tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82660153622110136142024-03-19T02:45:21.093+00:00Scribble Street NewsThe blog of children's author Jonathan EmmettJonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-87334581203642573652021-04-08T17:13:00.002+01:002021-04-08T17:14:59.114+01:00A New Website and a New Blog! After 22 years of my <i>Scribble Street </i>web site, I've decided it's time for a major refresh. So I’ve created a new site in WordPress (which means it is better suited to viewing on mobile devices than my old site) and have given it a new name and domain address – <a href="https://jonathanemmett.com">jonathanemmett.com</a>.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iqofJ9nsZy09Uc-4VmiSgcVbEKmzQV5eDprBKftgcfPgDvkX3qEt4n_hg2G8buofPcdajoAATEV4oMduxd89VDRP-HR1LA3KV68_Qj9ZmaEApem7sNcZdgrMQJR4gw9g-juDGWydzdN_/s1000/New+Site+Screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1000" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3iqofJ9nsZy09Uc-4VmiSgcVbEKmzQV5eDprBKftgcfPgDvkX3qEt4n_hg2G8buofPcdajoAATEV4oMduxd89VDRP-HR1LA3KV68_Qj9ZmaEApem7sNcZdgrMQJR4gw9g-juDGWydzdN_/w640-h634/New+Site+Screenshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>The new website contains a new blog, which means that this will be my last post on this blog. </div><h1 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Click here to go to the new site's homepage<br /></span></a><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/blog"><span style="font-size: x-large;">or click here to go to my new blog!</span></a></h1>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-43586747002118914642021-01-06T09:48:00.005+00:002021-04-09T17:05:03.322+01:00A SPOT OF BOTHER remains my most borrowed UK library book!<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s1600/spotPBcover.png" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="894" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s320/spotPBcover.png" width="320" /></a>I've just received last year's UK library loans figures for my books, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.plr.uk.com/">Public Lending Right</a> (PLR) organisation. Although my top 2 most borrowed books remain the same, the top 5 features two new entries and the return of a former number one.</p><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/a-spot-of-bother/" target="_blank"><i><b>A Spot of Bother</b></i></a>, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, is my most borrowed book for the third year running. The sequel to<i><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/the-pigs-knickers/" target="_blank"> <b>The Pig's Knickers</b></a></i> was taken out of UK libraries over eight thousand times last year.<br /><br /><i><b><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/the-princess-and-the-pig/" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></b></i>, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, has remained at number 2, while <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/how-the-borks-became-an-adventure-in-evolution/" target="_blank">How the Borks Became</a>: An Adventure in Evolution, </b>illustrated by Elys Dolan, and <a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/chapter-fiction/danny-dreadnought-saves-the-world/" target="_blank"><i><b>Danny Dreadnought Saves the World</b></i></a>, illustrated by Martin Chatterton, are new entries at numbers 3 and 5 respectively. <div><br /></div><div>The number 4 slot is taken by <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mole1/mole1.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Bringing Down the Moon</b></i></a>, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, which took the number one slot in 2013 and was last in the top 5 in 2015.<br /><br />The PLR figures show that my books were borrowed from UK libraries a total of 96,514<br /> times last year.<br /><div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td width="50"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Position</span></td><td></td><td>Title</td><td>Nº of loans</td><td><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Relative Position</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">1</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s1600/mini.spot.cover.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s400/mini.spot.cover.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/a-spot-of-bother/" target="_blank">A Spot of Bother</a></span><br />illustrated by Vanessa Cabban</td><td>8,344</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">2</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW43DlI_kkRQ9CFwhs1oA2iq8sw-bq7yDOQQ3qWXWxdBOBYEtH8YuUYlM2HF4hHk2clXbz0Hccxr4KrQCkfkrY8eG_I4eorzOSwU-gFxgrqgKEp1HovEnFW8Kg40LLSf3lL4IQqB0SX4Hd/s400/miniribbit.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/the-princess-and-the-pig/" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></span><br />illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>6,085</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">3</span></td><td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1f83wgfURxUbrev7gimBVyGNmsjM6MNE1IYKJk4r-cphE0a6nKvfKq74BCABKS69bPLnDWz03olJhcB9luEU29q2_fV3d0R0Bdo9FNs0mKIDoaaqJUtsuAkYx27EwCyUxMkFeFelzAVaz/s100/miniborkscover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1f83wgfURxUbrev7gimBVyGNmsjM6MNE1IYKJk4r-cphE0a6nKvfKq74BCABKS69bPLnDWz03olJhcB9luEU29q2_fV3d0R0Bdo9FNs0mKIDoaaqJUtsuAkYx27EwCyUxMkFeFelzAVaz/s0/miniborkscover.png" /></a></div></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/how-the-borks-became-an-adventure-in-evolution/" target="_blank">How the Borks Became</a></span><br />illustrated by Elys Dolan</td><td>5,961</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">4</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mole1/mole1.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" name="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMIimNKUwiLlsXOyMBLl4UMuk0doJX2cyZeo7w-6cFret0uNgi-TOxXwVR2UVZHXR6A82AlM3XhaEzqEj9Wft6a6YwbGHS-WPDhhu0GpZG9oXly855_k_9AJi5sggTcHjHZgxhTKFji-j/s1600/minibringingdownthemoon.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/bringing-down-the-moon/"><span style="font-size: large;">Bringing Down the Moon</span><br /></a>illustrated by Vanessa Cabban</td><td>5,558</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">5</span></td><td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTmM2shyphenhyphenz_5crBhtizwLDFUg02RXlB-3SsrQDPOPBIeGdAYa1FwUn4beFRxRc5QrspNbsTdGPAAbQRBmu_2RattK_6yje24vVoCqDrJ5nMRTLiPZa0Ra9XSd59WVNEgRWlK1HyPy80FnY/s100/mini.dannycover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="100" data-original-width="68" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTmM2shyphenhyphenz_5crBhtizwLDFUg02RXlB-3SsrQDPOPBIeGdAYa1FwUn4beFRxRc5QrspNbsTdGPAAbQRBmu_2RattK_6yje24vVoCqDrJ5nMRTLiPZa0Ra9XSd59WVNEgRWlK1HyPy80FnY/s0/mini.dannycover.jpg" /></a></div></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/chapter-fiction/danny-dreadnought-saves-the-world/" target="_blank">Danny Dreadnought Saves the World</a></span><br />illustrated by Martin Chatterton</td><td>5,419</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />A big THANK YOU to everyone that borrowed my books, the wonderful librarians that made them available and the UK PLR scheme for helping authors like me to earn a living.<br /></div>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-44087672475597155382020-10-30T12:53:00.006+00:002021-04-09T17:07:14.473+01:00SHE'LL BE COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN • New Print-On-Demand UK & US Paperbacks<p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0R5-g_9IKOVEZbsbo78HXoDonbHm1CJDxmL2Rs-GshCVA8mXiai-hVhtC46Gv-Q8Ck9LZCCKb-VzUu7a-7edxrPS1kSh-D7-mnvGd-RtDFaHqgoYtsLx_oXxzUBLrtmQ8B6sk-WcVG4R/"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="621" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir0R5-g_9IKOVEZbsbo78HXoDonbHm1CJDxmL2Rs-GshCVA8mXiai-hVhtC46Gv-Q8Ck9LZCCKb-VzUu7a-7edxrPS1kSh-D7-mnvGd-RtDFaHqgoYtsLx_oXxzUBLrtmQ8B6sk-WcVG4R/w311-h400/SBCRTMCover.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm delighted to announce that <a href="http://www.deborahallwright.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Allwright</a> and I have just published new UK and US print-on-demand paperback editions of <a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/shell-be-coming-round-the-mountain/" target="_blank"><i>She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain</i></a>, our picture book adaptation of the classic US folk song that was originally published in 2006.<p></p><p>There are several versions of the song in existence; the book is adapted from a campfire version that features accumulative sound effects. Each verse introduces a new sound effect which is repeated at the end of subsequent verses resulting in a long string of sound effects at the end of the final verse. To break down the repetition of the original, the picture book version substitutes a rhyming couplet into each verse.</p><p>The picture book includes several verses that will be familiar to readers who know the campfire version, such as "She'll be driving six white horses" …</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICveHql2J6DI92tcfMoqlYDVVMl0ZSKjk5FEdDcqnAolYzPIk-R_KwgEUNbOPgSp0ARnJ0XRFwyRmk0LdTBj3MPHBzh-2WTVKAVyxX0o7xGAr2H6V0tD_ySfwakH_Q4o_1CWAhW_MYQu1/"><img alt="" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1293" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICveHql2J6DI92tcfMoqlYDVVMl0ZSKjk5FEdDcqnAolYzPIk-R_KwgEUNbOPgSp0ARnJ0XRFwyRmk0LdTBj3MPHBzh-2WTVKAVyxX0o7xGAr2H6V0tD_ySfwakH_Q4o_1CWAhW_MYQu1/w640-h416/SBCRTMInsidesUK_1-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>… and several new verses of my own invention, all of which are accompanied by Deborah's wonderful illustrations of boisterous cowgirl Bonnie Bandit.