Nosy Crow's Blog, page 52

Orion Lost is Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Month!

We’re over the moon – Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm has been named Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Month! A hugely gripping sci-fi adventure featuring aliens, space pirates, AI, and tons of action, Orion Lost is perfect for fans of Mortal Engines and Star Wars.

The transport ship Orion is four months out of Earth when catastrophe strikes – leaving the ship and everyone on board stranded in deep space.

Suddenly it’s up to thirteen-year-old Beth and her friends to navigate through treacherous and uncharted territory to reach safety. But a heavily-damaged ship, space pirates, a mysterious alien species, and an artificial intelligence that Beth doesn’t know if she can trust means that getting home has never been so difficult…

And now you can watch Alastair introducing Orion Lost on Blackwell’s YouTube channel, here.

Here’s a first look inside the book:

You can pick up your copy of Orion Lost from Blackwell’s here.

Don’t forget to sign up to our books newsletter to stay up-to-date with all of our books news at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Alastair Chisholm is lost in space…

Today we’re thrilled to be sharing a video of Alastair Chisholm, author of Orion Lost, introducing his new book – a hugely gripping sci-fi adventure featuring aliens, space pirates, AI, and tonnes of action, perfect for fans of Mortal Engines and Star Wars. You can watch Alastair’s video at the top of this post!

The transport ship Orion is four months out of Earth when catastrophe strikes – leaving the ship and everyone on board stranded in deep space.

Suddenly it’s up to thirteen-year-old Beth and her friends to navigate through treacherous and uncharted territory to reach safety. But a heavily-damaged ship, space pirates, a mysterious alien species, and an artificial intelligence that Beth doesn’t know if she can trust means that getting home has never been so difficult…

‘A gripping and very twisty sci-fi adventure.’ – Fiona Noble, The Bookseller

You can read the first few chapters below:

Orion Lost will be soaring into bookshops next week on January 9th! You can pre-order your copy from Waterstones here, from The Hive here, or from our website here.

And if you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is the Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month for January!

Waterstones have announced their Books of the Month for January – and we’re absolutely delighted that The Girl Who Stole an Elephant has been chosen as their Children’s Book of the Month!

Written by Nizrana Farook and with cover art by David Dean, The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is a thrilling and enchanting jungle adventure, featuring a courageous hero and real peril, set in the lush jungle!

Nizrana said: “What thrilling news to start the year! I’m so happy that The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is stomping into Waterstones as children’s book of the month.”

Kirsty Stansfield, Nosy Crow’s Head of Fiction and the editor of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, said: “I couldn’t be happier for Nizrana and her lovely book. It’s tusk what the doctor ordered for a grey, dr-ear-y January!”

Waterstones will be releasing a special blue cover to celebrate this news, while the original purple cover will be available on our website, as well as from independent bookstores.

Chaya, a no-nonsense, outspoken hero, leads her friends and a gorgeous elephant on a noisy, fraught, joyous adventure through the jungle where revolution is stirring and leeches lurk. Will stealing the queen’s jewels be the beginning or the end of everything for the intrepid gang?

Read the first chapter below:

People are already trumpeting about this wonderful new adventure:

“The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is as rich, dazzling and alluring as a pouchful of royal jewels, and as triumphant as a trumpeting elephant! I loved it!” – Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs

“A glorious, fast-paced adventure through the jungle. The Girl Who Stole an Elephant is adventuring at its best; a mystery, a jewel thief, and escape into the jungle with an elephant at your side.” – Gill Lewis, author of Sky Hawk

You can find a copy of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant in your nearest branch of Waterstones, or pick up a copy online here.

We’ll be sharing lots more The Girl Who Stole an Elephant news over the next month, and if you pick up a copy from Waterstones this month – we’d love to hear from you – get in touch on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!

Thank you, Waterstones, for championing The Girl Who Stole an Elephant, and congratulations, Nizrana!

Take a look inside The Monster in the Lake

In January we’re excited to be publishing The Monster in the Lake, written by Louie Stowell and illustrated by Davide Ortu – the funny, exciting, action-packed sequel to The Dragon in the Library. And today we’re sharing a preview of the book – you can read the first few chapters below!

Kit is a wizard. The youngest wizard in the world, in fact. But her magic keeps going wrong, and all kinds of weird stuff has started happening – exploding fireballs, animals talking when they shouldn’t be, and a very strange new arrival in a nearby park. So Kit and her two best friends – along with their local librarian – set off to investigate, and to save the world… again.

Here’s a look inside the new book:

The Monster in the Lake will be publishing on January 9th! You can pre-order your copy from Waterstones here, from The Hive here, or from our website here.

Don’t forget to sign up to our books newsletter to stay up-to-date with all of our books news at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Watch Caryl Hart reading When a Dragon Comes to Stay

Today we’re excited to share another wonderful reading from Caryl Hart, author of When a Dragon Comes to Stay, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw – a delightful rhyming picture book all about manners, good and bad!

When a dragon comes to stay, will she behave herself? Why, of course she will. Obviously she knows she must share her toys, eat daintily and skip happily upstairs at bathtime. Well . . . not quite. Like all toddlers, this little dragon finds good manners a tiny bit tricky. It’s lucky she has some friends to help her.

You can watch Caryl Hart reading When a Dragon Comes to Stay at the top of this post!

‘Bright, colourful illustrations bring dragon and her friends to life, perfectly capturing the perils of life as a toddler and show just what good behaviour looks like.’ – The Book Activist (blog)

‘Caryl Hart’s brilliantly clever text has echoes of Hillaire Belloc and A. A. Milne’s classic poem ‘Rice Pudding’, and Ros Beardshaw’s artwork is a delight. Perfect bedtime reading!’ – Editor

You can take a look inside When a Dragon Comes to Stay below:

And if you’d like to stay up-to-date with all of our book news, you can sign up to our books newsletter with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Take a look inside Orion Lost!

