"No!" is shortlisted for the Nottingham Children's Book Award 2014.

February 4, 2014

You can vote for "No!", (and Archie!) here... (after 8/2)

By way of a reminder, Archie was adorable. Everybody said so. Until one day he learned a new word… "No!"

Archie says "No!" at mealtimes, bath times, and every single bedtime... It is a hilarious tale that's perfect for parents whose toddler may be over-using the word "No!" and finding themselves suddenly tackling tantrums. The cheeky, charming Archie will win the hearts of children and parents alike.

On Bookaboo this Christmas Holiday!

December 17, 2013

The CITV show Bookaboo will feature 'Shifty McGifty & Slippery Sam' on 27th December!

The cheeky robber dogs' story is being read by Coronation Street's Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) and will air at 6.50am on the morning of the 27th December (Friday), and will be repeated at on Sunday 29th December at 7.25am.

Why I write...

May 28, 2013

I'm off to the Hay Festival later today, which is one of the events I really look forward to. It's a real privilege to be invited to these festivals, and I love the opportunity they provide to meet children and their families.

Sometimes, however, as a writer, you don't get immediate feedback from children as they read your books. You just have to hope that they are enjoying them! So it was really great to receive this email , out of the blue, on Saturday night...

"My daughter, aged 7, and on page 142 of Baddies, Beasties and a Sprinkling of Crumbs! after only being given the book from the library yesterday evening, has asked me to "contact the author" to let her know that she loves the book: "I love it! It's really exciting because it has some adventure in it. And I really want to find out if they stop the Unstoppables!".

Thank you from me for such a lovely book - it is SO hard to find a page-turner for a 7 year old with a good reading level, but not into the usual fairies/witches, has a nice size print, some lovely illustrations - and some proper writing - so many authors use words at too high a level or complicated sentence structures that even the grown-ups find hard to follow!