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB0CTyxm8hWH73b1MVIfzVOIvxRpEjGMwhsJndzigf6jfEMi9q2pgUvGxUZpzMkgzE-ScjkdXJmUzLi-eJ8nru7UHo5VgnKw4-HXz896dqEzngBzaVoxx25xo0-ch7njsl-Ks6OM8vZ5N/"><img alt="" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1293" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHB0CTyxm8hWH73b1MVIfzVOIvxRpEjGMwhsJndzigf6jfEMi9q2pgUvGxUZpzMkgzE-ScjkdXJmUzLi-eJ8nru7UHo5VgnKw4-HXz896dqEzngBzaVoxx25xo0-ch7njsl-Ks6OM8vZ5N/w640-h416/SBCRTMInsidesUK_2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Although the original UK and US editions have been out of print for about a decade, the book has remained popular with schools and when lockdown began earlier this year I noticed that several teachers and librarians were sharing readings and singings of the book with their stay-at-home students via YouTube and other video-sharing platforms.</p><p>Here's a smashing sing-along rendition from a US elementary teacher.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k1zhhaLqee0?rel=0" width="650"></iframe><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div>These videos prompted me to create my own sing-along YouTube videos of the book for stay-at-home families which were shared online by Booktrust among others. When I got in touch with Deborah to discuss making the videos we decided that now would be a good time to bring the book back in a print-on-demand edition. </div><div><br /></div><div>The book is as popular in the US as the UK, so we created a separate edition for US readers. In addition to revisions to spelling and grammar (ie: <i>pyjamas/pajamas</i> or <i>flavour/flavor</i>) there are some changes in vocabulary. So Bonnie juggles with <i>jello</i> rather than <i>jelly</i> and drinks from a<i> trash can</i> rather than a <i>dustbin</i> in the new US edition. For some reason, neither of these changes were made to the original US edition.</div><div><br />To mark the publication of the new editions, I've remixed the videos of the book to match the new cover and page layouts. You can watch both the sing-along version and the extended version of the video (which teaches you the actions that accompany each sound) below.</div><div><br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Sing-along Video</h3><div><br /></div><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1lP0zv83-OQ?rel=0" width="650"></iframe><br /><br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Extended Sing-along Video with Actions</h3><div><br /></div><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y30OEDG_EFQ?rel=0" width="650"></iframe><br /><br /><div>Readers of the new editions can also download a FREE MP4 audio version of the book from the <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/hatchling/mountain/">Hatchling Books website</a>. <br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: center;">You can order the new print-on-demand editions using the links below.</h3><div><br /><div><div><div style="text-align: center;">
<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://amzn.to/34rRCSf" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td>
<td><a href="https://amzn.to/3mG0qdt" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/shell-be-coming-round-the-mountain/" target="_blank">Find out more about the book on my website</a></span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-56172604322939660302020-08-18T16:05:00.006+01:002020-10-29T09:33:01.099+00:00RUBY FLEW TOO! New Ingram Spark Print-on-Demand Paperback Edition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-qqRV4zRnSsMs9bE0mPpR3JRj37DiY03bJUlo6vwyF_4Z6D-QYkY_tMqwItdPqpujhd68ZKHoDpegMWMu1nbHIlR_qXSIY3zovniKbSTF2AwwH51RuL3ysvr0VeF45SuqVD3gtoc1gJZ/s2048/rubycover.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2025" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-qqRV4zRnSsMs9bE0mPpR3JRj37DiY03bJUlo6vwyF_4Z6D-QYkY_tMqwItdPqpujhd68ZKHoDpegMWMu1nbHIlR_qXSIY3zovniKbSTF2AwwH51RuL3ysvr0VeF45SuqVD3gtoc1gJZ/w396-h400/rubycover.JPG" title="The new Ingram Spark print-on-demand edition of Ruby Flew Too!" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The new Ingram Spark print-on-demand edition of <i>Ruby Flew Too!</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>A few years ago, illustrator <a href="https://www.rebeccaharry.com" target="_blank">Rebecca Harry</a> and I published a print-on-demand edition of our picture book <i><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby1/ruby1.html" target="_blank"><b>Ruby Flew Too!</b></a></i> (titled<i> <b>Ruby in Her Own Time</b></i> in the US). As I wrote <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/ruby-books-new-edtions.html" target="_blank">on this blog</a> at the time, I've received more emails about this book than any of my other books, with many readers telling me how Ruby's story had touched their lives. You can read excerpts from some of these emails in <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2017/03/ruby-readers-emails.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>. So when the book went out of print with its UK publisher, Rebecca and I decided to re-publish it ourselves. We originally published the book using Amazon's Createspace print-on-demand service as — at that time — it offered better print quality than its main competitor Ingram Spark. However in the last three years this gap has closed and we've now published the book on Ingram Spark as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>The main reason for publishing the book on both print-on-demand services is that the Createspace (now KDP) edition is only available through Amazon, whereas <b>the new Ingram Spark edition can be ordered through local bookshops as well as non-Amazon online stores like Hive and Wordery.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Here are couple of spreads from the new edition.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFST41Ce-6G-Rv2Lsutxf_dcAX7wX1NYdkndbd-nySssDy1QJal-j62uEsHBkhJ-gbL6v5Pmn74sDB5tIykbuX0-fJiMipptV3tV2u1D6nntePL_9trOx2YjFuPBAf6gDyHGPzNqPbjqA/s2000/ruby1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLFST41Ce-6G-Rv2Lsutxf_dcAX7wX1NYdkndbd-nySssDy1QJal-j62uEsHBkhJ-gbL6v5Pmn74sDB5tIykbuX0-fJiMipptV3tV2u1D6nntePL_9trOx2YjFuPBAf6gDyHGPzNqPbjqA/s640/ruby1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Then one bright morning, the eggs began to hatch."<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaSoWvfs78wt6BTYREGqCfEFbKtG07T7ZuD9SgEUohtiMqoNUhxB-egtmI1G-GXtPC6gr_Qu0yZI_Aq61YAVjlZYgFY6HRzHZMpd-9-eOULhkKmBTPiC2XLMXmXodmYm_XUi7atH4FC03/s2000/ruby2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaSoWvfs78wt6BTYREGqCfEFbKtG07T7ZuD9SgEUohtiMqoNUhxB-egtmI1G-GXtPC6gr_Qu0yZI_Aq61YAVjlZYgFY6HRzHZMpd-9-eOULhkKmBTPiC2XLMXmXodmYm_XUi7atH4FC03/s640/ruby2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"And sure enough, she did."<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>And here is a read-along video of the book.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YK3ytjqGGk?rel=0" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.422px; text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>If this edition proves popular, Rebecca and I hope to make the sequels, <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby2/ruby2.html" target="_blank"><i><b>This Way, Ruby!</b></i></a> and <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby3/ruby3.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Go For It, Ruby!</i></b></a> available through Ingram Spark as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/Ruby-Flew-Too/25300119" target="_blank">Order the Ingram Spark Edition with FREE DELIVERY from Hive</a></h3><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/Ruby-Flew-Too/25300119" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh50s_-AEoMy4cczlhG6t91MWD1okZ_S9AhBh3p683ZiC70KlcNpTRb_IZn6SdrmUjbEvoHx3XxoUYoEvtFzAwUjTIwV0LXZj6MW7iTKfn5-icqmgLHBLTJU-mPswQJ8DhnyewNhzcydkl/s0/hiveLogoMain.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">(Note: Because the book is print-on-demand it may be listed as "Out of Stock" at Hive,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">but you can still order a copy which should be dispatched within a week).</span></div><div><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Download the activity sheets for this book by clicking on the images below</b></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/boardgames/RubyBoardGame.pdf" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7kxYAi00_ODHvICuvBiTH2xhXIk4KGAjAXQK6_6oMYDmPww4XRIOZRXOQXzMIUahLl2GdIoVJ3wuMUtaAB9tKtZTpBrQstmJTRAR60lTBFnewala0_Xq02zmmjQQWl4cASo6Sb5qeXGR/w204-h144/Ruby-Board-Game.png" width="204" /></a><br />Board Game</td><td><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/draw/drawruby.pdf" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq-Gxbd-mvCT53I04t9-GgVJSIUiNJEVyTHCBmRWErNJEPN4qBMNB0sE4I6HOFoNDDAK-gAwKWsWUhah1-qDTfLabKwZsZk3bh7FO2nV1VFjSQpSxCa2DcvwdADXFXkrftmN0JcVRfgHj7/w144-h202/drawruby.jpg" width="144" /></a><br />Draw Ruby</td><td><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/colouring/ruby/Ruby1colouring.pdf" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYw9D_1e2CIjmh7b8v-mhn7o2A29lZYSnfDG0Z9iTJImzUwMCtwJcwkjxpTSk2KHKCi3gtMZ7duJN6-gkJAm83ykCg7zPA_rAM2I4V6oIOX4qEgx5aDO5jJ0ocxk5h8IOnuQO8KYEtieK/w204-h144/Ruby1colouring.png" width="204" /></a><br />Colouring Sheet</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div></div></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby1/ruby1.html" target="_blank">Click here to find out more about this book on my web site</a></h3><div><br /></div>
</div>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-56119035386929208882020-07-05T17:36:00.003+01:002020-07-05T17:44:23.515+01:00Lego Blockbuster Movie Poster QuizThe <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2020/06/literary-word-cloud-quiz.html" target="_blank">Classic Novel Word Cloud Quiz</a> I posted here last month proved popular, so here's another picture quiz I originally created as a round for a lockdown Zoom quiz.<br />
