Nosy Crow's Blog, page 19

Read an Exclusive Extract of Cosmic Creatures – a whole new world of animal rescue from Tom Huddleston & Sophy Williams

We’re very excited to be publishing the first two books of our new series Cosmic Creatures next month! Cosmic Creatures: The Runaway Rumblebear and Cosmic Creatures: The Friendly Firecat are written by Tom Huddleston and illustrated by the award-winning Sophy Williams. Tom has previously brought us the middle grade novels FloodWorld and DustRoad, while Sophy has also worked on The Secret Rescuers series, the Zoe’s Rescue Zoo series and the Forever Homes series. Cosmic Creatures is a whole new world of animal rescue that is perfect for animal-mad readers aged 5+.

And today we’re delighted to be sharing a preview of both books – you can read the first few chapters of each below!

On a faraway planet, cute alien animals need help! Luckily, Charlie and her robot friend, Random, are ready for any rescue adventure…

In The Runaway Rumblebear, something has been stealing the humans’ food on planet Vela! Charlie discovers the thief – it’s a cheeky, fluffy, hungry rumblebear! The rumblebear has lost its family, and Charlie is sure she can help it find them. But first, she’ll have to hide the rumblebear from the angry mayor, and it’s not easy to hide something that roars like a lion and won’t stop eating!

Read an extract of Cosmic Creatures: The Runaway Rumblebear:

In The Friendly Firecat, Charlie is on a special trip to see the migration of the firecats, the fastest animals on planet Vela! But when rustlers start kidnapping the cats, the herd stampede, and a sparkly little firekitten is left behind. Charlie and Random must come up with a plan to stop the rustlers and reunite the baby firecat with its family before it’s too late…

Read an extract of Cosmic Creatures: The Friendly Firecat:

The first two Cosmic Creatures books will be published on March 3rd. You can pre-order a copy of Cosmic Creatures: The Runaway Rumblebear from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here. You can pre-order a copy of Cosmic Creatures: The Friendly Firecat from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here.

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter here to stay up-to-date with all of our latest books and news, including early previews, discounts and giveaways.

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Read an Exclusive Extract from Max Counts to a Million – a heart-warming story of one boy’s experience of lockdown from Jeremy Williams

We are so excited to be publishing Max Counts to a Million by Jeremy Williams next month – a poignant, uplifting story that reflects the experiences shared by so many during the Covid pandemic and celebrates how ordinary people accomplish epic things. The author, Jeremy Williams, has only ever wanted to be a writer. Today he writes serious books for adults and less serious books for children. He still doesn’t have quite enough books.

Sometimes, just keeping on going makes you a hero.

Eight-year-old Max is counting to a million. Normally, school or having anything interesting to do would get in the way, but school is shut and everyone has to stay home because the UK is in its first lockdown. Max’s dad works at the hospital and counting helps Max with missing him, but as the pandemic progresses and Max’s grandad journeys through his own battle with the virus, what starts as a distraction turns into record-breaking effort that brings Max’s community together.

Read an extract from Max Counts to a Million below:

Max Counts to a Million will be published on 3rd March 2022. You can pre-order your copy  from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here.

If you’d like to stay up to date with all of our latest book news, including early previews, giveaways, discounts and more, you can sign up to our newsletter here and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Read an Exclusive Extract from You’re Not the Boss of Me! – a brilliantly funny new story from Catherine Wilkins

We’re thrilled to be publishing You’re Not the Boss of Me! by Catherine Wilkins next month, a laugh-out-loud story about fighting for your right to steal the show. Catherine is a stand-up comedian, podcaster and author of When Good Geeks Go Bad, The Weird Friends Fan Club and the My Best Friend and Other Enemies series.

In You’re Not the Boss of Me!, Amy Miller is a very positive person and she is fully prepared to be the star of the school Comedy Show. But when Harry is put in charge, he stops her from performing or writing or doing anything fun.

Amy can’t understand what’s happening until her sister tells her: Harry is being sexist, and Amy must take a stand. Armed only with killer one-liners, Amy goes into battle to fight for her right to make people laugh.

