Nibbles The Book Eating Monster - BLOG TOUR-A-GO-GO

There have been some strange goings-on at Book Sniffer Towers of late...mysterious little snippety nibbles, suspicious rips here and there and books OUT OF ALPHABETICAL ORDER! 

I have been pondering for some time as to what the problem could be and WHO could be causing such mischievous chaos.... There could only be one culprit! That cheeky little yellow monster Nibbles, word has it he is now on the loose so LOCK UP YOUR BOOK SHELVES. Nibbles the Book Eating Monster is OUT NOW and he's heading straight for your favourite reads. 

'Nibbles' is a book with breath-taking production values, one which leaps off the shelf before you've had a moment to ponder, filled to the brim with familiar faces, a joy to read aloud and a treasure to be kept well away from book eating monsters. Clever thoughtful story telling and breath-taking vibrant illustrations (combined with a deliciously mischievous twist ) make this a book for every child to treasure and remember for decades to come. 

...The Making of a Monster

PUBLISHED BY LITTLE TIGER PRESS £11.99 HB
BUY HERE 

It is with great pleasure that I can now hand you over to Nibbles Official Monster Handler the ever-so delightful and super talented Emma Yarlett, so she can explain her actions and give us some insight in the creation of this most delightful tinker and his dietary misdemeanours. 

Nibbles the Book Monster wasn’t just a book about a monster, it was also a monster of a book.

The first process I began work on within the project was creating his Royal nibbliness himself; Nibbles. Designing him took a great deal of paper and lead-pushing, as I wanted to try and create a creature that was cute (whilst cheeky), friendly (whilst naughty), cuddly (whilst toothsome) and unlike any other picture book monster (whilst also feeling familiar).

This wasn’t easy!

But eventually I stumbled across him on a page of other designs and knew I had met my monster. I threw some paint down and suddenly Nibbles came alive and began to waltz his way through my sketchbook and my mind.

Then began the really tricky bit… Writing the story. I had recently seen elsewhere the idea of having physical books within books, and so this was very much on my mind as I began the book writing process. I had the premise of the idea of a monster being released, escaping, nibbling his way into other books and then being captured (or not as the case may be!) but getting this down onto paper in some sort of loose form was incredibly hard… And trying to explain my ideas of concepts to Little Tiger Press was even harder! They were incredibly patient with me and also gave me their trust and the freedom to just go for it. I’m more than sure I was incredibly annoying to work with at times during this project, so am so super grateful to them for believing in the book and I (and putting up with me!).

Eventually through much mind bending agony a loose form of a book emerged and it got ‘the nod.’

And so began the meticulous process of creating the artwork. Being what I now term; A completely ridiculous kind of illustrator, I decided in my well-thought out way that the best way to create the artwork for this book was entirely by hand.

Now, my reasoning for this was and still is that I am completely in love with creating physical art with my physical hands. There’s just something in me that cannot resist the magic of paint, glue, paper and all other types of things I use to create my art. This love is something I’ve really come to understand in my last few books and so it made sense to me to continue along that thought vein by relishing physical art again.

As lovely as this sounds, it was also incredibly stupid in more than one way, especially for this project….

1.     Art can go wrong. Not everything is a ‘happy accident’ and sometimes you just have to start again when a ‘not-so-happy accident’ appears on your page

2.     It’s a novelty book. That means everything needs to be precisely placed on the page with not a millimetre of movement in any direction

3.     It’s especially annoying when you create very precise art based on your roughs only to realise your roughs were wrong.

4.     This page.

5.     I could go on…

But as stupid a decision as it was… Would I do it differently if I were to do it again?

Not a chance.

Here are some exclusive photos of the original illustrations in all their glory... such a treat  to see first hand all of the hard work and enthusiasm that goes into creating each piece MAGNIFICENT and completely inspiring... 

 You can buy signed Nibbles prints and more HERE! Grab one before they sell out! 

NOW head over to FABULOUS Picture Books Blogger for the next instalment of this monstrous Blog tour! 

Visit Emma's Website HERE 

Follow Emma on Twitter HERE 

FOLLOW Little Tiger Press HERE  @littletigeruk

The First Slodge by Jeanne Willis and Jenni Desmond

Once upon a slime, there was a Slodge. The first Slodge in the universe. She saw the first moon and stars, the first fruits and flowers. “Mine, all mine!” she said. But what if there was not just one Slodge . . . but two?

Jenni's sublime ethereal illustrations perfectly encapsulate the epic and wondrous expanse of the planet as the first slodge arrives alone and in awe, to enjoy the moon, stars, flowers and all the planet has to offer. How will Slodge cope with sharing when Slodge number two arrives? 

A magically spun tale with echoes of Adam and Eve written by award-winning author Jeanne Willis who tells this beautiful story with sensitivity and gentle humour.  

We are beyond thrilled to be able to welcome illustrator

Jenni Desmond to Book Sniffer Towers to tell us more about her work on this magical beginning of time tale. 

Hi Jenni thank you for joining us, What's your idea of happiness?

'Lasagne' 

If you were the first inhabitant of a new planet who would you most like to be the second inhabitant? And which three items/places/creatures or foods would you like to discover first?  

I’d like my partner to come to my new planet. Usefully he's an architect so he can design us a grand palace to live in.  I would like some tools, a record player, and some sheep. Then we can spend our days drawing with charcoal, carving things like furniture and utensils, exploring, building the palace, weaving textiles from wool, milking the sheep, and cooking delicious things.  This was probably a very practical answer but to me it sounds like heaven.

Which is your favourite illustration from The First Slodge?  

The thunder and lightning, I love painting moody skies. 

Did the appearance of the Slodge change much from your initial concept sketches to the finished illustration?

I always felt that a slodge was going to be quite slithery and splodgy.  I drew lots of ideas of slodge-sounding creatures, and then my editors and I chose the characters we liked the best and then I developed him in lots of different colours and positions.  I wanted his colour to be green as he emerges from slime, which I imagined to be swampy. 

If not yourself, who would you most like to swap places with? 

I think it would be a nice life to be a domestic cat.  You’re free to race around doing whatever you want, wreaking havoc, but always have a comfy bed, food and a stroke to come back to.

What's your favourite view?

The sea.  I love to be near water. 

What's your favourite journey? 

The train journey from London down to Penzance in Cornwall is breathtaking.  But I think it’s actually my new morning commute.  I live on the edge of a park in London, and have just moved studios to one situated on the exact opposite side of this park.  So I ‘commute’ across it every morning smiling.

What’s your working space like? And which three tools of your trade could you not live without?  

It’s a desk space in an open plan studio full of artists.  I tend to stick all of my work on the walls when I’m creating, and throw paint everywhere, so the messier my space is, the harder I am probably working.  I use a lightbox constantly, and also a mechanical pencil and a good pencil sharpener.  I also recently bought a second hand Knoll Generation chair which has changed my life.  But that’s four things now.

What's your favourite motto? 

The harder you work the luckier you get.

Aside from illustration which talent would you like to be gifted with? 

Sewing.  I try but I’m too impatient and end up throwing it across the room in a tantrum.

Which piece of advice would you give to newly graduated illustration students hoping to break into the children’s illustration industry?  

Keep trying, keep creating new work, and keep improving.  I think passion and persistence are the most important things.  It’s also really important to be professional, stick to deadlines and be someone that publishers can find easy to work with.  Also I found that listening to advise and criticism helped me improve greatly. 

FOLLOW Jenni on Twitter HERE 

You can buy your very own copy of 'The First Slodge' over on the Little Tiger Press website  

With HUGE thanks to Jenni and Antonia