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This one combines two of my favourite things: Lego and cinema! I've taken ten of Empire Magazine's <a href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-posters/" target="_blank">50 Best Movie Posters Ever</a> and used a little Photoshop magic to render them in Lego blocks. How many of them can you identify? Tip: If you're struggling to recognise any of them, try sitting back and squinting at the screen.<div>
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<strong><strong><span style="font-size: medium;">Click on each image to reveal the answer</span></strong></strong></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7UCpz_bYOn-91zLqcBi-_clGlbIQvujf8j0D2rzZMqV-an03m797JFnQLlo0iCSSNTWdekdJMl0BhwF82mQ80xOFVp2HGd6pVpxrBnz0dHSsxbrB-Casydnmqy99RQLlnm9oFvwX1qXP/d/20+brick+lego+film+posters.002.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8skwfKejo_TIXk_TU2hm3GOILt6r9hkhPxo47ckX73aBpW1rWbmIuSvMVhPrnD4yJBxKkhR4eBSRjSiIoTpOWceY8klRKiZHxq5GFteOcmAxyjxSGum8UYf5uL5NV1OooDz0nkqVpLcI/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.001.jpeg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8skwfKejo_TIXk_TU2hm3GOILt6r9hkhPxo47ckX73aBpW1rWbmIuSvMVhPrnD4yJBxKkhR4eBSRjSiIoTpOWceY8klRKiZHxq5GFteOcmAxyjxSGum8UYf5uL5NV1OooDz0nkqVpLcI/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.001.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpqSskh631G17MCXMi-TDA1GbMRwWq6CJR09UyoxrSzWuCtwRevmbgSmySb4KkxMhUiPysSYm0wc9O88KR13rf-kDIxOxvajbXkwuLDB0LpCiadtsO1yP5UqprOpL2bRtpddYQFBMVXdE/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.004.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85y8jGJHbEpunNC9ffWccPxVaF96G_Y1iKH2-On9VY3cy7UIvnCfwdWcjrPkh6X1DL3k5JdnJq-L7FHUpn5RSxoejN8Ci31rCCqPSd1PpbGr4cZLdwhL2KiOC8To0af0FdEVbM5l10ITe/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.003.jpeg';" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85y8jGJHbEpunNC9ffWccPxVaF96G_Y1iKH2-On9VY3cy7UIvnCfwdWcjrPkh6X1DL3k5JdnJq-L7FHUpn5RSxoejN8Ci31rCCqPSd1PpbGr4cZLdwhL2KiOC8To0af0FdEVbM5l10ITe/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.003.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKcYLY7iAgQG1JSZ7KeUJxGDG8kKp05x6Oh6Rba5JU-DOaKaBEAraHh48SPKCSRTJ1R54G-4S7Pji_97oPkoPeFQPjZmFqbgpHc1TEqC-6VDkkqo3X0uhMD85LwUmRtfbrx3yxfDkNoVt/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.006.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q5WkAyb9N1jpHLPSVFoPGZjlDf8oZxjcKixHYCtppKF_EAfCxG93cf3loVVdDENQesZqTKsx7ElDWZZ2zkcVcu2N9zbY_uXBh2-oj84mdrwnUqxyYQ84XilqrNrig-P4K7YJAS84LeaL/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.005.jpeg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6q5WkAyb9N1jpHLPSVFoPGZjlDf8oZxjcKixHYCtppKF_EAfCxG93cf3loVVdDENQesZqTKsx7ElDWZZ2zkcVcu2N9zbY_uXBh2-oj84mdrwnUqxyYQ84XilqrNrig-P4K7YJAS84LeaL/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.005.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYajEHPYe-3UcTI0OwtDu9OOdVT2sWKOXXNvihbkpqSULbucpcwDMVAPT-_aDMJhQSl9TWhKjICEp3HbvB4Ge_tphIyDhCDSRWLx4E1XqxR3PgdGV2FG2m7kOqcUMvnUZhkmp3Y6iJPZI/d/20+brick+lego+film+posters.008.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb1eQGO_x2iVCOD_LGbFQfQqrOIMnHVZA8iTFu6z2VWOzpyBikZtMTKBIJx_c85l0rLrywb0zohhQCHlIbnrnymJnah7L8LUTFP0RbYHOnYHVQvwDGctlYWk-RIKkDeLYiFs7LymCh3aj/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.007.jpeg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDb1eQGO_x2iVCOD_LGbFQfQqrOIMnHVZA8iTFu6z2VWOzpyBikZtMTKBIJx_c85l0rLrywb0zohhQCHlIbnrnymJnah7L8LUTFP0RbYHOnYHVQvwDGctlYWk-RIKkDeLYiFs7LymCh3aj/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.007.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDx3OD3nqCE2i5s1ChvnNb4s1YH7YRtmalqp4G39sBedVAs_HeVtwimdXJPrFOflPIB3aPkYnVA2qJG2VnHA2n0SF3CKx7rOUXpkKmL4J9uW2xXtaF0pnqY4wPdwmq4b2b64cSJ3LWFZcZ/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.010.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dogFf61lZV7jGvFUls7Y_t6e4TAwQNLgWhS4JLKN_jm5ismVhG5u6xa_5vbMJ6Zd7bq42wa19WLOpSU9Bk-JPz5oHZxQR_GFyJd8_XuNAckeHJ7m6ethn7eaMfFXnh2-gajNrHaUfiPS/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.009.jpeg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2dogFf61lZV7jGvFUls7Y_t6e4TAwQNLgWhS4JLKN_jm5ismVhG5u6xa_5vbMJ6Zd7bq42wa19WLOpSU9Bk-JPz5oHZxQR_GFyJd8_XuNAckeHJ7m6ethn7eaMfFXnh2-gajNrHaUfiPS/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.009.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ec9G3RUv9GsqU2-3qhZ2C3g-c7dOgw6XA8glTj4QzAje84Xx05nEBQY8d2O7WUSWkMxn7BVzjMMLAaxrxP4OrCs2RUwKxF0FBP0iyINcTX_xI4bhycRYupybTAaIQpztz3CYkwYOv6c_/d/20+brick+lego+film+posters.012.jpeg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxUyxFUYaowOtjXOvzvMVDf2YE47kw04pARsboOlXwKAjxnQ_qm9FBGiAIFEh2vqtnkm_8OzqV41rqcV5ZNi5tNFj6eDOt2O8mbOAfpAemauQfEHJaPolq1P0uULputwnD1YYzKnFTsij/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.011.jpeg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBxUyxFUYaowOtjXOvzvMVDf2YE47kw04pARsboOlXwKAjxnQ_qm9FBGiAIFEh2vqtnkm_8OzqV41rqcV5ZNi5tNFj6eDOt2O8mbOAfpAemauQfEHJaPolq1P0uULputwnD1YYzKnFTsij/s981/20+brick+lego+film+posters.011.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><b>How did you do?</b></span></div>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="60"><strong>10</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Oscar-winner</b><b>: </b>Perfect, with no piece out of place!</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>7–9</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b>Blockbuster</b></span>: A solidly-constructed performance.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>4–6</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Straight to DVD:</b> Not bad, but you left some bits in the box. </td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>1–3</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Outright Flop:</b> You really went to pieces.</td></tr></tbody></table></div>
<br />Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-30566040945366651702020-06-14T16:27:00.005+01:002020-07-05T09:27:27.540+01:00Classic Novel Word Cloud QuizSince the first week of lockdown, my family have been getting together with a group of college friends for a weekly Zoom quiz. Each quiz is usually made up of several themed rounds and after thirteen weeks of quizzing, themes are getting increasingly inventive. This week I prepared a round of word clouds created from classic novels, which I thought I'd share here too.<br />
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Each of the word clouds below was generated from the complete text of a classic novel. The more often the word appears in the novel, the bigger the word appears in the cloud. Common words (such as "the", "a" "and") are excluded. The shape of each cloud is also a clue to the novel. The shapes make guessing the novel relatively easy, so to claim a point, you must be able to name the novel's author as well – and no half points for getting one but not the other!</div>
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The novels were all taken from <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>'s top 20 most downloaded ebooks for the last 30 days (at the time of compiling) and the word clouds were generated using the word cloud creator at <a href="https://wordart.com/" target="_blank">wordart.com</a></div>
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<b>How did you do?</b></span></div>
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="60"><strong>10</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>On cloud nine</b><b>: </b>Your knowledge of classic literature is exemplary.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>7–9</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b>Cloud-burster</b></span>: You know your Stevenson from your Shelley.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>4–6</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Cloudy with sunny spells:</b> Could do better, but not too shabby.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>1–3</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Under a cloud:</b> You need to brush up on your classics.<br />
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-43117951958016615472020-06-04T07:59:00.006+01:002020-07-23T09:17:55.376+01:00A PRESENT FOR ROSY • New UK Picture Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfR_1qCyJ3EzC3Cc6ps9BQpXGhnYi2gNNSEj9hMZ79NG2Hns-6wB3irkmVN9QvMJkZe_MRik-1ZoP9nPyyEtrIRg8CQyP4wkKEGcZM-9XmPjGude6zjykIyqV49HmZnA1PmIbjgfYdejpj/s1600/A+Present+for+Rosy+front+cover.jpg"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfR_1qCyJ3EzC3Cc6ps9BQpXGhnYi2gNNSEj9hMZ79NG2Hns-6wB3irkmVN9QvMJkZe_MRik-1ZoP9nPyyEtrIRg8CQyP4wkKEGcZM-9XmPjGude6zjykIyqV49HmZnA1PmIbjgfYdejpj/s400/A+Present+for+Rosy+front+cover.jpg" width="361" /></a></div>
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I have a new picture book coming out in hardcover in the UK today! <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/rosy/rosy.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">A Present for Rosy</a> is illustrated by <a href="https://www.pollynoakesillustration.com/" target="_blank">Polly Noakes</a> and published by <a href="https://www.walker.co.uk/" target="_blank">Walker Books</a>. The story follows the ups and downs in an unlikely friendship between a dainty bird and a burly bear and is the eighth picture book I’ve done with Walker books. The previous seven, starting with <i><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mole1/mole1.html" target="_blank"><b>Bringing Down the Moon</b></a>,</i> were all created with the wonderful illustrator Vanessa Cabban. Sadly, Vanessa passed away in 2014; you can read a short tribute I wrote about Vanessa <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2015/01/in-memory-of-vanessa-cabban.html">here</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hL2lU-iZew1hRMI17mWNCrVb5FATJjc95USE7htDuc0-uoWFw1jr91nHe6wGLcHPE8xeAWqBe1swAzHuFCHi3LP_yCmnfMkWPhlSBF6MU14dPazWeSsGp1bZ-0ez5oAI2OVzxlaWUdlJ/s1600/vanessa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-hL2lU-iZew1hRMI17mWNCrVb5FATJjc95USE7htDuc0-uoWFw1jr91nHe6wGLcHPE8xeAWqBe1swAzHuFCHi3LP_yCmnfMkWPhlSBF6MU14dPazWeSsGp1bZ-0ez5oAI2OVzxlaWUdlJ/w300-h320/vanessa.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Present for Rosy</i> was written in<br />
