Hello. I write and illustrate books for children. Sometimes I write the words and other people do the illustrations. Sometimes I illustrate words that other people have written. Sometimes I do both the writing and the illustration. It's complicated.
I've had books published by lots of companies including Orchard, MacMillan's Children's Books, Oxford University Press, Scholastic, Piccadilly Press, Bloomsbury and more. Some of them have even won awards.
I was thrilled to be involved in WORLD BOOK DAY 2019, and wrote TEN LITTLE BOOKWORMS specially for the occasion. Part of WBD's aims are to promote reading for pleasure and sharing stories, causes very close to my heart.
Everything changes when we learn to read. We learn empathy, gain knowledge and nourish the imagination. It’s how minds connect and people understand each other. We need literate citizens more than ever.
As it says in Ten Little Bookworms, “… making friends with books is just the best thing you can do!”
Here’s to friendship and here’s to reading for pleasure.
The latest Ten Little book of mine to be published is TEN LITTLE BUGS. Written by me and wonderfully illustrated as ever by SIMON RICKERTY, it's the thirteenth in our best-selling Ten Little series. I hope you enjoy the adventures of the Jitter Bugs as they run into all kinds of problems putting together the spectacular Moonbeam Ball.
I've always had a bit of a thing about robots. One of the first books I wrote and illustrated was Little Robots. It went on to become an animated TV series, shown in the UK on CBeebies. There were 65 episodes made and it was shown in over 70 countries. I wrote some of the episodes and was involved in the development and design. You can read more on the Little Robots TV Series page.
I'm represented by the excellent Caroline Walsh and Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates.
For queries about Festivals and Events, please contact me directly or Dominic Kingston at Hachette Children's Books.
For School Visits, please contact Authors Aloud.
I live and work in the beautiful county of Somerset. I'm very lucky to have a wonderful family of whom I'm inordinately proud. Apart from my family and books, I do a lot in the world of local politics. I'm a member of the Green Party and am proud to have been voted the NALC Local Councillor of the Year 2017.