​We made GOODNIGHT SPACEMAN as a companion book to Tim's ESA Principia mission to the International Space Station. The book centres around two young children whose father is an astronaut. They imagine visiting him and his crew mates onboard the ISS, before returning home to bed. While the story was written with Tim's own family in mind, we hope it speaks directly to each and every young child who looks to the stars and dreams.

There aren't enough exclamation marks in the world to adequately express how thrilled me and Nick are to have Tim involved in this latest instalment in the Goodnight series. We're incredibly grateful to Tim and to everyone at Puffin Books and the ESA for making it possible. You could say we're over the moon...

​On a personal note, life here on earth has been a little rough recently. An hour after watching Tim blast off in the Soyuz, my own father called me to tell me he'd been diagnosed with cancer. He's since started chemo and had a huge operation, just three days after I had a very similar big op myself. So for me and dad, secretly knowing the big GOODNIGHT SPACEMAN reveal was on the way has been a great tonic.

It's been truly inspiring and cheering to follow Tim's adventures. That constant grin of his is quite something. If a dad can walk in space, me and my dad can handle a little bit of a wobble down here on earth. 'Onwards and upwards' is our motto, so I think there must be a little bit of astronaut spirit in us all.
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Enough slushy stuff. In closing: THUMBS UP TO TIM PEAKE!

My husband informs me that, if you got those library lenders together, they wouldn't quite fit into Old Trafford. So of course I have spent a good deal of time daydreaming about headlining a gig there, with a delightfully intelligent audience who all have exquisite taste.

​My most borrowed book was 'Goodnight Digger', which by happy coincidence is tonight's CBeebies Bedtime Story at 6.50pm.

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Thank you to the PLR team who work so hard keeping track of library loans. Most of all, thanks to the librarians who stock my books and to the lenders who take them home (and who absolutely do not tear them or scribble on them, right?) If I could give you each a hug, I would - and as today is International Hug Day, consider yourself gently squeezed.
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P.S. I really struggled over whether to use an apostrophe in that heading or not, and I'm still not convinced I've got it right. Where's an editor when you need one?