memory of illustrator Vanessa Cabban.</td></tr>
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When Walker Books encouraged me to write a new picture book for someone else to illustrate, I decided I would try to write a story that was in memory of Vanessa. Vanessa had suffered from depression, which I’ve also had some experience of, and I started writing a story called <i>Rabbit’s Bright Spark </i>that explored this theme. However after a year of working on various unfinished drafts I put it aside as the story felt too sombre and melancholy – which were not qualities I readily associated with the Vanessa I’d known.<br />
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When I started afresh a while later, I took a different approach and tried to write something that captured the nature of my friendship with Vanessa. The two of us came from very different backgrounds and, although we agreed on a lot, we had very different perspectives on some issues. One of the reasons I valued our friendship was that we were able to exchange our views frankly and accept each other’s differing opinions – a quality that’s become rare in recent years. So I wrote a story, initially titled <i>Rosy and Rory</i>, about an unlikely friendship between a bear and a bird who explore their forest home together. <br />
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The story is not autobiographical in any literal sense; neither I or Vanessa are meant to be either Rosy or Rory, but it draws on conversations I had with Vanessa and reflects the ups and downs our friendship had over the years.<br />
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When I finally had a draft I was happy with, I sent it to Nic Knight, who had edited the last couple of books I’d done with Vanessa at Walker Books. Much to my relief, Nic loved the story, but it was a while before Walker accepted it and even longer before we found an illustrator who was right for the characters and setting.<br />
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<a href="https://www.pollynoakesillustration.com/">Polly Noakes</a> has done a wonderful job of bringing Rosy and Rory and their woodland world to life. The beautiful spread below, with Rory discovering the waterfall and the fireflies is a favourite of mine and Nic’s.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4H1xdJI5xoHcen7JKwn3FnY5nM__eQY1wvyrc1JJaLiYN0jJ4RPhALR8S0CfnJH8vvWI7d26P_NkzJoWyR8iSp1w8txvv6DEP_7ZqooFylP7scpv23HLloj45I4EFnagK4MRrFiYzSBi/s1600/waterfall.png"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4H1xdJI5xoHcen7JKwn3FnY5nM__eQY1wvyrc1JJaLiYN0jJ4RPhALR8S0CfnJH8vvWI7d26P_NkzJoWyR8iSp1w8txvv6DEP_7ZqooFylP7scpv23HLloj45I4EFnagK4MRrFiYzSBi/s640/waterfall.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Polly has shared some of her development work for the firefly illustration on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/polly_noakes_illustration/" target="_blank">her instagram account </a>(click the arrows on the side of the image below to view the other images).</div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAsZit6HP8B/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank">
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAsZit6HP8B/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A PRESENT FOR ROSY my new book with @jonathanemmett is out next week with @bigpicturebooks. Swipe 👉 to see initial roughs and artwork stages. At the end are ideas we didn't use. My hands were permanently indigo working on this spread! Made using Hydrus inks, crayon and homemade textures. I am often asked how I made Rory's fur...sorry it's top secret, only @charliemoyler and Nic the editor know. Shushhhhhhh you two. X . . . #picturebookmaker #kidlitart #walkerbooks #childrensillustration #illustrationoftheday #booksforkids #creativelife #readingwithkids #instaart #aetoftheday #best_of_illustrations #illustration_best #pollynoakes</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/polly_noakes_illustration/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> Polly Noakes</a> (@polly_noakes_illustration) on <time datetime="2020-05-27T13:55:15+00:00" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">May 27, 2020 at 6:55am PDT</time></div>
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Polly tells me this was not intentional, but the way that Rory and the moon are both shown among the branches of a tree echoes a detail from one of Vanessa’s illustrations for our first book, <i>Bringing Down the Moon.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBOWkr3j_e49TSbs4F-354dxf9xQSBEfdo3l3aqwhK7qadr09y3bkAvmtMeAffkdkaKxCxgJRFTLqAyWICsfugmhzSd_kpO59gObuhFAqIGEfE1QOMI0Tsr0ODO5gR-gP7OpiL-Jhk81Z/s1600/molemoon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBOWkr3j_e49TSbs4F-354dxf9xQSBEfdo3l3aqwhK7qadr09y3bkAvmtMeAffkdkaKxCxgJRFTLqAyWICsfugmhzSd_kpO59gObuhFAqIGEfE1QOMI0Tsr0ODO5gR-gP7OpiL-Jhk81Z/s400/molemoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A detail from one of Vanessa Cabban's illustrations for <i>Bringing Down the Moon.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Polly created this gorgeous illustration of a rainbow for the end of the story.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oolAfpAaKTpslOD8yjam0mMcrkT_ml1iIqbv9KX7-yaM1TnZiVlcNw6XMiS-go2lrLc3uwqKTPENo3NvSgFuULfbJCquji1M_7JUcejkkjjCvy7vSHu7oI3_U6FTTE3lzxo62TM-KvgI/s1600/rainbow.png"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oolAfpAaKTpslOD8yjam0mMcrkT_ml1iIqbv9KX7-yaM1TnZiVlcNw6XMiS-go2lrLc3uwqKTPENo3NvSgFuULfbJCquji1M_7JUcejkkjjCvy7vSHu7oI3_U6FTTE3lzxo62TM-KvgI/s640/rainbow.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I wrote the story, four years ago, I could not have foreseen that the image of a rainbow would have the resonance it has now, as the book is published in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. As I write this, the windows of many of the houses in my neighbourhood and across the UK are decorated with <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51988671">children’s paintings of rainbows</a>, created as signs of hope during the current lockdown when families are having to stay at home. <i><b>A Present for Rosy</b></i> is a story about companionship and finding beauty in the world around us, gifts that many of us have learnt not to take for granted in the last few months. </div>
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Here's a trailer I made for the book.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/k454v1KPL_Q?rel=0" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
And you can download<i> <b>Rosy's Forest Maze</b></i> sheet and <b><i>Rory's Rainbow</i> </b>colouring sheet<br />
by clicking on the images below.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/maze/RosyMaze.pdf"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERoHb9PwCnlKfe3j6goX5pDfhyigiN7eqYgJhNbo-sDXuG_JcWHte5otr6vgkYnWpDlyQE60T9CLi3U1Qf-Zm2e4HGFjKFBfGVGW_oYW1-bTCQyY7NKmqwjKSW0bEpNuGycVrAbb1w2V8/s320/maze.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosy's Forest Maze</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/colouring/rosy/RoryColour.pdf" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="300" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIKEfPogMLh_memrfibshwOqQpjcEmqvpgyL68JSC1ZbXE42_pQOo1dh3icPe4p5svuc3wF4Vfffqaf01gccyQaNYGtanngPEXu2uFtytPMwIZfOai4eCpokcEOKEOtuEXa5glhF_tjmy/w320-h226/RoryColour.png" title="Rory's Rainbow Colouring Sheet" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rory's Rainbow Colouring Sheet</td></tr>
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<td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/A-Present-for-Rosy/24830272" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_PjD0pDU0dwJ_TtJ1MZkOAwP-hQt5S34rl8p0tvq_mPxuHSDIe88W2oKe8KThtVIP_YbBSx_SZZfuMxUivucuUs8Urkf2JntbLFZjRUNkU9bRmWlxGS_aQ87Ql2ZZRc7PQFm1v7EILRP/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a>
</td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/3cdhnHq" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/rosy/rosy.html" target="_blank">Find out more about the book on my website</a></span></div>
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</div>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-14573360293197080182020-04-24T15:07:00.002+01:002020-10-30T16:24:07.001+00:00New RUBY FLEW TOO!, SHE'LL BE COMING ROUND THE MOUNTAIN and HOW THE BORKS BECAME read-along and sing-along videosFollowing on from <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2020/03/tips-for-recording-from-a-computer.html" target="_blank">last month's post</a> about authors recording and broadcasting from their computers, I've recorded some new videos of my own.<br />
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Here's my reading of <i><b>Ruby Flew Too!</b></i> illustrated by <a href="https://www.rebeccaharry.com/" target="_blank">Rebecca Harry</a>. You can find out more about this book and download activity sheets on this page of my web site: <a href="http://scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby1/ruby1.html" target="_blank">scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ruby1/ruby1.html</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YK3ytjqGGk?rel=0" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.422px; text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.422px; text-align: center;" />
