Nosy Crow's Blog, page 58

Nosy Crow at the 2019 Edinburgh International Book Festival

Edinburgh International Book Festival is starting at the end of this week! Running from August 10th – 26th, the festival offers something for just about every age and interest, bringing readers and writers together for inspiration, entertainment and discussion. And we’re thrilled to have a fantastic lineup of Nosy Crow authors and illustrators taking part this year!

Here’s who you can find at this year’s festival…

Award-winning author Chae Strathie will be at the festival on Saturday, August 10 from 10am – 11am, sharing his book, So You Think You’ve Got It Bad? A Kid’s Life in Ancient Greece. When you think of ancient Greece, you may picture sunshine and Olympic sports, but think again, blood soup diets and memorising epic poetry are just some of the things this book reveals! You can book tickets for Saturday’s event here – and here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

Chae Strathie will then return to the festival on Sunday, August 18 from 6:45pm – 7:45pm to discuss writing about history with Dan Smith. Learn about historical research, seeking out unheard voices, and get some creative writing tips for helping to get youngsters interested in history. You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a preview of the latest book in the series:

Buy the book.

Award-winning illustrator Jamie Littler will be at the festival on Sunday, August 11 from 11:30am – 12:30pm. Crazy for cartoons? Now’s your chance to create your own in this fantastic interactive drawing workshop from the illustrator behind Peter Ardagh’s The Secret Diary series. You can book your tickets for Sunday here – and here’s a look inside The Secret Diary of Kitty Cask, Smuggler’s Daughter:

Buy the book.

Ross Collins, the illustrator and author behind award-winning There’s A Bear On My Chair, will be at the festival on Sunday, August 11 from 2pm – 3pm. Join Ross for a hilarious hour of live drawing as he shares his latest book, This Is A Dog – he’s guaranteed to have you howling with laughter at these very quirky animal characters! You can book your tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

The Weird Friends Fan Club author, Catherine Wilkins, will be at the festival Monday, August 12 from 1:45pm to 2:45pm in conversation with bestselling author Holly Smale. Join them for a discussion about the trauma and hilarity of being in your early teens – and how they used their own experiences to write light-hearted tales. You can book your tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside Catherine’s latest book:

Buy the book.

Author Tom Huddleston will be introducing his new book, FloodWorld, on Monday, August 12 from 5pm – 6pm. Hear all about this cinematic new book set in a futuristic underwater city – and unlock the secrets of writing compelling fantasy adventures! You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a look inside the new book:

Buy the book.

Blast off with award-winning space scientist Sheila Kanani, who will be discussing her new book, How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs, on Tuesday, August 12 from 12pm – 1pm. Have you got what it takes to become an astronaut, a space engineer, or to work at Mission Control? Discover all the incredible and unexpected space-related jobs that you could do in this interactive, out-of-this-world event. You can book your tickets here – and take a look inside Sheila’s book below:

Buy the book.

Critically acclaimed author Christopher Edge will be at the festival on Saturday, August 17 from 5pm – 6pm. Join him for an interactive event packed full of mind-bending facts and sensational science as he introduces his latest book, The Longest Night of Charlie Noon! You can book tickets for the event here – and here’s a preview of the book:

Buy the book.

I Am The Seed Who Grew the Tree illustrator, Frann Preston-Gannon, will be at the festival on Tuesday, August 20 at 3:15pm – 4:15pm. In this spellbinding drawing event, Frann will showcase her work from the poetry collection and discuss the creation process – a beautiful and fascinating evening for anyone interested in illustration. You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside the anthology here:

Buy the book.

Philip Ardagh will be at the festival (for the 22nd year!) on Saturday, August 24 from 1:30pm – 2:30pm, for an hour of historical hilarity as he discusses his two new Secret Diary escapades, Kitty Cask, Smuggler’s Daughter and Thomas Snoop, Tudor Boy Spy. Perfect for fans of Horrible Histories, Philip will show you how he weaves fact and fiction together with exciting plots. You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside The Secret Diary of Kitty Cask, Smuggler Daughter here:

Buy the book.

Award-winning author Pamela Butchart will be sharing the fun fifth instalment in the Wigglesbottom Primary series on Sunday, August 25 from 10:30am – 11:30am. Join in with three engaging stories set in the best school in the world, where classroom capers could lead to just about anything – can you help decipher the classroom cat’s secret message? You can book your tickets for the event here – and take a look inside Wigglesbottom Primary: The Classroom Cat here:

Buy the book.

Much-loved illustrator and author Axel Scheffler, known for his work on Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo, will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 from 1:15pm to 2:15pm, sharing his delightful Pip and Posy page-turner, The New Friend. This gentle, funny event has something to teach all ages about the power of friendship and kindness. You can book tickets for this event here – and here’s a preview of the book:

Buy the book.

