Nosy Crow's Blog, page 2

Kids Club September

Welcome to our Nosy Crow Kids’ Club!

Each month, we have fun activities for young readers to enjoy either independently or with a parent/ grandparent.

Join us for engaging content! Every month we will share a creative prompt inspired by our recent publications. We sometimes provide printable activity sheets for children to download.

Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull

This month, the kid’s club activity takes inspiration from the new fiction book Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull! A super funny and spooky book written by Martin Howard and illustrated by Pete Williamson!

What new tarot card can you design?

Aunt Lilith is missing some tarot cards from her deck! Help her design new ones!

Can you design a brand-new tarot card? What would it look like?

What would the tarot card mean? Would it have a different meaning if it was reversed?

There are so many possibilities, and we would love to see your ideas!

Bonus Activity!

Dress up Maggoty Skull!

What colour wig would he have? What accessories would you give him?

Download the PDF to accessorise and glamourise Maggoty!

Are you and your children enjoying the Nosy Crow Kids’ Club?

Complete this short survey for your chance to win the 1 x copy of each of the books featured in 2024!

Please do share drawings, book reviews, or stories with us via email digital@nosycrow.com or @nosycrow on social media.

The post Kids Club September appeared first on Nosy Crow.

Read an exclusive extract of There’s No Such Thing as a Silly Question by Mike Rampton & Guilherme Karsten!

We’re very excited to publish There’s No Such Thing as a Silly Question in October in partnership with the University of Cambridge – a brilliantly silly question-and-answer book by author and journalist Mike Rampton and illustrator Guilherme Karsten.

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

Covering a range of subjects from science, technology, engineering and mathematics to evolution, zoology, social history and more, this hilarious yet clever book expertly answers 213 of the most unusual and interesting questions you never thought to ask about the world – one for at least every bone in your body!

There really is no such thing as a silly question.

Read an extract of There’s No Such Thing as a Silly Question here:

There’s No Such Thing as a Silly Question will be published on October 10th – you can order a copy from Waterstones here, from Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here. Do let us know on socials what you thought of the first few questions when you’ve finished reading!

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our latest book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, award news and more, you can sign up for our newsletter here.

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Read an exclusive extract of Maisie vs Antarctica by Jack Jackman!

We’re very excited to publish Maisie vs Antarctica in September – a book filled with humour, heart and a touch of the supernatural by new author Jack Jackman.

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

Maisie thinks her dad is the most boring person in the world. For fun he likes to do origami (but only basic triangles) or jigsaw puzzles of a cloudless sky (yep, every piece is blue). He writes cool-sounding books like How To Wrestle A Crocodile and How To Defuse A Bomb, but he’s never actually done any of the awesome things he writes about. But Maisie has to admit weird things happen around Dad. Unexplainable things…

Read an extract of Maisie vs Antarctica here:

Maisie vs Antarctica will be published on September 26th – you can order a copy from Waterstones, from Bookshop.org, or from Amazon. Do let us know on socials what you thought of the first few chapters when you’ve finished reading!

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our latest book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, award news and more, you can sign up for our newsletter.

The post Read an exclusive extract of Maisie vs Antarctica by Jack Jackman! appeared first on Nosy Crow.

Read an exclusive extract of Let Me Tell You a Joke by Sean Hegarty and Jim Field

We’re very excited to publish Let Me Tell You a Joke this month – a riotously funny joke book by Northern Irish stand-up comedian Sean Hegarty and illustrated by Jim Field.

To celebrate, we’re sharing a sneak peek of the comedy with the first few pages below! Happy giggling!

Packed with 50 hilarious jokes by Northern Irish stand-up comedian Sean Hegarty, and brilliantly illustrated in colour by Jim Field, this riotously funny first joke book is the perfect gift for budding comedians to read alone or share with friends.

Read an extract of Let Me Tell You a Joke here:

Let Me Tell You a Joke will be published on September 26th – you can order a copy from Waterstones here, from Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here. Do let us know on socials what you thought of the first few jokes when you’ve finished reading!

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our latest book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, award news and more, you can sign up for our newsletter here.