Read an extract from You’re Not the Boss of Me! below:

 

You’re Not the Boss of Me! will be published on 3rd March 2022. You can pre-order your copy  from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here.

If you’d like to stay up to date with all of our latest book news, including early previews, giveaways, discounts and more, you can sign up to our newsletter here and you’ll never miss a thing.

The post Read an Exclusive Extract from You’re Not the Boss of Me! – a brilliantly funny new story from Catherine Wilkins appeared first on Nosy Crow.

Nosy Crow acquires two new heart-warming titles from highly-acclaimed author Carlie Sorosiak

Nosy Crow is delighted to announce the acquisition of two heart-warming and uplifting middle-grade novels from the much-loved author of I, Cosmo and My Life as a Cat, Carlie Sorosiak.

Always, Clementine will publish in September 2022. The second novel – the title of which is yet to be confirmed – will publish the following year in September 2023.

Carlie Sorosiak’s first middle-grade novel with Nosy Crow, I, Cosmo was selected as Waterstone Children’s Book of the Month in September 2019.

Tom Bonnick, Senior Commissioning Editor at Nosy Crow, bought world rights to two middle grade titles from Claire Wilson at RCW, with US rights for both books sold by Nosy Crow to Susan Van Metre at Walker US.

Always, Clementine is a funny, wise and heart-warming story, with a truly one-of-a-kind hero. It’s a beautifully written tale with a unique voice, perfect for fans of Stuart Little, Charlotte’s Web, and The Queen’s Gambit.

Clementine is a genius. She can calculate pi to 69,689 places, remembers the exact moment she was born, and dreams in Latin. She’s also a mouse. And when she escapes from the lab which has bred her, Clementine discovers that it’s not enough to be the smartest mouse in history if she wants to survive in the real world – especially while the scientists who kept her are trying to recover their prize specimen. So, together with her new human friends, Clementine must find a way to earn her freedom – for good.

Author Carlie Sorosiak comments: “With Always, Clementine, I wanted to write a story that very much positioned a lab animal within the heart of her own narrative. I wanted to give Clementine agency, which is something that lab animals so sorely lack. It’s an optimistic story, and if it makes even the smallest difference in the lives of lab animals, it will be the best thing I’ve ever done with my time. Nosy Crow have been incredibly supportive in every conceivable way, and I’m delighted to publish with them again this year.”

Tom Bonnick, Senior Commissioning Editor at Nosy Crow, comments: “I’m delighted to be working with Carlie on two new novels – there is just no-one writing stories like her, and Always, Clementine is her best book yet. It’s unbelievably funny, incredibly wise, and filled with heart – Stuart Little for a new generation. I can’t wait for fans of I, Cosmo and My Life as a Cat, and new readers alike, to meet Clementine.”

Claire Wilson comments: “Carlie’s uniquely generous, joyful, witty and warm-hearted novels are rightly held close by their devoted readers, and I am so glad to know that these exceptional stories of dauntless, endlessly characterful animals – and their accompanying children – will be continuing to grow in number with the Nosy Crow team.”

Susan Van Metre at Walker US comments: “We fall in love with each of Carlie’s observant, empathetic animal narrators. They are ideal friends, helping their chosen children navigate worlds made more complicated and fraught by the adults around them, and thus also perfect companions for any middle grade reader.  We’re so pleased to welcome Clementine to their company and to have two more books with Carlie and the team at Nosy Crow.”

Carlie Sorosiak grew up in North Carolina. She has a Masters in English from Oxford University and another in publishing from City, University of London. She is the author of two middle grade novels published by Nosy Crow; I, Cosmo and My Life as a Cat. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and her American dingo.

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Nosy Crow’s 50th Language

It has been nearly 4 years since we wrote about selling our 40th language, and what an exciting 4 years it has been. This year also marks the centenary of Margery Williams’ timeless classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, which was the title we sold our 50th language, Armenian, in. So really, celebrating Nosy Crow’s 50th language at the same time as the Velveteen Rabbit has such an important birthday could not have been timed better…

These past few years may have been full of rights excitement, but they have not been without a multitude of challenges as well. The pandemic, Brexit, a worldwide shipping crisis have meant our rights team had to adapt, innovate, and improvise at every turn in the road. Being awarded Rights Team of the Year at the British Book Awards last year was both “a reflection of the way that so many of Nosy Crow’s sales are made” and a validation of our “rights machine” that has never stopped running at full throttle!

