Rabbits Rabbits EVERYWHERE!

With HUGE thanks to author and illustrator of 'Those Pesky Rabbits' Ciara Flood and her band of merry bunnies for helping us with this blog post! You can follow Ciara on Twitter @TinyFlood OR visit her website 

#PicturesMeanBusiness

A guest post by Linda Owen-Lloyd 

founder of the 'Children's Book Illustration' 

on-line gallery. 

Follow Linda on Twitter @childrensbookil 

Thank heavens for illustrators like Sarah McIntyre to wake us all up to the absurd situation of children’s book illustrators being relegated to second class citizens when it comes to listing their books in bestseller lists, writing about their books in the press and giving them credit in book awards. I believe that it’s a flaw in the way books are listed at source, between publisher and Nielsen BookScan, which is at the heart of the problem. It seems that there is only room for one name to be attached to a book title and this is usually the writer’s. Other information such as the illustrator’s name (or indeed the translator’s) is left to a second tier entry and even if it is entered correctly, usually gets missed out once the information is disseminated across the industry and beyond.  Sarah’s campaign #PicturesMeanBusiness is trying to overturn this flaw and has my wholehearted backing. Read Sarah’s blog on how to support the campaign - http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/693279.html - and with everybody’s help, we just may be able to give illustrators their due recognition. 

Read Sarah’s blog on how to support the campaign - http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/693279.html - and with everybody’s help, we just may be able to give illustrators their due recognition. 

TOOTY FANFARE - Princess Daisy and the Nincompoop Knights are HERE!

Ta-Dah! It's here at last, the latest 

Nosy Crow picture book 

by dynamo illustrator and 

scrumptious chap 

Steven Lenton! 

Welcome

Princess Daisy & the Nincompoop Knights! 

Princess Daisy is a force to be reckoned with, a beautiful wilful and wonderfully bold Princess who puts a league of useless knights to shame in a quest to rid her kingdom of a 'fearsome' dragon. Inspiring, beautifully written and with bucketfuls of charm,  Princess Daisy and the Nincompoop Knights is a right Royal rhyming romp of magnificent majestic proportions.

Princess Daisy and the Dragon and the Nincompoop Knights is OUT NOW   

£10.99 HB £6.99 PB published by Nosy Crow

We are beyond thrilled to welcome Steven Lenton to Book Sniffer Towers to tell us a bit more about his latest epic adventure in illustration. 

Where did the inspiration for this magnificent magical tale come from?

I have always wanted to create a new fairytale with a classic cast  – a princess, a knight, dragon etc but shaking things up a bit by reversing their roles.  I asked myself lots of questions as I developed the characters like, what if the dragon isn’t bad, why is it unknowingly scaring people?  What if the princess does the rescuing and the knight is totally incompetent, an utter nincompoop?! This all helped to formulate the plot, the title and the funny, silly characters that I hope will all bring a smile and a giggle to the books audience.

Who is your favourite fairy tale character in Princess Daisy and the Dragon and the Nincompoop Knights?

This has to be Princess Daisy because her plucky character and cheeky smile are all inspired by my hilarious beautiful niece Hannah who has endless wit and energy. I also have a soft spot for the dragon because *SPOILER ALERT* she is SO cute! 

Are there any details in the pictures which we should look out for? 

 Yes everyone must look out for the snail who is somewhere on every page – some easy to spot, some really quite tricky! Also look out for the dragon at my Princess Daisy events throughout 2015...

Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End!

What will you be writing / illustrating next? 

I am currently illustrating Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam 2 which is really exciting and I can’t wait for everyone to meet the new baddy on the block...!

WATCH THE Princess Daisy TRAILER HERE! 

FOLLOW Steve (@2dscrumptious) @ Nosy Crow Books (@NosyCrowBooks) on Twitter! 

With huge thanks and congratulations to Steven!

The Underwater Fancy-dress Parade!

Beguiling and breath-taking The Underwater Fancy-Dress Parade by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys deserves a place on everyone's bookshelf. 

'Sometimes it's hard to be brave.

Sometimes you get that feeling.

Sometimes you're just not ready...

until one day, you are.'

Alfie embarks on an important journey of self discovery and conquering fears with the support and unconditional love of his family. A story which will strike a tear-jerking chord with anyone who has ever been a little bit worried about anything. 

Beautifully designed this book with its carefully curated pallet and glimmering embellishments is a complete treasure.  

Buy a copy here! 

Follow Scribe Publishing on Twitter @ScribeUKbooks