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A Q&A with the author of Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial, Kieran Larwood!

Author, Kieran Larwood, provided amazing answers to some of our burning questions about his newest title Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial– an action-packed new adventure series!

Where did the inspiration for Dungeon Runners come from? 

It all started during the Covid pandemic, when I was home-schooling my son during lockdown. He was finding the whole situation very difficult, so I suggested we come up with a book idea as a project. We had been playing Dungeons & Dragons with some friends on Zoom, and we had also been very invested in the run-up to the NFL Superbowl, so I decided to put the two together, and came up with Dungeon Runners!

Can you tell us a bit about your creative process – such as your research and your unique rituals or habits – when writing?

If I’m writing a fantasy story, I always take J.R.R.Tolkien’s advice and start with a map. I find this is a really good way to create a focal point for the story. Then I spend a while building up details and characters until I have a setting for the story to take place. I often make sketches and doodles of my characters before I start writing about them, and I like to have a rough plan before I start the first draft. I usually do two or three versions of this until I’m happy.

What was the most challenging part of writing this book? 

I’m not very good at maths, so I found it very tricky to keep track of the points everyone scored and to make sure there was a bit of tension in who would win! It’s also written for a different age range than my normal books, so I was very aware of the language I used and also had to write to a much shorter word count.

What steps did you take to ensure the fantasy world felt immersive and believable for middle-grade readers?

I spent a lot of time building the world before I started writing. I drew maps, created races and monsters, and thought very hard about the sport of Dungeon Running and how that might work. There were several versions of the rules before I settled on the ones in the book.

How did you balance adventure and humour in the story?

A lot of the humour happens naturally when the characters interact, as they bicker and joke with one another. I have also used it to ease the tension or danger points in the story. Creeping into monster-filled dungeons could easily become a bit frightening, so it’s useful to defuse that with a few jokes or a ridiculous situation.

Which character did you enjoy writing the most?

Kit is a lot of fun to write, especially when his dreams of becoming a famous Dungeon Runner clash with the reality of being a tiny team that aren’t even in a league yet. I also enjoy making up his witty comebacks to Breg when he is being bullied. And, later on in the series, I find writing Thorn’s terrible dad jokes very satisfying.

What is the process like when working with an illustrator?

Joe Todd Stanton has been great to work with. We liaised closely with sketches and ideas before he began to do the final pictures, and then I was able to see all the roughs and comment on them. He has brought a whole new dimension to the world, and I absolutely love his illustration style. The finished product is so much better than I could have imagined!

Do you have a preconceived idea of what the characters will look like?

When I began to write the story, I sketched out the characters myself, but they were only rough doodles so I could picture them in my head. Joe’s versions are so much better, and now I couldn’t think of them any other way.

How many rough drafts are completed before you finally decide on the appearance of the character?

I actually come up with the characters before I start writing, and they don’t tend to change too much. Because I spend a lot of time thinking about the story elements before I start writing, I think they are pretty cemented in my head before I begin the first draft.

What do you hope young readers will gain from the experiences presented in your book?

Mainly, I hope they will get swept up in the story and that it will start them on their journey of reading all sorts of other fantasy books. There’s also a strong message of the underdogs working together to triumph in the end, so I hope it teaches them the value of teamwork and resilience. You can achieve anything if you work hard enough!

Read Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial and look out for more titles in the series! Let us know what you thought of this Q&A and if you have any other questions for our authors, submit them to us on our Instagram @nosycrow!

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Kids Club August

Welcome to our Nosy Crow Kids’ Club!

Each month, we have fun activities for young readers to enjoy either independently or with a parent/ grandparent.

Join us for engaging content! Every month we will share a creative prompt inspired by our recent publications. We sometimes provide printable activity sheets for children to download.

The Great Farm Rescue

This month, the kid’s club activity takes inspiration from the new fiction book The Great Farm Rescue! A thrilling, funny, heartwarming story, and the third in the Hannah’s Farm series, from the amazing Helen Peters.

How would You raise £2,000,000?

Hannah needs to raise £2,000,000 in 6 months to save her farm! What ideas do you have to help her?

