm


Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Safari


Bizzy Bear on the Farm


Bizzy Bear Builds a House


Rounds: Franklin Frog


Rounds: Parker Penguin

You can find the Nosy Crow Super Pack on the App Store here – and here’s what to look for:

There are some fantastic bundles on sale as part of the Play all Day promotion – so if you’d like an app bargain, don’t delay!

Get 10 fantastic Nosy Crow apps for half price with the Nosy Crow Super Pack bundle - on sale this week!

Today we’re launching a special sale for the Nosy Crow Super Pack app bundle, for one week only – get more than 50% off TEN Nosy Crow apps!

As part of Apple’s Play All Day promotion, the Nosy Crow Super Pack will be available for just $18.99/ £13.99 until August 27th – down from $39.90/ £31.50 if you bought the apps separately!

Included in the Nosy Crow Super Pack are the following fantastic apps:

The Three Little Pigs



Cinderella



Little Red Riding Hood



Jack and the Beanstalk



Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Farm



Axel Scheffler’s Flip Flap Safari



Bizzy Bear on the Farm



Bizzy Bear Builds a House



Rounds: Franklin Frog



Rounds: Parker Penguin

You can find the Nosy Crow Super Pack on the App Store here – and here’s what to look for:

There are some fantastic bundles on sale as part of the Play all Day promotion – so if you’d like an app bargain, don’t delay!

Win copies of our new books!

It’s time for our monthly book giveaway! This September will be one of our biggest months for new books yet, and if you’re a resident of the UK or Ireland, you can win any of them simply by subscribing to our Books Newsletter and sending us an email with the book you’d like to win. Here’s what’s out next month – and what you can win:

We’re publishing two new books in Sebastien Braun’s fantastic Can You Say It Too? lift-the-flap novelty series next month – Can You Say It Too? Twit! Twoo! and Can You Say It Too? Jingle! Jingle! Sturdy flaps and simple texts combine with friendly artwork to make these ideal first books that are great for sharing with children who are just starting to talk.

You can win a copy of the very first board book edition of the incredible, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winning Open Very Carefully, illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne with words by Nick Bromley. A crocodile has ended up in totally the wrong story, and his attempts to escape – by eating his way through the pages – make this a fantastic book for sharing and discussing how words and pictures work. Here’s a look inside:

We’re also publishing the first board book edition of Pip and Posy: The Scary Monster by Axel Scheffler. When Pip comes to Posy’s house wearing a scary monster mask, he gives Posy a bit of a fright. But when she works out it’s only Pip, she feels much better, and they share the biscuits she’s made. Hooray! Here’s a look inside the book:

We’re ENORMOUSLY excited to be publishing The Mystery of the Haunted Farm, the third fantastic picture book by Weasels and Nuts in Space creator Elys Dolan. Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call – Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guys for the job, a specialist team of Ghosthunters equipped with the latest in ghost-hunting gadgets. But when the Phantom Finder 5000 fails to recognise any paranormal activity AT ALL, the pigs realise all is not quite as it seems. . . and there’s certainly something suspicious about the mysterious chicken coup up on the hill . . . could that be a were puppy? Here’s a look inside the book:

Emma Dodd’s Wish… and Happy… are both out next month – with flurries of foil throughout, and featuring tenderly-told rhyming texts and heartwarming illustrations exploring the loving relationship between animal parents and their babies, these beautifully designed, padded picture books are sure to become firm bedtime favourites. Here’s a look inside each book:

As well as the board book of The Scary Monster, the first paperback edition of Pip and Posy: The Bedtime Frog is also out next month and up for grabs. Posy goes to stay at Pip’s house, and they have lots of fun together before bedtime. But just as they switch out the light, disaster strikes: Posy realises that she has forgotten her favourite frog toy… Here’s a look inside:

