AUTHOR BLOG TOUR! Giles Paley-Phillips

SOooo the nights are drawing in, crispy golden leaves tumble from the trees and the heady scent of (hedgehog free) bonfires fills the air.

I sit here this evening snuggled in my croched cape with a cup of lemon tea and a plate stacked high with ginger biscuits and miniature pumpkin tartlets poised and ready to get cracking with a cosy evening of picture book sniffing. *bliss*

Hark what's that I hear at the creaky old door, Can't possibly be...EARLY Trick or Treaters? ...

You'll never guess who it is...WELCOME to Book Sniffer Towers - Author of The Fearsome Beastie, Mr Giles Paley-Philips!

What a delightful surprise, always splendid to see a friendly face (as opposed to a gang of burly teenagers dressed as the undead, eggs in one hand  treat loot bags in the other)
Giles has popped over as part of his Fearsomely Fabulous Blog Tour.
You may remember we sniffed The Fearsome Beastie when it first published in the spring.
As you can imagine Giles was super excited to get his paws on the finished copies...

"It's always a fantastic feeling to see your book in the flesh. I did write an alternative ending, but it was considered too nice by the publisher!!".. intriguing!

For those of you who haven't heard all about this snifferiffic picture book let me tell you more!

Thank goodness the nanny state has taken her eye off the ball and let this little treasure through the net!
Naturally one assumed that as I turned the pages the following familiar tale would unfold

 "Sprog eating monster comes to town, children realise the monster isn't scary after all and they all skip off into the sunset together to have a dolly's tea party - Not in this bad boy!

It's time to "Man up" Book Sniffers this is what happens in this unflinching observation of the real life horror that lurks just around the corner...
Monster comes to town, children are terrified, monster tricks them, monster eats them and then...THEN my friends we are introduced to possibly one of the most kick ass grannies the picture book world has seen for some time (perhaps EVER) !

Axe wielding granny - everyone should have one!

This granny isn't going to mess around teaching this Beastie the value of good manners, instead she chops him clean in half WITH AN AXE! (thus saving previously "gobbled up" children)

HA-YA!

and then she makes a stew out of him which they all tuck in to..*chortle* - Extreme cooking doesn't get better than this!

Heston eat your heart out!

And that my friends is one heck of a good picture book.
Dark and scary in a Dahlesque fashion with a smattering of Grinch about it this story is hilarious with a brilliant rhyming text this will be one to read over and over again...unless you get eaten by a beast in the meantime. (read some great reviews here...)

Giles has been working like a trouper travelling all over the place doing events and signings and thrilling little people country wide. To keep up to date with where you can catch Gile's next event take a peek at his Facebook page

Before we pack Giles off on his way with a bag of Haribo fangs and a satsuma it's only right that he be ejected via the quick fire cannon!
SO HERE GOES !

EXCLUSIVE BLOG TOUR HALLOWEEN QUICK FIRE CANNON!

5...4...3...2..1! BOOM!

What would your Halloween fancy dress costume of choice be? -
     Justin Beiber! he scares me rigid!

Trick or Treat -
     treat please ...

TREAT!  Ahhhhhhhhhh

You can write really good poems but can you rap? -

     The short answer is no, the long answer is noooooooooooooooooooo! 

What is your favourite sandwich filling -
     I'm quite partial to a bit of the old classic BLT, although on my posh days i do favour the
     M&S Brie and Grape on a bed of salad!

What would you rhyme with the following words leech / raccoon / pumpkin -
     screech, stale prune, bumpkin!

Can you draw...?
     I doodle a little in my sleep

Do you ever speak in rhyme in every day life say for instance you were in the post office?
     - yes i do, can't help myself sometimes!

How has your book tour gone - Have any small people asked you unusual questions?
     and did you have a Ryder?
     Yes a huge Ryder with lots of exotic things, I especially like receiving Venetian dice!

We wish him all the luck in the world and can't wait to hear all about his next project! (we've had a sneak peek - it looks smashing!)

Don't forget to pop along to your local purveyor of Picture Books and purchase a copy at  the soonest possible opportunity!

Thanks for popping by Giles! and thank you to Maverick Books or sending us a copy of the book and giving us access to Giles!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER OUR FABULOUS GILES PALEY-PHILLIPS DOODLE COMP! CHECK IT OUT HERE

Check out Gile's other blog spot stops  here ...

AWESOME DOODLE COMP

COMPETITION TIME!!!!!!

In anticipation of our high tea blog spot on Author Giles Paley-Phillips virtual tour on the 22nd Oct here is a most magnificent competition for you! 

 

WIN WIN WIN a SIGNED Leigh Hodgkinson print of Colin the Cat (from Colin and the Snoozebox) and a SIGNED copy of Gile's book The Fearsome Beastie 
or a SIGNED Neal Layton Print of the devine Emily Brown (From That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown) and a SIGNED copy of The Fearsome Beastie

Get your doodle jotters and biros out it's time to let the creative juices flow!

Here's how to enter...

Cooler than a penguin with an ice pop Giles has written a very special and most definitely exclusive poem for the Book Sniffer and all it's missing are a few illustrative doodles from you guys to bring it to life! Closing Date 5th Nov - Giles will pick the two winners which we will announce on Facebook / Twitter and the Blog. Please email your entries to emma.booksniffer.odonovan@gmail.com OR send as a message attachment on the Book Sniffer Facebook page - GOOD LUCK!

Here's the poem!

Very hungry Mouse by GilesPaley-Phillips

Inside the chimney of our house

There lived a very hungry mouse.

He came out when we’d gone to bed

And chewed right through a loaf of bread.

