We welcome Owl King author, Bex Hogan to the blog today sharing insights into fairytales and how they inspired her writing. Once upon a time, fairy tales weren’t for children. They were dark and terrifying, filled with content that would make modern day parents’ toes curl. They were told to reflect grim realities, stories shared […]
Caroline Brewer, author and illustrator of Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature explains why she wrote Harriet’s biography using poetry! I wrote Harriet Tubman, Force of Nature in poems because Harriet herself was/is poetry. When I think of Harriet, I think imagery. I think of word association and sound. Her life, like poetry, bursts with rhetorical […]
We recently sent a few questions to Julie Sykes about her new series, Luna Grace! Check out her answers below! Where did you get the idea for this new series? I love the idea of having moving magic and I really wanted to create a book with a character that could move things by thinking […]
We have a beautiful blog from Holly Surplice, author of The Horse Dreamer, about her story and characters. The Horse Dreamer first appeared in a sketchbook over a decade ago. My youngest was just one at the time and I just knew I didn’t have the brain capacity then to write the story I […]
“Time Lions began with an accident”, what a great first line to our blog today. Author Krystal Sutherland shares how the book and concept, Time Lions, came about! Time Lions began with an accident. I (Krystal) was researching something for another book. I went to search for “Ancient Greeks” on Google, but I made a […]
We have a lovely blog today from Laura Baker, author of Squirrel and Bird. She shares some inspiration behind the book with us! WE ARE MORE THAN LABELS: THE INSPIRATION BEHIND SQUIRREL AND BIRD Have you or any of your children/pupils ever been labelled as ‘the quiet one’? ‘The loud one’? Maybe even ‘the cheeky one’? Does that limit how other people see you, […]
Simon Stephenson shares his inspiration behind writing books for children. The Snowman Code is now available in paperback ahead of the Christmas season. What Inspired Me to Write Children’s Books The Snowman Code is my first book for young readers. It tells the story of the unusual friendship that develops between Blessing, a […]
Many of us will have grown up with familiar tales and nursery rhymes. James Mayhew shares his insights into the importance of storytelling and voice but also in sharing these tales from childhood. Like so many children, I grew up with traditional folk tales, in particular the Ladybird series of “Well-Loved Tales”, and […]
We welcome Lauren O’Hara to the blog today answering a few questions about her latest project, Oscar Wilde’s Stories for Children. It’s a fantastic collection of popular stories brought to a new generation of reader! Why did you choose this collection of stories? What appealed about Oscar Wilde? I grew up with Wilde’s […]
On the blog today, we welcome Jihyun Yun sharing some insights about her book, And the River Drags her Down. Why YA needs a touch of darkness – and how writing about loss and grief helps young people confront their own emotions within the safety of fiction Last year, I attended a dinner […]
