Finding Yourself When You're Five

This is a map of my son Benjy's imagination. He asked me to "put it on a machine and on the internet please, Daddy". So I have.

One Reason Why Picture Book Publishers Still Don’t Like Rhyme

Just a short post today, as an addendum to my ever-popular – at least according to the stats --  rhyming picture book posts.

Next year I have a new picture book out called The Pets You Get, illustrated by the unstoppable Adrian Reynolds (this, to the left, is one of his thumbnails). It’s in rhyme, and the first verse text I’ll have had published since Jack’s Tractor rumbled out. But just when I thought all my work was done and the edits finished, my editor called to ask if I could write a prose version as well, saying that ‘the rights team find picture books with rhyming texts are impossible to sell abroad and so rather than give them an excuse for not selling the book, I think it would be a good idea if we could provide them with a prose version.’ 

I’ve never been asked to do such a thing before, but it makes perfect sense. And apparently it works. It was hard, though, taking carefully constructed metrical writing and slapping it down into unadorned prose. But it just goes to show the extra lengths you have to go to when dealing with verse. Aspiring picture book writer beware!

The Pets You Get is available for pre-order. Just saying...

The Big Draw at the DLWP

We had lots of fun at the De La Warr Pavilion yesterday, at their Big Draw event in support of the Campaign For Drawing. The underwater theme was explored in everything from sand marks to felt-tipped oyster shells. There were pebbles to decorate, ultraviolet lights to play in, origami fish to fold and -- for a lucky few -- a limited edition Molsekine Sketchbook as a prize. No excuse not to draw, and even grown ups were allowed to join in. Needless to say, my two little boys LOVED it. And the special edition sketchbook? Um... well, I might share it...