He loved to raid our Frigidaire

To see what he could find in there.

He guzzled down some herbal tea,

And gobbled up the smelly brie.

He waffled down a sausage roll,

Plus a piece of Dover sole.

A pint of milk, a side of beef

tomatoes and a lettuce leaf.

He could chomp through anything

a three piece suite, a mattress spring.

a larder door, some wooden floor,

(a bit at first and then lots more)

a table leg, a goose’s egg

he ate the tent and every peg

the plates, the forks, the knives and spoons

the TV set, a bag of prunes.

This mouse was eating up our home

including Stan the garden gnome.

within a day he’d scoffed the lot,

the fire place, the chimney pot

 the beds had gone, and then the car
 he’d even eaten my guitar

but worst of all my dad and mum

were now inside that mouse’s tum.

I hatched a plan and told my friends

“Bring around your odds and ends,

The only way to make mouse stop,

Is to make him go off pop!”

So Annie, Heidi, me and Ralf

Threw lots of things in mouse’s mouth

Bags of rubbish tide with string

A cardboard box, a garden swing.

A bag of tools, a baseball bat

Two footballs and a cowboy hat

Then after he’d had his last slurp

the mouse let out a giant burp,

His face went red, his tummy bulged

He knew he shouldn’t have indulged

And suddenly with a great big bang

The kind that rang and rang and rang

The mouse exploded then and there

The things he ate flew everywhere

All the stuff inside our home

Including Stan the garden gnome

But what made me feel really glad

Was finding my old mum and dad.

So please pay heed to this clear warning

Or you yourself could be in mourning.

Don’t be fooled by little mice

Although they can look cute and nice

Some little mice, it should be known

Can eat you out of house and home!

Picture Books Which Changed the World - The VERY Hungry Caterpillar

Number 3: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle

I have just sat down in my basket with a small floral plate of buttered crumpets and a cup of fine earl grey, in anticipation of having elevenses shortly followed by a light lunch, afternoon high tea, a lavish supper and probably a few tea cakes with cheese before bed, which has put me in mind of the next book to feature in our classic picture book archive...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is an instantly recognisable title and it has been on the shelves of libraries and book stores across the world for a staggering 42 years (NOW THAT's OLD). It was brought to us by the magical pen of the incredibly talented Eric Carle and is currently published by Puffin.

This simply laid out book follows a caterpillar as he eats his way through the days of the week. He begins as a small egg on a leaf in the light of the moon. And in the daylight he hatches out in the warmth of the sun. Then, through each turn of the page he munches through different types of food and emerges at the end as a beautiful butterfly.

I always favoured the sausage and the pin wheel lolly pop!

The book is both educational and fun, explaining the process from egg to butterfly aswell as having a counting element which is explored through the various meals of the caterpillar.

‘On Monday he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry. On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry. On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.’

And so on, throughout the tale.

Eaten holes in the pages give the book an added element of fun and the text and images are simple and easy enough to follow for our very youngest of story lovers.

Eric Carle admits ‘One day I was punching holes with a hole puncher into a stack of paper, and I thought of a bookworm and so I created a story called 'A Week with Willi the Worm'. Then my editor suggested a caterpillar instead and I said 'Butterfly!' That's how it began.’

Carle’s artwork is very distinctive and he uses a unique style of collage utilizing hand painted papers which are individually cut and then layered.

Apparently 30 million copies have been sold worldwide. A little bird told me that that is equivalent to having sold a copy every minute since it was first published and considering that was in 1969 I’m sure you’d agree that if that’s true, it’s pretty incredible! Wowza! The book has been reproduced in over 50 languages and on its 40th anniversary in 2009 Google adapted its logo appropriately.

Very tasty!

Snuffling through those pages has made me a tad peckish! All that talk of chocolate cake, pickles, cheese, salami, sausage, cherry pie. Dear oh dear, I am positively rumbling in the tum department and drooling at the chops. Now where on earth has that cat butler gone to I'm sure there's a Dairylea Dunker at the back of the fridge somewhere which needs eating! .

Mwaaah haaa haa - Dust 'n' Bones a spooky treat by Chris Mould

Chris Mould is an exceptionordinarily popular writer and illustrator of spooky fiction and Dust and Bones will undoubtedly scare the be-jebus out of any unwitting Book Sniffer who happens to think themselves brave enough to slither through the pages if this one after lights out!

 

Dust 'n' Bones is a spooktacularly gruesome story collection for Halloween with ten - YES ten gruesome stories varying in gore packed within the pages this book is a perfectly tricksy treat.  

 

I have 5 copies of Dust 'n Bones signed (complete with hand drawn skull and cross bones!!!!) to 5 lucky Book Sniffers.

 

The first 5 Sniffers to post a spooky joke on the Book Sniffer   Facebook page under the Competition link will get their grubby mitts on these little treasures!

Here are Chris's top three fave spooky jokes to inspire you...

'If vampires can't look at their reflections how come their hair is always so neat.' 

Groan!

OR

I've got a book on the paranormal. I didn't buy it, it just appeared in my room.

'OR

'I used to be a werewolf but I'm alright nowooooooooooo.'

(I dare say you can do better than that!)

Chris has lots and lots of exciting projects in hand at the moment so you simply must keep up to date with all his news here...

You won't be disappointed! and there's more to come ..MUCH more

In other exciting news we are launching the fabulously monstrous The Fearsome Beastie / Giles Paley-Phillips blog tour with super illustration competition sharpen your pencils and pop back on the 22nd October to find out more!

http://chrismould.blogspot.com/