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<b>You can order the print-on-demand edition of <i>Ruby Flew Too!</i><br />from Amazon using the links below.</b><br />
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://amzn.to/39c0iNv" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/3hm9JNj" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a>
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My picture book adaptation of <b><i>She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain</i></b> illustrated by <a href="https://www.deborahallwright.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Allwright</a> seemed like an entertaining sing-along for stay-at-home families, so I decided to record a version of the song using the new lyrics I wrote for the book. If you listen to it, you will understand why I write rather than sing for a living.<br />
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I've created two versions of the video; this one with just the song …<div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1lP0zv83-OQ?rel=0" width="650"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div>… and this longer version which teaches you the actions that accompany the words.<br /><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y30OEDG_EFQ?rel=0" width="650"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>You can order the print-on-demand editions of <i>She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain </i>from Amazon using the links below.</b></div><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://amzn.to/34rRCSf" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/3mG0qdt" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><br />
And find out more about the book on this page of my website: <a href="http://scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mountain/mountain.html" target="_blank">scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mountain/mountain.html</a><br />
<br />
And I wrote about this book in this post about adapting picture books from songs: <a href="http://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2018/10/picture-books-adapted-from-songs.html" target="_blank">scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2018/10/picture-books-adapted-from-songs.html</a><br />
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<br />
And finally, here's my reading of <i><b>How the Borks Became: An Adventure in Evolution</b></i> illustrated by <a href="https://elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a>. You can find out more about this book and download activity sheets on this page of my web site: <a href="http://scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html">scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html</a><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gWehcUroQL0?rel=0" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.422px; text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 16.422px; text-align: center;" />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>You can order the paperback edition of <i>How the Borks Became</i><br />from Hive and Amazon using the links below.</b><br />
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<td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/How-the-Borks-Became--An-Adventure-in-Evolution/23917852" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at Hive UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/sitegraphics/sales/buy-hive.png" /></a></td>
<td><a href="https://amzn.to/2Q4XGLl" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td>
<td><a href="https://amzn.to/2Q3VCDi" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a><br />
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I hope you enjoy watching the above videos and perhaps joining in with the last two! If any of you fancy videoing your rendition, send me a link and I may even add it to this page.<br />
<br /></div>Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-78177905380090029382020-03-26T20:16:00.003+00:002021-04-09T17:11:05.881+01:00Seven Top Tips for Recording and Broadcasting from a Computer <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimH6nmZJV8wdieHk7VWBKrssAfF812SAz_MXR14HEOyNrmMso3EcailzyBomQaVAKYQCwP9KxwXz6sALAftqo_fNYbJH2C2d74AzCq2IitS447_ugT1OC4y5aQgk6PpMUO-OQoQTuYxqcb/s1600/AOE+graphics.002.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimH6nmZJV8wdieHk7VWBKrssAfF812SAz_MXR14HEOyNrmMso3EcailzyBomQaVAKYQCwP9KxwXz6sALAftqo_fNYbJH2C2d74AzCq2IitS447_ugT1OC4y5aQgk6PpMUO-OQoQTuYxqcb/s640/AOE+graphics.002.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Picture Book Authors Events Online. Logo by <a href="https://www.chrishaughton.com/" target="_blank">Chris Haughton</a></span></td></tr>
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Like many others all over the planet, my family are having to get used to staying at home at the moment. My children are both grown up and capable of keeping themselves occupied, but I know that many parents may be struggling to keep younger children engaged and entertained. In an effort to help with this, many children’s authors and illustrators are producing videos, activity sheets and other online resources for families to view and download.<br />
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Children’s author Caryl Hart has set up an <a href="https://www.carylhart.com/special-projects/author-events" target="_blank"><b>Authors Events Online</b> page</a> on her web site which links to resources that children’s authors and illustrators have created for stay at home families and I have set up an associated Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEventsOnline/" target="_blank"><b>Picture Book Authors Events Online</b></a> to share new videos that picture book authors and illustrators have created for stay at home families.<br />
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If you are a picture book author or illustrator and have made a video that you would like to be shared on the page, you can contact the page via the link below the page header, but <b>please accept that the videos we share are selected at our discretion and check that your video is likely to be eligible under the page’s <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/PBAEO/PBAEOSharePolicy.pdf" target="_blank">Sharing Policy</a> first.</b> The page only shares new videos created by traditionally published picture book authors and illustrators (see the Sharing Policy for further details). Traditionally published picture book creators can also live-stream directly from the page using Facebook Live. If you would like to live-stream from the page, email me and I can send you a walkthrough for live-streaming from a desktop or laptop computer.<br />
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I have been using a webcam to engage with online audiences for several years through my <a href="https://twitter.com/scribblestreet/timelines/618096115523698688" target="_blank">virtual school visits</a>, but I know that many authors and illustrators are getting to grips with recording and broadcasting from a desktop or laptop computer for the first time, so I thought I would share some of the things I have learnt over the years. Several of these tips can also be found in my <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2014/09/10-tips-for-great-virtual-author-visits.html" target="_blank">10 Top Tips for Great Virtual Author Visits </a>and most of them apply to recording video on a phone or tablet.<br />
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<h3>
My Seven Top Tips for Recording and Broadcasting from a Computer</h3>
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<h4>
1: Dress the room</h4>
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Treat the room that you are recording in as a set. Do you want a blank wall behind you or something that relates to your work. I have posters of my books on the wall opposite my webcam and have stuck cutout characters from one of my picture books on the edge of the bookcase that fills the left hand side of the screen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG77mzS2YozJpTDMGudwTwASrpVzaxLTTjEdsKGKe0ZtyGzzY8XIUZnwFJUABuetaNMLRirECsna5hZm6VSyjl3RItyjJxyS92upmgqScp-TPrwSYOfWFqm6MUBB0Y6sK5rCkhEs-nF9d_/s1600/Dragon+Skype.jpg"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG77mzS2YozJpTDMGudwTwASrpVzaxLTTjEdsKGKe0ZtyGzzY8XIUZnwFJUABuetaNMLRirECsna5hZm6VSyjl3RItyjJxyS92upmgqScp-TPrwSYOfWFqm6MUBB0Y6sK5rCkhEs-nF9d_/s400/Dragon+Skype.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you have props or banners that relate to a particular book you are featuring in the recording, you could place them in the background.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEXZebA9T7o6vd0_Fax1TDnz_rprckHoaeOMR6XJMEKBv4ubfZg5Bv4vZjeLWY2E6upMCcJQuAl2E-mlxC0huQj_bWgLSznaJGo4iGqjbgwacfmHio8dAh7gva8eJLg8auLNLfMgkeSDR/s1600/bork+skype.jpg"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqEXZebA9T7o6vd0_Fax1TDnz_rprckHoaeOMR6XJMEKBv4ubfZg5Bv4vZjeLWY2E6upMCcJQuAl2E-mlxC0huQj_bWgLSznaJGo4iGqjbgwacfmHio8dAh7gva8eJLg8auLNLfMgkeSDR/s400/bork+skype.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You might also consider dressing yourself!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicitckQcbeCxLb_g6OjeNruBRWbGjd3FIIhZd0LD8zHmJUF3Kf5dyicRosCFFBMg-Y4JCVRChSVruwg4MvE-Lrnctj3lO_HosaejRD24ufKGyQkyp2wBL1fjvYt8hDiTiq5wTJjeEciSac/s1600/Photo+on+26-03-2020+at+14.15.jpg"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicitckQcbeCxLb_g6OjeNruBRWbGjd3FIIhZd0LD8zHmJUF3Kf5dyicRosCFFBMg-Y4JCVRChSVruwg4MvE-Lrnctj3lO_HosaejRD24ufKGyQkyp2wBL1fjvYt8hDiTiq5wTJjeEciSac/s400/Photo+on+26-03-2020+at+14.15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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2: Be seen in the right light</h4>