We’re publishing some fantastic new fiction in January, including Orion Lost by Alistair Chisholm – a hugely gripping sci-fi adventure featuring aliens, space pirates, AI, and tons of action. And today we’re sharing a preview of the book – you can read the first few chapters below!

The transport ship Orion is four months out of Earth when catastrophe strikes – leaving the ship and everyone on board stranded in deep space.

Suddenly it’s up to thirteen-year-old Beth and her friends to navigate through treacherous and uncharted territory to reach safety. But a heavily-damaged ship, space pirates, a mysterious alien species, and an artificial intelligence that Beth doesn’t know if she can trust means that getting home has never been so difficult…

Here’s a first look inside the book:

Orion Lost will be soaring into bookshops on January 9th! You can pre-order your copy from Waterstones here, from The Hive here, or from our website here.

Don’t forget to sign up to our books newsletter to stay up-to-date with all of our books news at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Books


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CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

No Ballet Shoes in Syria is the Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for December

The Book Association has announced their Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for December – and we’re absolutely delighted that No Ballet Shoes in Syria, by Catherine Bruton, has been selected.

Having recently won the Books Are My Bag Readers Award in the Children’s Fiction category, No Ballet Shoes in Syria has been chosen by independent booksellers as this month’s book. The Book of the Month aims to showcase independent bookshops’ unique expertise at promoting and selling children’s books – and to highlight outstanding children’s books.

Aya is eleven years old and has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher spots her exceptional talent and believes that Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time, Aya and her family must fight to be allowed to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya’s father – separated from the rest of the family during the journey from Syria.

With captivating writing, wonderfully authentic ballet detail, and an important message championing the rights of refugees, this is classic storytelling – filled with warmth, hope, and humanity.

Here’s what people have been saying about the book:

‘Wise and kind and unputdownable.’ – Hilary McKay, author of The Skylarks’ War

‘A moving story about one of the big issues of our time, told with wonderful clarity, and incredibly touching.’ – Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo

‘A gem of a book.’ – Natasha Harding, The Sun, Children’s Book of the Week

You can read the first two chapters below:

And here’s a video of Catherine talking about her book:

You can find a copy of No Ballet Shoes in Syria in your nearest independent bookshop – and you can also buy a copy through The Hive, an independent bookshop supporter, here.

Thank you, Book Association, for championing No Ballet Shoes in Syria. And congratulations to Catherine on her continued success with this book!

Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of has won the Children’s Book 2019 Creative Play Award!

We’re thrilled to announce that Incredible Jobs You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of, by Natalie Labarre has won 2019 Creative Play Award in the Children’s Book category!

Now in their twelfth year, the awards are run by Creative Steps magazine to recognise the best creative play products and resources. Entries are independently tested by parents, early years professionals and teachers – so we’re delighted that Natalie’s book has been judged as a winner in the Children’s Book category.

Incredible Jobs is a fantastic non-fiction picture book debut about all sorts of jobs – from the strange to the downright bizarre! Do you know what you want to do when you grow up? Why not work as a babysitter . . . for sloths? Or become a farmer . . . of corpses? You might even grow up to be someone who gets paid to actually sleep on the job! From taste testers to dinosaur dusters, there are all kinds of incredible jobs that you’ve probably never heard of . . . and one of them might be just right for you!

Take a look inside the book below:

The winners will be featured in the Winter issue of Creative Steps magazine, publishing on 1st December. You can find out more about the awards, and view the full list of winners, here.

Congratulations Natalie!

Watch our Christmas books video!

Last week we launched our Christmas campaign – you can read our blog post featuring all the books, here – and we’re very excited to be sharing the video today. We had a lot of fun making this unwrapping video – you can watch it at the top of this post.

Whether you’re looking for a gift for the animal-lover, the child who loves to laugh, or the whole family to share, there’s a book for everyone this Christmas! Take a look at each of the books below:

For the animal-lover – WildLives, by Ben Lerwill and Sarah Walsh! Featuring 50 extraordinary animals that made history

Nosy Crow’s Catherine Stokes on her recent export sales trip to Hong Kong

Catherine Stokes, our Head of UK and Export Sales and Marketing, has been travelling the globe meeting our international partners, with a suitcase of Nosy Crow books firmly in hand. Recently, she has travelled to Hong Kong, where protestors have taken to the streets.  Here are her thoughts:

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Export sales have become increasingly important to our overall Nosy Crow growth in 2019. The Sales Team have been working extremely hard, with our partners throughout the world, to double export revenue in the last 12 months.

I have visited 12 countries in the last year and everywhere, from South Africa, to Malaysia/Singapore, from China to Dubai, I have been struck by the genuine enthusiasm and excitement for our Nosy Crow titles and also by the real warmth that has been shown to me.

Nowhere has this been more noticeable than in the last few days during my stay in Asia. I wanted to use our blog to reach out and thank all our large-hearted, book-loving customers and publishing colleagues who have gone so far out of their way to extend friendship and for their concern, especially within Hong Kong.

I found myself staying and working in the heart of the worst unrest Hong Kong has seen to date on Monday and was overwhelmed by messages of help, personal contact details and minute-by-minute information. One colleague even delayed getting home himself by insisting that he escort me across Kowloon to my next engagement, dodging teargas, flying debris and road/MTR closures.

I leave Hong Kong on my way to Japan with great sadness for such a beautiful, unique and usually so peaceful country.

I should also add that I still have my suitcase of books with me, despite being advised to leave them behind ‘in case you need to run’. Leave Bizzy Bear and Pip and Posy behind? I don’t think so…