Could you sell your toys? Where would you sell them?

Could you host a charity event? What would the task be?

Could you start a lemonade stand? How much would one glass cost?

There are so many possibilities, and we would love to see your ideas!

Are you and your children enjoying the Nosy Crow Kids’ Club?

Complete this short survey for your chance to win the 1 x copy of each of the books featured in 2024!

Please do share drawings, book reviews, or stories with us via email digital@nosycrow.com or @nosycrow on social media.

The post Kids Club August appeared first on Nosy Crow.

Read an exclusive extract of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

We’re very excited to be publishing Anne of Green Gables in September – a timeless adventure that has enchanted generations of children by author L.M. Montgomery and illustrated by Isabelle Follath.

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

When the spirited and imaginative Anne moves to live in Green Gables – a beautiful farmhouse, set among the summer flowers of Prince Edward Island – she quickly realises there has been a terrible mistake. Her new family – gentle Matthew and his stern sister Marilla – were expecting someone quite different! But will Anne succeed in enchanting Matthew and Marilla with her cheer and imagination?

Read an extract of Anne of Green Gables here:

Anne of Green Gables will be published on September 12th – you can order a copy from Waterstones here, from Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here. Do let us know on socials what you thought of the first few chapters when you’ve finished reading!

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our latest book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, award news and more, you can sign up for our newsletter here.

The post Read an exclusive extract of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery appeared first on Nosy Crow.

Read an exclusive extract of Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull by Martin Howard

We’re very excited to be publishing Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull in September – a super funny, super spooky MG for budding horror fans by author Martin Howard and illustrated by Pete Williamson.

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

Mallory Vayle would list her interests as being normal, books about ponies and very definitely NOT talking to dead people. But when her parents’ carriage takes a leap off Gibbett Bridge – an accident for which there appears to be no explanation – she is taken in by a strange aunt the family disowned years ago and brought to her new, and very spooky, home. Aunt Lilith, a charlatan psychic, is quick to monetise Mallory’s prodigious skills in talking to dead people and starts to advertise grand seances (ticketed obvs) in her spiritual news sheet.

The ghosts of her parents also take up residence in the house but are cruelly snatched away by the shadow of Hellysh Spatzl, the grimmest, wickedest necromancer in all of history. To get them back, Mallory will have to learn how to use the talents she hates and raise the old hag from the dead. Her teacher? A talking skull called Maggoty, who wants some favours in return for his help – not just a gorgeous blond wig and some sparkly earrings, but for Mallory to break the curse that has left his spirit locked inside his own skull for 500 years.

Mallory will have to lean into who she is and what she can do and make a pack with the evil Hellysh Spatzl to get her parents back while at the same time putting on a sensational Halloween spectacular at only five shillings a head for an amazed audience at Nightmare Castle. And learn to love her chatty sidekick and his glorious wig…

Read an extract of Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull here:

Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull  will be published on September 26th – you can order a copy from Waterstones here, from Bookshop.org here, or from Amazon here. Do let us know on socials what you thought of the first few chapters when you’ve finished reading!

If you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our latest book news, including exclusive previews, giveaways, award news and more, you can sign up for our newsletter here.

The post Read an exclusive extract of Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull by Martin Howard appeared first on Nosy Crow.

All Aboard the Number Train!

Number Train is the newest release from Nosy Crow and the amazing duo behind Alphabet Street and Christmas Street, Jonathan Emmett and Ingela P Arrhenius!

Come with us behind the scenes of Jonathan Emmett’s latest book, Number Train, illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius!

We are excited to share the below extract with you from Jonathan’s own blog about his experience working on this fabulous new book for toddlers!

The idea 

“The idea of Number Train was originally suggested to me in 2017 by author-editor Camilla Reid who was then my editor at Nosy Crow. Alphabet Street, my first novelty book with Nosy Crow and Ingela P Arrhenius, had yet to be published, but initial feedback was enthusiastic, so Camila wrote in an email, “I am starting, cautiously, to think about a follow-up. Number Train? Might that work?” I thought it would work very well and subsequently sent Camilla a rhyming counting book text for a concertina, lift-the-flap format similar to Alphabet Street.”