We’re re-publishing the Roald Dahl Funny Prize-shortlisted picture book The Baby that Roared, written by Simon Puttock and illustrated by Nadia Shireen, with a beautiful new cover next month. Mr and Mrs Deer would love to have a baby, and one day their wish comes true: they find a little antlered bundle on their doorstep. But the baby keeps roaring… Here’s a look inside the book:

You could win Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Wild Wolf Pup, the latest brilliant story in the phenomenally successful Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams. These are a great introduction to chapter books for 5-7 year olds – brilliantly-written series fiction with a fantastic premise. Zoe loves living at her uncle’s rescue zoo because there’s always something exciting going on. And Zoe also has an amazing secret… She actually TALK to the animals. These books have wonderfully broad appeal – here’s a look inside The Wild Wolf Pup:

The Grunts on the Run will be out next month – the fourth book in the hilarious The Grunts series, written by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Over the years, the Grunts have 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 rather-hard-to-hide elephant. But their enemies – including some familiar faces – are hot on their (rather grubby) heels… Here’s a look inside the book:

You could win Witchmyth, by Emma Fischel – the second book in a bewitching series that delivers an ingeniously imaginative twist on witch fiction. Witchmyth sees Flo, the hero of Witchworld, pitched into battle with a dire creature the inhabitants of her world have long thought to be extinct – the terrible Haggfiend! Armed only with Old Magic, can Flo stop the dreadful threat to Witchworld? There’s only one way to find out. Let battle against the scary, hairy hag commence… Here’s a look inside the book:

And finally, The Palomino Pony on Parade by Olivia Tuffin is out next month – the fifth wonderful Palomino Pony book. It’s wintertime, and Georgia is looking forward to a very merry Christmas with Lily, her gorgeous palomino pony. But when Lily is offered a starring role in a film, things get a bit complicated…

To win any of these books, 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 heading and the title of the book you’d like to win, and your address, in the body of your email. So have a good think about which book you’d like to win (we can only accept one entry per person), and good luck – we’ll pick the winners at random next week.

Win copies of our new books!

It’s time for our monthly book giveaway! This September will be one of our biggest months for new books yet, and if you’re a resident of the UK or Ireland, you can win any of them simply by subscribing to our Books Newsletter and sending us an email with the book you’d like to win. Here’s what’s out next month – and what you can win:

We’re publishing two new books in Sebastien Braun’s fantastic Can You Say It Too? lift-the-flap novelty series next month – Can You Say It Too? Twit! Twoo! and Can You Say It Too? Jingle! Jingle! Sturdy flaps and simple texts combine with friendly artwork to make these ideal first books that are great for sharing with children who are just starting to talk.

 

 

 

You can win a copy of the very first board book edition of the incredible, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-winning Open Very Carefully, illustrated by Nicola O’Byrne with words by Nick Bromley. A crocodile has ended up in totally the wrong story, and his attempts to escape – by eating his way through the pages – make this a fantastic book for sharing and discussing how words and pictures work. Here’s a look inside:

We’re also publishing the first board book edition of Pip and Posy: The Scary Monster by Axel Scheffler. When Pip comes to Posy’s house wearing a scary monster mask, he gives Posy a bit of a fright. But when she works out it’s only Pip, she feels much better, and they share the biscuits she’s made. Hooray! Here’s a look inside the book:

We’re ENORMOUSLY excited to be publishing The Mystery of the Haunted Farm, the third fantastic picture book by Weasels and Nuts in Space creator Elys Dolan. Strange and spooky things are happening down on the farm, and Farmer Greg knows exactly who to call – Ghost-hunters! The three little pigs are the best guys for the job, a specialist team of Ghosthunters equipped with the latest in ghost-hunting gadgets. But when the Phantom Finder 5000 fails to recognise any paranormal activity AT ALL, the pigs realise all is not quite as it seems. . . and there’s certainly something suspicious about the mysterious chicken coup up on the hill . . . could that be a were puppy? Here’s a look inside the book:

Emma Dodd’s Wish… and Happy… are both out next month – with flurries of foil throughout, and featuring tenderly-told rhyming texts and heartwarming illustrations exploring the loving relationship between animal parents and their babies, these beautifully designed, padded picture books are sure to become firm bedtime favourites. Here’s a look inside each book:

As well as the board book of The Scary Monster, the first paperback edition of Pip and Posy: The Bedtime Frog is also out next month and up for grabs. Posy goes to stay at Pip’s house, and they have lots of fun together before bedtime. But just as they switch out the light, disaster strikes: Posy realises that she has forgotten her favourite frog toy… Here’s a look inside:

We’re re-publishing the Roald Dahl Funny Prize-shortlisted picture book The Baby that Roared, written by Simon Puttock and illustrated by Nadia Shireen, with a beautiful new cover next month. Mr and Mrs Deer would love to have a baby, and one day their wish comes true: they find a little antlered bundle on their doorstep. But the baby keeps roaring… Here’s a look inside the book:

You could win Zoe’s Rescue Zoo: The Wild Wolf Pup, the latest brilliant story in the phenomenally successful Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series written by Amelia Cobb and illustrated by Sophy Williams. These are a great introduction to chapter books for 5-7 year olds – brilliantly-written series fiction with a fantastic premise. Zoe loves living at her uncle’s rescue zoo because there’s always something exciting going on. And Zoe also has an amazing secret… She actually TALK to the animals. These books have wonderfully broad appeal – here’s a look inside The Wild Wolf Pup:

The Grunts on the Run will be out next month – the fourth book in the hilarious The Grunts series, written by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Over the years, the Grunts have 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 rather-hard-to-hide elephant. But their enemies – including some familiar faces – are hot on their (rather grubby) heels… Here’s a look inside the book:

You could win Witchmyth, by Emma Fischel – the second book in a bewitching series that delivers an ingeniously imaginative twist on witch fiction. Witchmyth sees Flo, the hero of Witchworld, pitched into battle with a dire creature the inhabitants of her world have long thought to be extinct – the terrible Haggfiend! Armed only with Old Magic, can Flo stop the dreadful threat to Witchworld? There’s only one way to find out. Let battle against the scary, hairy hag commence… Here’s a look inside the book:

And finally, The Palomino Pony on Parade by Olivia Tuffin is out next month – the fifth wonderful Palomino Pony book. It’s wintertime, and Georgia is looking forward to a very merry Christmas with Lily, her gorgeous palomino pony. But when Lily is offered a starring role in a film, things get a bit complicated… Here’s a look inside the book:

To win any of these books, 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 heading and the title of the book you’d like to win, and your address, in the body of your email. So have a good think about which book you’d like to win (we can only accept one entry per person), and good luck – we’ll pick the winners at random next week.

 

The Nosy Crow Great British Bake Off Sweepstake

Along with seemingly everyone in publishing, us Nosy Crows are a group of confirmed Great British Bake Off obsessives. So much so that we have a sweepstake running (arranged by Ruth and Victoria): we’ve all been assigned a Bake Off contestant, and the week that our baker is eliminated, we have to make a cake. We’re only in week two, and already I can see that it will get VERY competitive.

For the first two weeks (when the baking that takes place on Bake Off has been relatively straightforward) there has been an EXTRA element of challenge, in that we’ve baked the cake featured on that week’s episode of the show… something that I don’t imagine will continue into the semi-finals (I will be truly impressed if anyone here produces a Swedish Princess Cake).

Here’s Louise’s excellent Madeira cake from last week:

And here’s this week’s biscotti, which I made with Paul Hollywood’s recipe:

I can’t say that the biscotti was an unqualified success, but it did give us all a reason to start drinking Marsala before midday.

I believe that the theme for tonight’s episode of Bake Off is bread… so expect to see our own efforts appear on the @NosyCrowBooks Twitter feed in the next week.