David Solomons, winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 from 4:30pm – 5:30pm, sharing My Cousin is a Time Traveller and My Arch-Enemy Is a Brain In a Jar. Venture through time and space as he discusses all things sci-fi, supernatural, and just plain wacky! You can book your tickets for this event here – and take a look inside the latest book below:

Buy the book.

And finally, Tracey Corderoy and Steven Lenton will be at the festival on Monday, August 26 at 5:15pm – 6:15pm, sharing the latest in their series, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Aliens are Coming. Full of slapstick humour and clever twists, this quirky tale of two canine robbers-turned-bakers is brought alive by the pet lovers behind this hugely popular series! You can book your tickets for this event here – and here’s a look inside the book:

Buy the book.

You can see the full programme of events for the Edinburgh International Book Festival here.

We hope to see you there!

Out now in August!

It’s our August publication day!

We’ve got some wonderful new books out this month – from brand new lift-the-flap and board books for babies and toddlers, to beautiful new picture books and illustrated non-fiction, and incredible new fiction, there’s something for everyone!

You can watch our new books video below, showcasing all of our brand new books:

Here’s a closer look at what you can find in shops now from Nosy Crow.

Bizzy Bear: Ambulance Rescue, by Benji Davies:

Buy the book.

Bizzy Bear: Racing Driver, by Benji Davies:

Buy the book.

Make and Play Dinosaurs, illustrated by Joey Chou:

Buy the book.

Who’s Hiding on Safari?, illustrated by Katharine McEwen:

Buy the book.

Who’s Hiding on Jungle?, illustrated by Katharine McEwen:

Buy the book.

This is a Dog, by Ross Collins:

Buy the book.

Nuts, written by Lou Peacock and illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail:

Buy the book.

Love You Always, written by Frances Stickley and illustrated by Migy Blanco:

Buy the book.

The Doughnut of Doom, by Elys Dolan:

Buy the book.

British Museum: So You Think You’ve Got It Bad? A Kid’s Life in Ancient Rome, written by Chae Strathie and illustrated by Marisa Morea:

Buy the book.

Under Earth, by Ellen Renner:

Buy the book.

Unicorn Academy: Freya and Honey, written by Julie Sykes and illustrated by Lucy Truman:

Buy the book.

I, Cosmo, by Carlie Sorosiak:

Buy the book.

The Weird Friends Fan Club, by Catherine Wilkins:

Buy the book.

Congratulations to all of the authors and illustrators who have books leaving the nest today!

Take a look inside The Weird Friends Fan Club!

In August (which is just a few days away, in fact) we’re thrilled to be publishing The Weird Friends Fan Club – a brilliantly funny new story from Catherine Wilkins, much-loved author of the ‘My Best Friend and Other Enemies’ series.

Erin and Grace are very different people. Erin has a monobrow and a slight problem with negativity; Grace is very #blessed and obsessed with her #girlsquad. One thing they have in common is a love of Charlotte Bronte and writing stories. And through their teacher-imposed critique group, they learn to see each other’s perspectives and become unlikely friends. But the path of true friendship doth not run smooth for the #brontebabes. #readitandfindoutmore #youwon’tbesorry

And today we’re sharing a first look inside the book! You can read the opening chapter below…

You can pre-order The Weird Friends Fan Club 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 at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Take a first look inside Heidi – our new Nosy Crow Classic

This September we are incredibly proud to be publishing the third title in our Nosy Crow Classics collection: Heidi, by Johanna Spyri, re-told by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Briony May Smith. And today, you can take a very first look inside the book.

Just like our first two Nosy Crow Classics, The Velveteen Rabbit and Peter Pan, our edition of Heidi will be a stunning physical object as well as a wonderful story: we’re publishing the book in a beautiful cloth hardback format, complete with a specially-foiled jacket, luxurious paper, and a ribbon marker.

With beautiful artwork by Briony May Smith, and a wonderful new text by Jeanne Willis, this new version of the classic tale is a perfect gift – a wonderful book to treasure and share, bringing an old favourite story to a new generation.

When five-year-old orphan Heidi is sent to live in the Swiss Alps with grumpy Grandpa, the rest of the village take pity on her. But Heidi soon discovers that her grandpa is gentle and kind behind his scowl, and she loves her new life running wild in the mountains with the goats, the flowers and her best friend Peter. That is, until Heidi is forced to move far away to the soot and smoke of Frankfurt to be the companion to an unwell girl. Will she ever return to her true home in the mountains?

A digital preview does not even begin to do justice to the real thing, but here’s a look inside the book:

Heidi will be in shops in September – you can find out more about the book 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.

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Rocket-powered publishing from Nosy Crow

This Saturday is the anniversary of the moon landing, marking 50 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969.  To celebrate half a century of space exploration, here’s a starry selection of space books for little astronauts across the universe!

Where’s Mr Astronaut?

