Diaries, dice rolls and detectives
Story Street #3
Happy New Year! I’ve just been looking through my 2022 diary. There’s so much I would have forgotten if I hadn’t noted it down, and because it’s mostly drawings, it’s really brought back lots of memories very vividly, from the 40 degree heatwave to the surprise snow a couple of weeks ago. Keep reading for more about keeping diaries, but first, a bit of book news including a live event for families…
It’s going to be a Year of the Frog for me, as next month I have a new non-fiction picture book out, all about my favourite amphibians. It’s illustrated by Neil Clark and I’ll tell you more about it in February - but there was a nice mention for us in The Bookseller recently…
My other book news is that Thursday this week is paperback publication day for The Girl Who Noticed Everything, written by me and beautifully illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring, published by Walker Books.
Here are a few pages from the book to give you a flavour of Maisie’s wonderful artwork - if you have ever been on a course at Putney School of Art, you might recognise someone…
The story is about a curious little girl called Stella, who uses her detective skills to reunite a lost parrot with its owner. On Sunday 5th February, I’ll be reading the story at Stepping Into Stories festival in Herne Hill - do come and join me at this family friendly session, and make your own lost parrot poster. There’s a link to book below (and there are lots of other brilliant author and illustrator events on, so do check the whole schedule):
If you’d like to know more about the book, you can watch me and Maisie chatting about making the book by clicking this button:
…and you can also read a blogpost I wrote for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups about the inspiration behind the story here:
One of the highlights of 2022 for me was being part of the Invisible Palace team, exploring the heritage of the statues in Crystal Palace Park and working with community groups to produce a booklet and a board game. It’s nearly a year since I first met up with Sue Giovanni and Dawn Pereira at the park - and met the sculptures for the first time. One of the things I have loved seeing is the succession of new heads that keep appearing on the statues, left by the Mystery Head Maker (not part of our project) - look at this selection that have popped up throughout the year! Let me know in the comments if you spot any more…
We used collage to illustrate the statues for the booklet, and for the second part of the project, we took a more surrealist approach. I worked with Willow Learning for Life in Croydon and had great fun with the group inventing a board game - and testing it at The Ludoquist games cafe.
In December we held a launch at the Paxton Centre and lots of people dropped in to give the game a try - it was SO satisfying to see people having fun playing our game.
I am really going to miss this project, and being in a team with Sue and Dawn. If you’d like to try the game and read the booklet, you can pick up a free copy at the Paxton Centre or download using the links below.
Another special event this year was travelling to the far north of Scotland in October for an intensive fiddle week - Blazin’ in Beauly, led by the legendary fiddle band, Blazin’ Fiddles. During the week they announced a competition to design a new logo for the event - and I was thrilled that my design was picked as the winner! I can’t wait to go back there next October, and will be practising hard in the meantime. If you’d like a burst of pure fiddle joy, watch Blazin’ Fiddles play ‘A Shetland Night in London’ with the button below, or find out more on their website:
Have you made any resolutions this year? Do share them in the comments, I’d love to hear what you are planning. My aim is to start painting as soon as I have finished the picture book I’m currently working on - I visited our local scrap store recently to get some MDF panels to work on. A little while ago I bought Start Painting Now by Emily Powell and Sarah Moore, and I have been itching to get going - but I’ve had too many other projects in the way. But I will definitely do some painting in 2023 - and get cracking with part 3 of The Ghost Carp (now several years overdue).
Eight years ago I started keeping a diary in comic form - and it has become an ingrained habit that I can’t imagine ever stopping. It helps me to process everything that happens to me, and records all the big and small things that life is made of. After eight years, it’s interesting to see threads develop. And at the end of each year, it’s good to look back and recall the highs and the lows. Seeing these monkeys groom each other at London Zoo was a lovely moment…
This is my stack of diaries so far - if you’d like a glimpse of what’s inside, I’ve made a couple of videos about it which you can find on my YouTube channel:
If you’re thinking about starting your own diary, my biggest piece of advice is - don’t get downhearted if you miss a few days. It’s OK to skip! I have found it a very useful habit to get into - it has helped both my drawing and my storytelling no end. Why not give it a try this year? And if you are looking for a little extra motivation, why not join my online comics class on Thursday mornings? Booking link below.
I’m looking forward to term starting at Putney School of Art for my ‘in real life’ classes too. I’ll be teaching Introduction to Illustration on Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon, and Picture Book Boot Camp on Friday mornings (with Sophie Ambrose teaching the second half of term). Booking links below:
It’s been a long newsletter and I seem to have sprinkled it with enough buttons for a Pearly Queen. But I hope you have enjoyed reading - I’ll send another update on the 1st February, by which time I should have installed the banners I have been making for Canons House in Mitcham. I’ll also be on the very last finishing touches of a picture book by then, so I will tell you more about both projects next month. Have a good January, and do share this newsletter with anyone you know who might enjoy it. See you next month!