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Unless you actually want your audience to see you as a sinister silhouette, make sure your face is adequately lit when you’re on camera. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDhdDV_vjP7svR2VFJal32cO9jZJP0uCU_beU0T8hft6oGam9HaAoUL6DPk7htmeGoN0lPphHyHdUNB-UJYiB2xkv_6kEyj5EMTBeTpSLVlzhpGhOQLt3YswK1N_J33l7wp3DOeS1YG4s/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+16.59.56.png"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDhdDV_vjP7svR2VFJal32cO9jZJP0uCU_beU0T8hft6oGam9HaAoUL6DPk7htmeGoN0lPphHyHdUNB-UJYiB2xkv_6kEyj5EMTBeTpSLVlzhpGhOQLt3YswK1N_J33l7wp3DOeS1YG4s/s400/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+16.59.56.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you’re using a computer with a large screen to record, bear in mind that the screen itself is a light source. If the desktop on your computer is bright green and there’s not much light coming from your surroundings, your face may be bathed in a sickly green light. This might be perfect if you’re reading a horror story, but if you're not, then a neutral-coloured desktop (or a blank white document) will illuminate your features without a colour cast.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHEP_0CSoP9xDIc_dvhXQsVYhNb-q1neKkR5UmwHSPEyAUg8rDIIBW69_OWWkjNTRaPBDysmp-b_xru-cLT9FJDf4JzEh5550v_7efIzXexOblanBjgKkottZoup1WgpRtkeahiuvHPaS/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+17.02.15.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHEP_0CSoP9xDIc_dvhXQsVYhNb-q1neKkR5UmwHSPEyAUg8rDIIBW69_OWWkjNTRaPBDysmp-b_xru-cLT9FJDf4JzEh5550v_7efIzXexOblanBjgKkottZoup1WgpRtkeahiuvHPaS/s400/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+17.02.15.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you're recording during daylight, facing a window and using natural lighting while you record can be ideal. However if your window faces south, you may have a problem with glare.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQKur1hz3uueaUpIL_r-6NTuToZPb_7M65WyWoVxi9VzBB804RSPSHvWV4tQdG00Rm9EZvfg-PY6ASvVtVcWYt0ubMZgEfUwIlMqu3-_DTUuZlMVrmmnRXgE03PO_vW-L8j90yI4WedMz/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+16.54.35.png"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQKur1hz3uueaUpIL_r-6NTuToZPb_7M65WyWoVxi9VzBB804RSPSHvWV4tQdG00Rm9EZvfg-PY6ASvVtVcWYt0ubMZgEfUwIlMqu3-_DTUuZlMVrmmnRXgE03PO_vW-L8j90yI4WedMz/s400/screenshot+2020-03-25+at+16.54.35.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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My desk faces the wall in my office. The room is well lit by a window, but the window is to my left and slightly behind me so that half of my face is in shadow when I look at the camera. To light my face evenly, I have a daylight bulb mounted slightly above head height on my right hand side. The light from the daylight bulb matches that coming from the window giving the impression that my whole face is naturally lit.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxuULxLL6E7bFlfQ9WdCK2OWSz8Y0AaasF8EinEE00UX2ZXYLur7YDf5Da8UQvjjWfIKfeQxz1e1BdymOL5J1G8lB3NbIXP4iLzwgt7HD5rnif18NyFZmKVkPrl-Pv1GvORmFWan06iRr/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-27+at+10.07.52.png"><img border="0" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisxuULxLL6E7bFlfQ9WdCK2OWSz8Y0AaasF8EinEE00UX2ZXYLur7YDf5Da8UQvjjWfIKfeQxz1e1BdymOL5J1G8lB3NbIXP4iLzwgt7HD5rnif18NyFZmKVkPrl-Pv1GvORmFWan06iRr/s640/screenshot+2020-03-27+at+10.07.52.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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3: Get your camera angle right</h4>
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One of the most common shortcomings of footage recorded on a laptop computer is a poor camera angle as a result of the laptop being below the eye-line of the user. The image on the left below was taken from a laptop sitting on the desk in front of me and gives a great view of the underside of my chin and the loft-hatch in my office ceiling. The image on the right was taken with the same laptop camera but raised to my eye-line by placing the laptop on top of a couple of boxes. The eye level version gives a far more natural view of both me and my office.</div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNv7QUZNzPbXRIr_1UcAM8092l3M7bDtkEbx5wQpPQZPaJw2P4R0jXjp84wMz-duUeWE8xg2U4DvpVltQyBE-OSCT0nLdei84KJopAVtzOKkj59Vd_QMxXnytmHdDWPNHbOhF6vx7DxvK/s1600/angle.png"><img border="0" data-original-height="859" data-original-width="1600" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNv7QUZNzPbXRIr_1UcAM8092l3M7bDtkEbx5wQpPQZPaJw2P4R0jXjp84wMz-duUeWE8xg2U4DvpVltQyBE-OSCT0nLdei84KJopAVtzOKkj59Vd_QMxXnytmHdDWPNHbOhF6vx7DxvK/w640-h344/angle.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Once you have your camera at the right height, check that it is angled so that your audience can see the whole of your face and not just the top or bottom of your head.</div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtfY2_3p7BCUEFy_oBYWi1-3mQ7lmyBmvP43P-7swto340xlOVdN1O4QaB3R1FpU25sAImESdQWoZ4jrFR2rDWgRFab9RnrKz7KMGvw-A9_LnBPlh5y8CaMqCoETOKCA4Pet-eei2HHTF/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+14.04.09.png"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtfY2_3p7BCUEFy_oBYWi1-3mQ7lmyBmvP43P-7swto340xlOVdN1O4QaB3R1FpU25sAImESdQWoZ4jrFR2rDWgRFab9RnrKz7KMGvw-A9_LnBPlh5y8CaMqCoETOKCA4Pet-eei2HHTF/s400/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+14.04.09.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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4: Look at the camera - not the screen!</h4>
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One of the things that can make computer recorded presentations feel less real than face to face presentations is a lack of eye contact. This is because computer users often look down at the screen when recording. When I’m reading a book, I try to look straight into the camera for most of the time so that the audience will feel I am reading directly to them. If you are live-streaming you may still need to look at the screen to read viewer comments and questions, so try to remember to look back at the camera before responding to them. I’m new to live-streaming with comments and am still trying to master this skill.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGNO_3_MOkLKfWHwnRYOrwhpNxPTLIbo07mn5GBZ6OHd4J4qpALHcHARu-r6Wafv283TPCOGdFK7DE3iUbW1zlrQ3HCqeSalyh6jChUwrvdlVQASvoBcBN2FP3ec2UMCNRjD07aI8V6tv/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-28+at+09.13.19.png"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGNO_3_MOkLKfWHwnRYOrwhpNxPTLIbo07mn5GBZ6OHd4J4qpALHcHARu-r6Wafv283TPCOGdFK7DE3iUbW1zlrQ3HCqeSalyh6jChUwrvdlVQASvoBcBN2FP3ec2UMCNRjD07aI8V6tv/s640/screenshot+2020-03-28+at+09.13.19.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Note for tablet users:</b> If you are recording using a tablet in landscape orientation, the camera will be on one side of the screen. So if you're looking at the screen rather than camera while recording, the video will show you looking to one side. The solution is the same: identify the exact spot where your camera is located on the front of your tablet (if you can't spot it easily, try waving your fingers close to the screen while the screen shows your image) and make sure you look at this point rather than the screen when recording.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAch_3FhtR0mg5EOJ6MRfwdGCP4axCrphxBwV_0Xe_6alNvUh5BFgt2XfEt2LXzA-iAASidb3s1CuVZjAXN8N5z4RvFPgz11aFG_4rj-VjnPw1fcLp6vtcCNSzdIsZNwHzagRApIFlSYVq/s1600/eyes.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_0Qmslz9FKLhHeEOAHbOICcycIaNm_XT4_FBZc36th3a5cM6lb9SvhZWoXvFyFSVfKlj7KzHZqmWWeSx-ew1fRHfRn3Ta0KyVz_nNgd4YfFCnlpBgPTMZrIRsB3Lp9e-LoRotRiCkvcV/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-28+at+09.08.14.png"></a></div>
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5. Prevent “noises off” and other distractions</h4>
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You don’t want to be distracted while you are recording, so take your landline off the hook and switch your mobile to silent. You might also consider quitting or turning off any notification sounds for software such as email and Twitter. If there are other people in the house, let them know that you are recording so that they don’t walk in on you unexpectedly, start playing loud music or run around the house banging saucepans together and yodelling (this last one may only apply to my family).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQFCOBkq4v7lvW9Pqsd6utD555OzX4057CLpyULjNIebqaFT044kDpvcRuwlMHwPm51qS8iteifoSd1guRDohaxsOGwIPhQ0qq1vQHL56sBXjt9RrL7Kec7KwOV9E-JJdDjQaoBjYYi-T/s1600/phone.jpg"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQFCOBkq4v7lvW9Pqsd6utD555OzX4057CLpyULjNIebqaFT044kDpvcRuwlMHwPm51qS8iteifoSd1guRDohaxsOGwIPhQ0qq1vQHL56sBXjt9RrL7Kec7KwOV9E-JJdDjQaoBjYYi-T/s400/phone.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you are live-streaming and share a broadband connection with other people in your household, you may also want to ask them to avoid using the internet for high bandwidth activities (video calls, watching video-on-demand services such as iPlayer or Netflix or transferring large files) while you are streaming to ensure that you have sufficient bandwidth to broadcast effectively.</div>
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6: Play with perspective</h4>
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Objects close to the camera lens will appear abnormally large relative to more distant objects and you can exploit this to add a bit of visual fun to your readings. I often take advantage of this ‘perspective distortion’ effect in my Skype sessions with schools. Here are some examples of how I use perspective distortion when reading some of my picture books:<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank"><b>The Princess and the Pig</b></a>: When the queen and the farmer are holding out the princess and the pig to inspect them, I hold out my hands towards the camera to make the audience feel like they are being held.</li>