We are now left with only 5 letters of the alphabet that we haven’t sold rights in, but since pinning down V and W, with Vietnamese and Welsh, we are (almost) content to let O, Q, X, Y, Z sit under our rights desks as a challenge to dream about. Since we have already sold in most major languages, it is becoming more and more difficult to find new languages and territories to sell our books in. However, as we are currently on the hunt for a fifth member to add to our team, which would mean yet another person wholly dedicated to selling rights, this dream could end up becoming a reality in the not-so-distant future.

But first, little bit more about our 50th language title, The Velveteen Rabbit…

First published in 1922 and republished many, many times since, Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit has been touching the hearts of children and parents alike for 100 years this year. Celebrate the centenary of this timeless classic with Nosy Crow’s fully-foiled cloth-bound edition of the original unabridged text, beautifully illustrated by Sarah Massini. The Velveteen Rabbit has been awarded the IRA / CBC Children’s Choice award and continues to be adapted into multiple different print, audio and visual formats – even sometimes used in wedding toasts and sermons.

To date, we have sold the rights to The Velveteen Rabbit in Bulgarian, Chinese simplified, Dutch, French, Georgian, German, Hebrew, Russian, Ukrainian, US English and Vietnamese, and are undergoing negotiations for 2 more potential languages as we speak.

If you haven’t yet discovered The Velveteen Rabbit, here is a look inside the book:

And if you are interested in more of the Nosy Crow Classics series, please find more information about all of the books below: https://nosycrow.com/series/nosy-crow-classics/

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How Frank and Bert came to be – a guest post by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros

I’m very excited to see Frank & Bert being published. It’s a book about friendship and how it’s not always easy getting it right, staying true to your friends and being happy with yourself.

The starting point of this book was a very simple sketch/doodle that came out of nowhere, of a big strange looking animal stood behind a thin tree. I wrote a caption under it explaining how this animal was brilliant at hiding in plain sight and incredibly hard to spot, even though it was stood there as plain as day. I liked this idea, a bit like when children try to hide and think that if they can’t see you, then you can’t see them.

I wanted to make a story out of it and came up with the idea of a duo playing hide and seek – one of them (Bert) being terrible at hiding but doesn’t know it. I came up with a first draft that hadtheidea of a hand-knitted scarf that gets snagged and sent it to my editor, Lou Bolongaro. She saw the potential of the two characters and the set-up but asked me to explore a few more variations.

In the end I proposed four or five different versions, they always started the same but then went in different directions: bear disguised as a rock and fox inadvertently sitting on him, bear hiding in a river bed until it rains and the water’s up to his nose, bear getting lost in the woods, even bear going into a café full of bears and putting a lampshade on his head, thus giving himself away.

We eventually settled on the final story and then ironed out all the plot wrinkles, and for such a seemingly simple tale it took a lot of smoothing out, making sure it all made sense and didn’t feel contrived – that’s always the hardest part of writing stories. For ages Bert was so sure of his hiding skills he offered his scarf as a prize for Frank finding him but the fact that it got unravelled made this a bit awkward – it just didn’t work right. It took ages to realise that that didn’t need to happen and the story might work better without the high-stakes of a favourite scarf to play for!

But the essence of the story was always about friendship – what it’s worth and how it can be tested sometimes. That’s what we were always wanting to bring out and highlight. I also wanted to be really careful that Bert, though not appearing to be the sharpest of the duo, is no fool either. He had to have a little conspirational moment with the reader that Frank isn’t entirely aware of, otherwise the friendship felt unbalanced and Bert a little patronised.