Baking features particularly prominently in our Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam picture books, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Steven Lenton, and so it’s no surprise to see that Shifty and Sam, the robber dogs-turned-bakers, have been getting into the spirit of things themselves:

It's #GBBO DAY! Shifty and Sam are so excited they're making a royal (icing) mess! NosyCrowBooks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TraceyCorderoy">TraceyCorderoy pic.twitter.com/LrnyWCZB3q

— Steven Lenton (@2dscrumptious) August 5, 2015

Here’s a look inside their second picture book adventure, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar:

Steven will be the subject of the very first Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon next month - you can find out more here and book tickets below (it’s nearly sold out):

Happy Bake Off day, everyone!

The Nosy Crow Great British Bake Off Sweepstake

Along with seemingly everyone in publishing, us Nosy Crows are a group of confirmed Great British Bake Off obsessives. So much so that we have a sweepstake running (arranged by Ruth and Victoria): we’ve all been assigned a Bake Off contestant, and the week that our baker is eliminated, we have to make a cake. We’re only in week two, and already I can see that it will get VERY competitive.

For the first two weeks (when the baking that takes place on Bake Off has been relatively straightforward) there has been an EXTRA element of challenge, in that we’ve baked the cake featured on that week’s episode of the show… something that I don’t imagine will continue into the semi-finals (I will be truly impressed if anyone here produces a Swedish Princess Cake).

Here’s Louise’s excellent Madeira cake from last week:

And here’s this week’s biscotti, which I made with Paul Hollywood’s recipe:

I can’t say that the biscotti was an unqualified success, but it did give us all a reason to start drinking Marsala before midday.

I believe that the theme for tonight’s episode of Bake Off is bread… so expect to see our own efforts appear on the @NosyCrowBooks Twitter feed in the next week.

Baking features particularly prominently in our Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam picture books, written by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Steven Lenton, and so it’s no surprise to see that Shifty and Sam, the robber dogs-turned-bakers, have been getting into the spirit of things themselves:

It’s #GBBO DAY! Shifty and Sam are so excited they’re making a royal (icing) mess! @NosyCrowBooks@TraceyCorderoypic.twitter.com/LrnyWCZB3q

— Steven Lenton (@2dscrumptious) August 5, 2015

Here’s a look inside their second picture book adventure, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar:

Steven will be the subject of the very first Nosy Crow Illustrator Salon next month – you can find out more here and book tickets below (it’s nearly sold out):

Happy Bake Off day, everyone!

There’s a Bear on my Chair has been shortlisted for a British Book Design and Production Award

The British Book Design and Production Award shortlists have been announced, and we are thrilled to say that There’s a Bear on my Chair, the fantastic new picture book by Ross Collins, has been recognised in the Children’s Trade category!

The awards recognise and promote the excellence of the British book design and production industry by celebrating the best books of the year. This year the Children’s Trade category boasts an incredibly strong shortlist (There’s a Bear on my Chair is up against books including Animalium, Once upon an Alphabet, and The Sleeper and the Spindle) for a particularly prestigious award, and we could not be happier for the book and for Ross.

If you’ve not yet discovered the joys of There’s a Bear on my Chair, here’s a look inside the book:

The Awards will be presented on Thursday 26 November 2015 – congratulations, Ross!

There's a Bear on my Chair has been shortlisted for a British Book Design and Production Award

The British Book Design and Production Award shortlists have been announced, and we are thrilled to say that There’s a Bear on my Chair, the fantastic new picture book by Ross Collins, has been recognised in the Children’s Trade category!

The awards recognise and promote the excellence of the British book design and production industry by celebrating the best books of the year. This year the Children’s Trade category boasts an incredibly strong shortlist (There’s a Bear on my Chair is up against books including Animalium, Once upon an Alphabet, and The Sleeper and the Spindle) for a particularly prestigious award, and we could not be happier for the book and for Ross.

If you’ve not yet discovered the joys of There’s a Bear on my Chair, here’s a look inside the book:



Buy the book online.

The Awards will be presented on Thursday 26 November 2015 – congratulations, Ross!