A few years later…

“After some consideration, Nosy Crow decided we would do another street book – Christmas Street – as the follow-up, However, I felt Number Train had legs (or wheels!) and a few years later, I returned to it to see if I could think of a way to improve it. One of the things that made the two concertina street books I’d done with Nosy Crow so appealing was the big panorama illustrations Ingela created for the reverse sides. I felt Number Train had legs (or wheels!) and a few years later, I returned to it to see if I could think of a way to improve it. One of the things that made the two concertina street books I’d done with Nosy Crow so appealing was the big panorama illustrations Ingela created for the reverse sides.

I decided that the reverse side of Number Train would give readers another look at the locomotive and carriage interiors that were shown beneath the flaps on the front side.

As always, Ingela has done a brilliant job on the book’s illustrations, giving each carriage or wagon a colourful, distinctive design and filling them with amusing and appealing occupants. My favourite is Carriage 8, which contains a band of eight penguins playing musical instruments. You can see how the same carriage looks on the reverse side in the image below, where the penguin pianist remains, but the other instruments are played by other animals.”

The finished product! 

Nosy Crow made the finished book even more appealing by adding wheels to the front and back cover, which turn as it’s pushed along!”

Explore more behind the scenes from Children’s Author, Jonathan Emmett, for Number Train here

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Number Train is available to buy now from Waterstones, Amazon, Bookshop.org, or directly from our website!

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Behind the scenes of Jonathan Emmett’s newest release, Number Train illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius – author blog

Number Train is the newest release from Nosy Crow and the amazing duo behind Alphabet Street and Christmas Street, Jonathan Emmett and Ingela P Arrhenius! We wanted to share a little bit from Jonathan about his experience with this fun new title! Read all about Jonathan’s inspiration behind creating this book and his journey writing this detailed and intricate new title. All aboard the Number Train!

Jonathan’s Blog

The idea of Number Train was originally suggested to me in 2017 by author-editor Camilla Reid who was then my editor at Nosy Crow. Alphabet Street, my first novelty book with Nosy Crow and Ingela P Arrhenius, had yet to be published, but initial feedback was enthusiastic, so Camila wrote in an email, “I am starting, cautiously, to think about a follow-up. Number Train? Might that work?” I thought it would work very well and subsequently sent Camilla a rhyming counting book text for a concertina, lift-the-flap format similar to Alphabet Street.

After some consideration, Nosy Crow decided we would do another street book – Christmas Street – as the follow-up. However, I felt Number Train had legs (or wheels!) and a few years later, I returned to it to see if I could think of a way to improve it. One of the things that made the two concertina street books I’d done with Nosy Crow so appealing was the big panorama illustrations Ingela created for the reverse sides. This idea must have come from Ingela or someone at Nosy Crow as I’d left the reverse side of my original Alphabet Street prototype blank.

I decided that the reverse side of Number Train would give readers another look at the locomotive and carriage interiors that were shown beneath the flaps on the front side.

To demonstrate the concept, I made a prototype dummy of the book using photos of real animals. In ordinary circumstances I would have sent this prototype to my agent Caroline Walsh, who would have shown it to potential publishers in person.

Although Nosy Crow had turned the book down previously, they were still my first choice of publisher, so we sent the video to Victoria England, who’d taken over from Camilla as my editor there, first. I’m glad to say that the new idea for using the reverse side won them over and this time Nosy Crow accepted the book! 

The reverse side of carriage 8

My favourite is Carriage 8, which contains a band of eight penguins playing musical instruments (as shown in the “See Inside” section above). Here’s how the same carriage looks on the reverse side, where the penguin pianist remains, but the other instruments are played by other animals.

And Nosy Crow made the finished book even more appealing by adding wheels to the front and back cover, which turn as it’s pushed along!

Want more of Jonathan and Ingela?

View our curated list of concertina titles and see more of Jonathan’s work, read his full blog and view his upcoming projects, all on his website!

Number Train is out and available for purchase, find it here at Waterstones, here for Amazon, here for Bookshop.org and here from our website!

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