The image of a fox sat on a chair knitting really grabbed me. It seemed an odd thing for a fox to be doing so it felt nice to try and explain what was the story behind it was, and give Frank a very chatty, anecdotal voice. The scarf is is almost a character in itself so it was given a very bright pink colour to make it pop out of the muted landscapes. That was always going to be a big part of the book – following the bright trail of colour through the hills and trees and water, until we catch up with Bert.

I hope readers old and young really feel the relationship and love between Frank and Bert and the sense that no friendship is perfect – it sometimes needs a bit of work and compromise to make things ok.

Yet again, it’s been a joy to work with all the team at Nosy Crow. Making a picture book is sometimes a bit like a friendship – there are always little debates, discussions and compromises along the way but when you trust each other things always work out fine in the end. And again, Lou Bolongaro and Nia Roberts guided and encouraged me along the way, even when I thought I’d run out of ideas, and helped bring Frank and Bert (and the hand-knitted scarf!) to life.

And as Frank & Bert is all about friendship, it’s dedicated to my best friend, Steve Adams, who very sadly died in the summer of 2021, just after the book was finished. He was a really brilliant, lovely, talented man. Sometimes I would send him story ideas when I was stuck – usually a couple of alternatives to ask which he thought was the best or funniest. He always made the right call and he was a big help on Frank & Bert especially. He was an absolutely top person and is much missed by everybody who knew him.

—

Thank you, Chris!

Take a look inside:

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Welcome to The Escape – a guest post by Christopher Edge

Escape Room is a story about finding the Answer and saving the world. It follows Ami as she enters The Escape, the ultimate escape room, but as the Host locks Ami and her teammates inside the first room, they quickly realise that this is no ordinary game and the stakes are sky-high…

I finished writing Escape Room back in the strange days of the first lockdown, when the desire to escape the same four walls was particularly strong. I wanted to write a story about the problems we face in the world today, but it was important to me that this story was a story of hope. From global warming to plastic pollution, young people are the ones who are raising their voices loudest about these problems and they’re also the ones who are showing the bravery and imagination we need to solve them. This gave me the idea for The Escape – an escape game where five young players have to work together to find the Answer to save the world.

As part of the research for the book, I played several escape games, from searching for a lost archaeological artefact in a locked museum to trying to solve a mystery trapped on a nuclear submarine! What I love about escape games is the way they completely immerse you in another reality. When you’re playing an escape game, you’re part of the story and the decisions you make can mean the difference between success and failure, whilst the actions of the other people on your team can either help or hinder the escape!

I wanted to give the readers of Escape Room the same immersive experience, taking them on a fast-paced, puzzle-solving adventure into a host of different realities. The best escape games give players a trail of clues to solve and I wanted the puzzles and mysteries that Ami finds inside The Escape to give the reader clues about the story too.

An escape room is like the ultimate locked-room mystery, but in The Escape there is more than one room for Ami and her teammates to reckon with. From a cavernous library of dust to an ancient Mayan tomb, a deserted shopping mall stalked by strange creatures to the command module of a spaceship heading to Mars, the perils of The Escape seem endless. Every room inside The Escape draws on real-life inspirations, from an unbeatable chess-playing automaton invented in the late 19th century to the Red Queen of Palenque, whose Mayan tomb was discovered by an archaeologist in 1994, and each one of these settings is inspired by the ideas that lie at the heart of the novel too.

At the start of the story, the Host gives the players some important advice which I hope will help you too as you read Escape Room:

“Remember, all you need to succeed is hidden inside The Escape. The puzzles that you find and the challenges you face might seem impossible at first, but for you nothing is impossible. Look around carefully. Everything is part of the game. Use your mind to find the Answer. Find the Answer before it’s too late.”

As I’ve said before, I think children’s books are the most important books you’ll ever read. These are books that can help you to understand about the world, they can let you escape from the world for a while, but also they can inspire you to build a better world. I’m constantly inspired by the young readers I meet and I know that they possess the imagination and creativity we need to build a brighter future.

I hope that you’ll feel inspired after reading Escape Room and enjoy your visit to The Escape. Good luck!

—

Thank you, Christopher!