<li><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/pigs-might-fly/" target="_blank"><b>Pigs Might Fly!</b></a>: When Wilbur pushes the big red button that fires the rocket booster and sends the wolf blasting out the back of his jet, I pretend that the camera is the button.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/the-santa-trap/" target="_blank">The Santa Trap</a>:</b> When Bradley is throwing a tantrum, I move my face close to the camera so that his angry rant fills the screen.</li>
<li><b><a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/home/picture-books/prince-ribbit/" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a>:</b> When Arabella and Lucinda kiss the tiny Prince Ribbit, I give my audience a taste of what he’s experiencing by treating them to a giant smooch. This last trick always gets a big reaction, eliciting a chorus of shrieks from a young audience.</li>
</ol>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrhA8wmNUBijb21LaQnJH4rK82N35YBglykxkHls2eAS-AiSCvsVB7GKP_w-44ZnLakqhHPUuzm5vOyIZuWP6LJgiuulWee3sph8hXGryVOZ2cvLvk9jDIzt6nhQovukNF8OsCAgZyQ6T/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+10.23.37.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrhA8wmNUBijb21LaQnJH4rK82N35YBglykxkHls2eAS-AiSCvsVB7GKP_w-44ZnLakqhHPUuzm5vOyIZuWP6LJgiuulWee3sph8hXGryVOZ2cvLvk9jDIzt6nhQovukNF8OsCAgZyQ6T/s640/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+10.23.37.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE. Illustrations 1, 3 &4 : <a href="http://www.polybernatene.com/" target="_blank">Poly Bernatene</a>. Illustration 2 : <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/pigsfly/pigsfly.html" target="_blank">Steve Cox</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Perspective distortion can also be useful for displaying small objects to your audience. When I began reading my picture book <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/dragon2/dragon2.html" target="_blank"><b>The Clockwork Dragon</b></a> to schools I soon realised that very few of today’s children know what clockwork is. So I now preface my readings of that book by showing my audience some simple clockwork toys. When I’m sharing the book online I use the camera to give my audience a close-up view of a clockwork toy with an exposed mechanism to give them a better understanding of how clockwork works.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnslHQotlKxFiyhpqIWMYNSpsW38-MsGta-O_eRZg7oWQIWMnrjd6JwDU_I4Vd2hh0MpMVc_bTQpWqRP4ILyY5Inkbpbm1gGJ7fZr6z1MUnYP9qaGSIulwnDUR8kp31JzqZb17Yo2u4awr/s1600/Photo+on+25-03-2020+at+16.17+%25232.jpg"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnslHQotlKxFiyhpqIWMYNSpsW38-MsGta-O_eRZg7oWQIWMnrjd6JwDU_I4Vd2hh0MpMVc_bTQpWqRP4ILyY5Inkbpbm1gGJ7fZr6z1MUnYP9qaGSIulwnDUR8kp31JzqZb17Yo2u4awr/s400/Photo+on+25-03-2020+at+16.17+%25232.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h4>
7: Have things to hand</h4>
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If you have material relating to the book you’re reading that might interest your audience it’s a good idea to have it close to hand. For instance, when I’m sharing <i>The Clockwork Dragon</i> online I often show the audience printouts of the <a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/dragonmaze.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Machine Maze</i> activity sheet</a> and the <a href="https://jonathanemmett.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/RodneyGuide.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Kingdom of Rodney Visitors Guide</i></a> which they can download from my website.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgQy58vN3aWyy_TMPkcU9oXhAeCWIOxJSDu6J5LivyXVdrZrdU-OrKo-CEYZESmQQ2T0eLYRhuX1y2l2ok8jJePwrpGRdS9FgKtZ6ALlSrRA5jvovur2mv4lz9qwGwse-bSsnNr2O1ba6/s1600/IMG_4123.JPG"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgQy58vN3aWyy_TMPkcU9oXhAeCWIOxJSDu6J5LivyXVdrZrdU-OrKo-CEYZESmQQ2T0eLYRhuX1y2l2ok8jJePwrpGRdS9FgKtZ6ALlSrRA5jvovur2mv4lz9qwGwse-bSsnNr2O1ba6/s400/IMG_4123.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you think you might want to show your audience other books that you’ve written or any other material relating to your work, it’s a good idea to have these to hand as well. Having done hundreds of Q&As in virtual school visits over the last few years, I know which questions are likely to come up and I now keep the books I can show to illustrate the answers in a magazine file beside my computer. The contents of this file include:<br />
<ol>
<li><b>The first book I had published</b>, in both UK and US editions (since I Skype regularly with schools on both sides of the Atlantic).</li>
<li><b>My most recent book.</b> I show this when asked, “How many books have you had published?” so that I can give an answer along the lines of, “64 and this is my 64th book.”</li>
<li><b>My favourite book that I’ve written myself. </b></li>
<li><b>A non-fiction book that I’ve written.</b> (Most of my books are fiction)</li>
<li><b>A favourite book from my childhood</b>. This particular book is also <b>a book written by one of my favourite authors </b>and <b>a book that inspired me to become a writer.</b></li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvGcEBjNBqe6nMZldpBU0I23STATUdLXjQE6o0juggBzBUXj7x1tNzKM3EqNST4Esckq3kou4Jb-doU4tFFhifTgM5Ef-NX5blh5C_Rjl3pdlllJuYViiYy_I6xzPse_O2f8AYGJgmC-5/s1600/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+12.02.33.png" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrvGcEBjNBqe6nMZldpBU0I23STATUdLXjQE6o0juggBzBUXj7x1tNzKM3EqNST4Esckq3kou4Jb-doU4tFFhifTgM5Ef-NX5blh5C_Rjl3pdlllJuYViiYy_I6xzPse_O2f8AYGJgmC-5/s640/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+12.02.33.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I hope that the above tips will be of use to writers and illustrators getting to grips with online video. If you have any questions, comments or tips of your own, please post them in the comments box below.<br /><br />
And don’t forget to check out the many videos and livestreams recorded by picture book creators on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEventsOnline" target="_blank"><b>Picture Book Authors Events Online</b></a> Facebook page.</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorEventsOnline/"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWke2aHPyyMve6MYFMbmhdZCxDN3ocnqzBnNY20i7_mJpyS2V-F35t8VLFcM7qi6IDp764Mb4u3z7OqVTAYqxR3VbdKmHL3f04mzQJjTZPcvOLhK3iphQRSBwZ2iTbNLfbl4IEt7Gisccf/s400/screenshot+2020-03-26+at+14.00.00.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-29571413752072557952020-02-12T08:56:00.001+00:002020-02-12T08:59:32.897+00:00Gareth's Story Planet Interview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE2b1gcpVOepUlRmEBpVICJVyrs5l-fDI54ZuW6G_FaoaKqmjJ8kYDcoq3SLZVtLHRYrDPxBOpGp6iL3jwu5WriplaSVDC_odHsIzt3LnpiIzXB8sanU2nz2WJnCLPZVX_b_jLR0QEuyG/s1600/ENrQ2E5XsAAaNK0.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGE2b1gcpVOepUlRmEBpVICJVyrs5l-fDI54ZuW6G_FaoaKqmjJ8kYDcoq3SLZVtLHRYrDPxBOpGp6iL3jwu5WriplaSVDC_odHsIzt3LnpiIzXB8sanU2nz2WJnCLPZVX_b_jLR0QEuyG/s640/ENrQ2E5XsAAaNK0.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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When my first children's book was published (back in the last century) I didn't know any other published children's authors or illustrators who lived in my home town of Nottingham and it was several years before I met any. Things have changed and I now know several Nottingham-based children's book creators, including picture book creators <a href="https://www.erikameza.com/" target="_blank">Erika Meza</a>, <a href="https://www.francesstickley.com/" target="_blank">Frances Stickley</a> and <a href="http://www.leewildish.com/lee_wildish/HOME.html" target="_blank">Lee Wildish</a>. A recent addition to the list is Gareth Peter, whose first picture book, <i><a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/314591/my-daddies-/9780241405772.html" target="_blank">My Daddies</a>, </i>is published in May.<br />
<br />
Gareth has set up a YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwbXyCmvYqqCQA2cn_AFHg" target="_blank">Gareth's Story Planet</a> on which he posts videos describing his journey to becoming a published author and interviews with other picture book creators. I was honoured to be the subject of Gareth's first interview, recorded (against the cluttered backdrop of my office), earlier this year.<br />
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The interview is split into two halves, both of which can be watched below.<br />
<br />
<b>Part 1</b> in which I ramble on about how I became a children's writer, how I shamelessly exploited my children for inspiration and my love of <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Night_Kitchen" target="_blank">The Night Kitchen</a></i> by Maurice Sendak.<br />
For the benefit of any US viewers, when I say "I'm a bit of a republican," that's a republican with a small "r" as in a person who favours a non-hereditary head of state.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5BEZ50ADFag?rel=0" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Part 2</b> in which I talk about how <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/pictures.html" target="_blank"><i>The Santa Trap </i></a>could have had a very different ending, the benefits of collaborating closely with an illustrator from the very start of the writing process and the importance of diversity in content as well as character representation within picture books.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wMLETmT6qvw?rel=0" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Gareth has already recorded several more interviews with terrific picture book creators including authors Caryl Hart, Peter Bentley, Timothy Knapman and illustrators Garry Parsons and Dapo Adeola … </div>
