I'm just back from a trip to Toronto, where I was delighted to appear at the 43rd annual Toronto Festival of Authors. It was a fun packed event, with plenty of smart kids in attendance! We went on A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting and even ventured into Wondermere with Grace and Portia in ,Do Not Disturb The Dragons.

Emigrating amid a pandemic is quite something. Add to that a recent visit from Hurricane Fiona, and I'm sure you can imagine how much I enjoyed being able to travel and appear on stage again!

Thanks to Janet Smyth for the invitation, and to Olivia Hope for the introduction. Thanks also to my publishers and Indigo for their support with book sales, to the Festival staff, crew and volunteers for their help, and to all the families who joined the fun!

THE PUMPKIN WHO WAS AFRAID OF THE DARK is out now with Scholastic, illustrated by Tom Knight. You can buy it in all the usual places, including here.

Sorry I've been quiet recently. I've not had much time to update this blog, or send out newsletters to schools, and I've not been posting much on social media. It's a sign that I've been busy, busy, busy.

Busy settling into a new home - I moved to Atlantic Canada last year with my family, not the smallest of undertakings - and busy with new writing projects and virtual school visits.

I have, I think, at least 10 books currently in production, and I'm working on several brand new ones. This makes me very happy as I celebrate 10 years on the bookshelves today. 

Thanks to my agents, The Catchpole Agency for getting behind me, and thanks to YOU for reading. I'm a very happy author indeed.

Isabelle and The Crooks is out in hardback with Walker Books! I'm so excited. It's my first picture book collaboration with my friend, Chris Mould.

Chris is one of my absolute illustration HEROES. His work is as unique, wicked and charming as he is, and I'm so chuffed that we're making books together. Look out for number two later this year...

I'm also as honoured as ever to be working with Tanya, Ines, Maria, Dee and the rest of the team at Walker. They're truly brilliant too, as are James, Celia and Lucy at The Catchpole Agency. Back when I was only dreaming of making books, this is how I hoped it might be. Thank you, all, you're champs!

Anyhow, a funny story for you... I emigrated to Canada a few months ago, and my new house belonged to an Isabelle who lived here into her 90s. She shared many attributes with Isabelle Crook, but I doubt she was half as sneaky, and I'm fairly certain she was a law-abiding citizen...

I hope you all enjoy the story - I know you'll enjoy looking at the pictures. Here's the blurb...

They are sneaky. They are stealthy. They are cunning... They're the CROOKS!

Isabelle Crook is a very good little girl, who would never dream of breaking the law.
Her family, on the other hand, are the stealthiest, most cunning burglars around!

Can Isabelle ever feel like one of the gang - a true Crook - while staying true to herself?
​
Irreverent and adventurous, this picture book comedy sees everyone tip-toeing about at night, and is brought to life by Chris Mould's expressive, gloriously detailed illustrations.

I have a new picture book coming out 24 June. It would have been on shelves sooner, but my shark got held up in the Suez Canal blockage! 1, 2, 3 Do The Shark is published by Farshore and illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. Her undersea scenes are gorgeous and her characters are adorable! If you enjoyed 1 ,2, 3 Do The Dinosaur, you're in for a treat! I suppose I ought to invest in a shark onesie ... but maybe only if it doesn't require international shipping.

It's available to pre-order from all the usual places, I highly recommend asking a local independent book store to bagsy you a copy - The Rocketship Bookshop in Salisbury can definitely sort you out.

This is an amazing bit of news to be able to share. An animated version of The World Made a Rainbow will be available to watch from 3.30pm today, read by David Tennant!

Thanks to everyone who has bought and shared THE WORLD MADE A RAINBOW. It's been absolutely wonderful to receive your messages and see all the incredible ways you've been using the book in schools and nurseries. Just a few of your images are shown above, but I've honestly been inundated.

The book has been helping children talk about their feelings during the strange and unsettling times we're living through. I know from your messages that it's been helping adults, too. It's raised £25k for Save The Children so far, and I couldn't be more proud. Thanks to David Tennant for lending the story his gorgeous voice, and well done to the whole team behind the book and the animation. This is a proud day for us all, and it's so great that the story will now be accessible in another way.

David Tennant’s reading can be viewed here from 3.30 p.m. this afternoon UK time (Monday March 15th 2021).