Read the first two chapters below:

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Three Nosy Crow Books Selected for 2022 Read for Empathy Collection

We’re absolutely delighted that The Girl Who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook, The House on the Edge by Alex Cotter and How to be Me by Cath Howe have been featured in EmpathyLab‘s 2022 Read for Empathy Collection!

Founded in 2017, Empathy Day aims to drive a new empathy movement around the world – and each year the organisation publishes the Read for Empathy collection, made up of books that enhance empathy skills, with themes covering family dynamics, relationships, emotional intelligence amongst others. And we’re so pleased to see three of our books included!

This year, Empathy Day will take place on June 9th, with schools, libraries, young people’s organisations, publishers, and booksellers joining forces to emphasise the importance of empathy and the empathy-building power of books. By reading, we can learn to better understand each other and the world we live in.

The Girl Who Stole an Elephant features Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero, who leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure through the jungle where revolution is stirring and leeches lurk.

Buy the book.

The House on the Edge is a great mystery with real heart, that follows Faith on her journey to find her brother and bring her father back before everything she cares about falls into the pitiless sea below.

Buy the book.

How to Be Me is a beautiful, moving story of family, friendship and self-discovery that is filled with empathy and insight, and sensitively touches on issues including grief, anxiety, loneliness with great understanding and an incredible lightness of touch.

Buy the book.

You can find out more about Empathy Day and view the Read for Empathy collection, here.

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Introducing Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief

This February we’re absolutely delighted to be publishing Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief – an empowering book that explores 50 important goddesses and their stories from around the world.

And today we are so excited to be sharing an early preview of this fantastic non-fiction book – you can take a look inside below!

Tales of powerful female figures have been told since the beginning of time and this collection brings together 50 stories from around the world. There are loving creators, wise leaders, fearsome warriors, gentle healers and mystical protectors, and they can each inspire you to find strength within yourself . . .

Divided into thematic chapters, but connected by the power of the female, there are important stories of creation and love, action-packed stories of war and death, and heroic stories of great adventure and strength. Each gorgeously illustrated spread is a celebration of girl power in its many forms.

Featuring figures such as, Juno, Venus, Chalchiutitcue, Brigid, Athena,  Nut, Baba Yaga, Asase Yaa, Gaia, Eve, Lilith, Sekhmet and so many more!

Beautifully written by cultural historian and broadcaster, Dr Janina Ramirez, and stunningly illustrated by Sarah Walsh, this amazing book contains a wonderful variety of spiritual female figures that have played an important role in shaping belief today. Based on original sources and with photographs from the British Museum collection, this incredible introduction to goddesses throughout history will entertain, engage and empower readers everywhere.

Take a look inside:

Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief will be out in February! You can pre-order a copy from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or Amazon here.

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, and offers, you can sign up for our newsletter at this page.

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Read an exclusive extract from Escape Room – the mind-blowing new thriller from award-winning author Christopher Edge

In February we’re very excited to be publishing Escape Room, from the multi-award-winning author of The Longest Night of Charlie Noon, The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day and The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, Christopher Edge. This thrilling new adventure, set in an escape room unlike any other you’ve experienced before, challenges you to think about what you’ve done to save the world today.

And today we’re delighted to be sharing a preview of the book – you can read the first few chapters below!

When twelve-year-old Ami arrives at The Escape, she thinks it’s just a game – the ultimate escape room with puzzles and challenges to beat before time runs out. Meeting her teammates, Adjoa, Ibrahim, Oscar and Min, Ami learns from the Host that they have been chosen to save the world and they must work together to find the Answer. But as he locks them inside the first room, they quickly realise this is no ordinary game.

From a cavernous library of dust to an ancient Mayan tomb, a deserted shopping mall stalked by extinct animals to the command module of a spaceship heading to Mars, the perils of The Escape seem endless. Can Ami and her friends find the Answer before it’s too late?

Perfect for readers aged 9+, Escape Room is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller filled with incredible action, twists and turns.

Read an extract:

Escape Room will be published on February 3rd – you can pre-order a copy from Waterstones here, Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here.

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter here to stay up-to-date with all of our latest books and news, including early previews, discounts and giveaways.

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