By Ingela P Arrhenius

A delightful and funny introduction to space exploration for the very youngest of readers. A particularly charming new addition to the best-selling series that’s so adored by parents and children alike.

Buy the book.

Make and Play: Space

By Joey Chou

In this innovative new activity board book, children can assemble an out-of-this-world space scene. Featuring 20 unique designs such as astronauts, aliens and asteroids, the press-out pieces can be simply slotted together to create a host of intergalactic characters. After putting the pieces together, children can make their own asteroid cakes and get creative with crafts, including making a blast-off rocket and space wrapping paper.

Buy the book.

Suzy Orbit, Astronaut

Written by Ruth Quayle and illustrated by Jez Tuya

When Suzy Orbit and her boss, Captain Gizmo, hear that aliens have been spotted near their space station, they must act fast! But Captain Gizmo has no batteries for his space pod, his swanky new spacesuit is far too small, and there’s no chance of ordering a meteor blaster in time. Luckily, Suzy Orbit – astronaut and engineer extraordinaire – is on hand with her spanner and brilliant inventing skills. Suzy knows that a bit of quick thinking and ingenuity are even better than ordering new stuff. . . if only Captain Gizmo will listen!

Buy the book.

How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs

Written by Dr Sheila Kanani and Illustrated by Sol Linero

Do you have what it takes to become an astronaut, a spaceship engineer or to work at Mission Control? Find out all about space and all the incredible space jobs you could do, from training to be a space chef or designing spacesuits to searching for new planets we could live on, or even blasting into space and living in the International Space Station. This book will inspire anyone with an interest in science and space exploration!

Buy the book.

And you can watch Dr Sheila Kanani introduce the book below:

Have we missed your favourite space book? Let us know below!

Take a first look inside FloodWorld

This October we’re thrilled to be publishing FloodWorld, the first in a gripping fantasy series from Tom Huddleston – and today we’re delighted to share a very first look inside the book!

FloodWorld is an action-packed story for 10+ readers. Kara and Joe spend their days navigating the perilous waterways of a sunken city, scratching out a living in the ruins. But when they come into possession of a mysterious map, they find themselves in a world of trouble. Suddenly everyone’s after them: gangsters, cops and ruthless Mariner pirates in their hi-tech submarines. The two children must find a way to fight back before Floodworld’s walls come tumbling down…

And now you can read the first chapter of FloodWorld below:

You can pre-order FloodWorld 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 at this page, or with the form below, and you’ll never miss a thing.

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Advice for a parent responsible for improving a school library and the reading culture in a UK primary school

Yesterday, we got an email from a mum who wanted to know where to go to for advice and stock for her daughter’s school library.

I wondered whether other parents – and teachers – might find themselves in a similar situation, and so I thought that I would share her enquiry and my reply, written, I have to admit, while I was in a café on holiday in France.

Here’s what this parent said:

“I am writing to you in the hopes of some inspiration! I have recently volunteered to assist in the revamp of my daughters’ school library, in circumstances where it has been established for some years, but little attention has been paid to it during that time. There is no school librarian as such, and so the school relies upon the generosity of parents to give up their time and help out over several lunchtimes a week. As an avid reader myself (and someone who considers reading to be crucial to little people for so many reasons), I firmly believe that a library should form the core of school life, and so I am determined to make it the best that it can be. That said, as a solicitor, my skills as a school librarian are somewhat lacking!

As a specialist in children’s literature, I wondered whether you might have any guidance or words of wisdom that you could share in terms of the type of books that we should have on the shelves (the age range is 5-11 years old), the structure of the library, and any general advice that you may be able to share to encourage the children to visit the library on a regular basis. Apologies if this is a cheeky approach, but I am hoping to gather as much information as possible on the layout, and content of the library before we commence the revamp at the beginning of September. I want the space to be as welcoming as possible, and to give the children a reason to return. Both the school and the PTA are very much behind this initiative, so once we have an idea of where we should be investing our time and money, we can hopefully start to make a difference.”

It’s such a great problem to have, assuming that the school has money to invest!

So I said:

A great starting point would be the School Library Association.

The book lists produced by BookTrust are a valuable resource.

There are expert school library suppliers, who have inspiring showrooms and can offer advice, including Peters in Birmingham.

… and Madeleine Lindley in Oldham.

I suggested that she should never underestimate a local bookshop can give you. As the school is in Cheshire, I directed her towards Andrew Cant and Sue Steel who run the wonderful and award-winning Simply Books in Bramhall, not too far from her, and who, like many independent and chain bookshops, offer some amazing outreach and consultancy work to schools, which they describe on their website, as many independent bookshops do.

(To find bookshops near you, the Bookseller’s Association has a useful bookshop search facility.)

So those were my starting points.

I suggested, too, that author visits might, down the line, be a great way of inspiring a culture of reading. Many authors and illustrators, like Stroud-based Tracey Corderoy or Sheffield-based Caryl Hart, just to name two who are, I know, particularly active in schools, give information about what they can offer on their websites. Or, alternatively, you could go through an organisation that arranges author events, like Authors Aloud. Meanwhile, Book Trust has some great guidance on how to organise and get the most out of an author visit.

I suggested that she might think about running, or encouraging the school to run, a School Book Fair or a School Book Club, and said that one well-known and reliable provider would be my erstwhile employer, Scholastic. This, I thought, would be particularly helpful if funds were running low: whether through a club or a fair, parents buy books for children and the school gets to choose a proportion of the sales in free books in return. It is the case that the range offered reflects the fact that this service is run by an individual publisher, so a disproportionate content of the fairs and clubs and the books that the schools can get for free are Scholastic books, but given that the list includes Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books and Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture books, there’s a lot that would be great on any child’s or school library’s bookshelves.

I said, too, that it would be worth signing up to The Book People’s newsletter. The packs they sell in particular are exceptionally good value (you can get 15 Roald Dahl paperbacks for £25 today, for example), and they are launching some interesting school initiatives in September.

I said that The Federation of Children’s Book Groups would be a good source of companionship and information – full of people who are committed to children’s enjoyment of reading and with an annual conference that shares best practice.

I also said, of course, that we’d love to see the shelves in the school full of Nosy Crow books, and that we would be more than happy to put together an age-appropriate list of Nosy Crow books for them (or for any other school – do please contact us on 02070897575, asking to speak to Frances, if you’d like to discuss this further.)

If you have other ideas to support and inspire someone setting up or improving a school library, please do comment on this post.

Dr Sheila Kanani answers out-of-this-world space questions

Learn all about space – and jobs in the space industry! This Saturday is the 50th anniversary of the moon-landing, an important milestone in space history. But what exactly is space? Why do we explore space? How do you become an astronaut? Dr Sheila Kanani, author of How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs, is here to answer your burning space questions!

You can watch Dr Sheila Kanani answer ‘What is space?’ below – and be sure to keep watching our series of videos to learn the answers to important questions, such as ‘How do astronauts use the loo?’

Written by NASA award-winning planetary scientist Dr Sheila Kanani of the Royal Astronomical Society, and accompanied by bright, graphic illustrations by Sol Linero, How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs will inspire any girl or boy with an interest in science and space exploration.

Do you have what it takes to become an astronaut, a spaceship engineer or to work at Mission Control? Find out all about space and all the incredible space jobs you could do, from training to be a space chef or designing spacesuits to searching for new planets we could live on, to even blasting into space and living in the International Space Station.

You can take a sneak peek inside How to be an Astronaut and Other Space Jobs below:

 

Buy the book.

Nosy Crow set to publish Earth Heroes, a collection of stories showing how individuals can make a difference

Portrait of Greta Thunberg by Jackie Lay

We’re delighted to announce the acquisition of Earth Heroes: Twenty Inspiring Stories of People Saving Our World!

Having won this inspirational collection of stories at auction in June, we plan to publish the book this October, less than four months after acquisition, due to the timely and hugely important environmental message of the book.

With twenty inspirational stories celebrating the pioneering work of a selection of EARTH HEROES from all around the globe, from Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough to Yin Yuzhen and Isatou Ceesay, each tale is a beacon of hope in the fight for the future of our planet, proving that one person, no matter how small, can make a difference. Written in an accessible, narrative and engaging style by journalist and children’s author Lily Dyu, each story will encourage young readers to realise their own potential to create change.

With cover and interior illustrations by US illustrator Jackie Lay and containing inspirational quotes and photographic portraits of all of the Earth Heroes featured, the UK-printed gift hardback will be produced in the most environmentally-responsible way possible, from paper sourcing to delivery packaging.

Lily Dyu comments: ‘Our world is at a tipping point and young people are leading the calls for action. I’m writing this book to shine a light on some of the often-unsung heroes – young and old – doing amazing things to protect the environment. Their stories show how individuals can and do make a difference.’

Earth Heroes will be in stores in October.

Sign up to our newsletter at this page or with the form below, and you’ll be the first to receive updates on Earth Heroes.

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New video! Take a sneak peek inside 100 First Words

We’re thrilled to have just published 100 First Words, a beautiful new interactive board book and a must-have for every nursery bookshelf!

This vibrant, large-format board book is both informative AND super-stylish – with flaps to lift on every page! Featuring gorgeous artwork by homeware designer Edward Underwood, which is sure to appeal to parents and toddlers alike, little ones will love discovering what’s under the bold, easy-to-lift card flaps as they identify their first 100 words.

And today you can take a sneak peek inside the book and see the lift-the-flaps in action!

You can watch the sneak peek for 100 First Words at the top of this post.

You can buy the book here.

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

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