<div align="center">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<div dir="ltr" lang="en">
Yesterday I had the absolute privilege of interviewing four amazing picture book creatives, for my YouTube channel. A massive thank you to .<a href="https://twitter.com/PeterBently?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeterBently</a> .<a href="https://twitter.com/TimothyKnapman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TimothyKnapman</a> .<a href="https://twitter.com/ICanDrawDinos?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICanDrawDinos</a> .<a href="https://twitter.com/DapsDraws?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DapsDraws</a> 🌈💙✍🏼<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/picturebookchat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#picturebookchat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WritingCommnunity?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WritingCommnunity</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kidlit?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kidlit</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/amwriting?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#amwriting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/garethsstoryplanet?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#garethsstoryplanet</a> <a href="https://t.co/dhDyoAjrYJ">pic.twitter.com/dhDyoAjrYJ</a></div>
— Gareth Peter (@PurpleHuskey) <a href="https://twitter.com/PurpleHuskey/status/1219919997201453056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
… so make sure you subscribe to his<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwbXyCmvYqqCQA2cn_AFHg" target="_blank"> Gareth's Story Planet Youtube channel</a> to catch them all.</div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwbXyCmvYqqCQA2cn_AFHg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwbXyCmvYqqCQA2cn_AFHg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0gN0QuJ5K_kjDEy4_Ix9risLvFZZ1lvP4m8g98S71N97FePL0jhVdWnn_1FCZ7JhlHvMRJiyAHBwnkgJaREM5mcc3yR6T7wKQUsW8-872Bgvo3w6kJVaU3FmY2ZVUUIBYjak6xia2X26/s400/garethSP.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Gareth's first picture book, <i>My Daddies</i>, a beautifully-rhymed tale of a family's adventures in imagination, is illustrated by Gary Parsons and published by Puffin on the 14 May 2020. You can pre-order a copy with free delivery from Hive stores using the link below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTi0iHZp8tyDEO7O9GhZFIo0vvLw_qLjGRkbuyeW9YWLJMtZySZPOJULa6QblXb_BD3MjAzGeEh7NGgLGk3BH0_5AS3Ic37ox2gsP4sZw_ro7j58FCBATAUu_EymFkc3TQWX77ygQ4nuzW/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: start;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTi0iHZp8tyDEO7O9GhZFIo0vvLw_qLjGRkbuyeW9YWLJMtZySZPOJULa6QblXb_BD3MjAzGeEh7NGgLGk3BH0_5AS3Ic37ox2gsP4sZw_ro7j58FCBATAUu_EymFkc3TQWX77ygQ4nuzW/s400/image.png" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Gareth-Peter/My-Daddies/24455026" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZ-cpvcwpN7Z-0qyjJvgoCgHOj2hFFKGe2gL4e38raiXe5mgkGlCKDFSAi3hoaHT_UyuLXvUCHeNsjFfOzaedvZMJgFdVHMWEnXeb8hLCRXJHLsnBetB36ZVlFQtL0CDwHl4bwxLfhWY_/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-51270506474954545162020-01-10T18:51:00.001+00:002020-01-12T10:08:50.556+00:00A SPOT OF BOTHER is still my most borrowed UK library book!<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s1600/spotPBcover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="894" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s320/spotPBcover.png" width="320" /></a></div>
I've just received last year's UK library loans figures for my books, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.plr.uk.com/">Public Lending Right</a> (PLR) organisation. Although my top 5 books most borrowed books remain the same they have shuffled around a little.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/spot/spot.html" target="_blank"><i><b>A Spot of Bother</b></i></a>, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, is my most borrowed book for the second year running. The sequel to<i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/knickers/knickers.html" target="_blank"> <b>The Pig's Knickers</b></a></i> was taken out of UK libraries just over ten thousand times last year.<br />
<br />
<i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></b></i>, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, has remained at number 2, while <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html" target="_blank">The Silver Serpent Cup</a>, </b>illustrated by Ed Eaves, moves up to number 3 with <i class="" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank">The Princess and the Pig</a> </i><span class="" style="font-weight: bold;">and</span><i class="" style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/herebemonsters/herebemonsters.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Here Be Monsters</a><i style="font-weight: bold;">,</i> both illustrated by Poly Bernatene, completing the top 5.<br />
<br />
The PLR figures show that my books were borrowed from UK libraries a total of 114,123<br />
times last year.<br />
<div align="center">
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td>Position</td><td></td><td>Title</td><td>Nº of loans</td><td><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Relative Position</span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">1</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s1600/mini.spot.cover.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s400/mini.spot.cover.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/spot/spot.html" target="_blank">A Spot of Bother</a></span><br />
illustrated by Vanessa Cabban</td><td>10,001</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">2</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW43DlI_kkRQ9CFwhs1oA2iq8sw-bq7yDOQQ3qWXWxdBOBYEtH8YuUYlM2HF4hHk2clXbz0Hccxr4KrQCkfkrY8eG_I4eorzOSwU-gFxgrqgKEp1HovEnFW8Kg40LLSf3lL4IQqB0SX4Hd/s400/miniribbit.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>9,461</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">3</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R9PdCfeSU7ANj3OUdlBNs0VfSXhctBXNS9tFbKAXYFLgJ0AkfwTj03qIpvasyhBbmGFRnYIVWXBXE_1oSkWvZburmANmXmRHdWSaLJuhdoIbP3q3Dc5AV9kd0Gws9fHZE-Gu8XvPm7QZ/s1600/miniSilver-Serpent-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R9PdCfeSU7ANj3OUdlBNs0VfSXhctBXNS9tFbKAXYFLgJ0AkfwTj03qIpvasyhBbmGFRnYIVWXBXE_1oSkWvZburmANmXmRHdWSaLJuhdoIbP3q3Dc5AV9kd0Gws9fHZE-Gu8XvPm7QZ/s400/miniSilver-Serpent-Cover.jpg" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html" target="_blank">The Silver Serpent Cup</a></span><br />
illustrated by Ed Eaves</td><td>7,303</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">4</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" name="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOUQPmHu_fyhtaVvv4TCjil8Hi5tV_8PaOx_BzK4Eh1-IS_tqhU3OVanhm2hZv0QzukjTxYLI2ti9prEHcRtCGHxx9d6XcwEDqpt6qr1P0p8WV-DuovQuT9ZTrShF1GlM3NL9DDCeScc6/s1600/miniprincesspig.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk//pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank">The Princess and the Pig</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>6,472</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">5</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvthE5ctxDbgt00NIs9cE5NlPYCm_5xCYArnd1pmJUchcUvDDfLY6q6dTM6BwkVMvHvjAKhz5VTyIHhLnL5BKPnNwZKnCb6HLIm2dPdafYsK7PzIytJ58x_SKWlSr_Uqk8wg8W3FAJ2V7E/s1600/miniherebemonsters.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvthE5ctxDbgt00NIs9cE5NlPYCm_5xCYArnd1pmJUchcUvDDfLY6q6dTM6BwkVMvHvjAKhz5VTyIHhLnL5BKPnNwZKnCb6HLIm2dPdafYsK7PzIytJ58x_SKWlSr_Uqk8wg8W3FAJ2V7E/s400/miniherebemonsters.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/herebemonsters/herebemonsters.html" target="_blank">Here Be Monsters</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>6,376</td><td><b>↓</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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A big THANK YOU to everyone that borrowed my books, the wonderful librarians that made them available and the UK PLR scheme for helping authors like me to earn a living.<br />
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-4584737524258900312019-11-21T09:32:00.000+00:002019-11-26T11:19:29.768+00:00Party leaders reading picture booksI was skimming through the election news yesterday when I came across this photo of Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson reading a picture book to school children on the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/20/lib-dems-manifesto-pledges-5bn-duty-rise-for-frequent-flyers" target="_blank">Guardian website</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYzxgW4AVd6TY4su-2AGtK7zd5JOhBX62tK6t-wqIx7gmeeAewh-JX75R8uT-cURmW_vUd-A1DCBofXPz-ryr_G35FmBYIUkBWjeFmKy4jAd1t0s4Dlv4pGO2cMvnOG3ihqt2qDRQnohw/s1600/3263.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxYzxgW4AVd6TY4su-2AGtK7zd5JOhBX62tK6t-wqIx7gmeeAewh-JX75R8uT-cURmW_vUd-A1DCBofXPz-ryr_G35FmBYIUkBWjeFmKy4jAd1t0s4Dlv4pGO2cMvnOG3ihqt2qDRQnohw/s640/3263.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I recognised the illustrator as <a href="http://www.guyparkerrees.com/" target="_blank">Guy Parker-Rees</a> and Guy identified the book as <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Chimpanzees</i><b> of </b><b style="font-style: italic;">Happy Town </b>written by Giles Andreae. It's the story of Chutney the chimp who inspires his fellow chimpanzees to rise up against an oppressive mayor and transform their grey, cheerless town of Drabsville to the colourful Happy Town of the title. I can't help feeling that this book was not chosen at random!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbJKQfSsVzRKMXI9M8ATJ7-QobykZOvnQ-ELEyFWny0zlDxZXU424Y_4Tfm60tTP2yovf7ugVZ8PJ_r7PW3G_7WF2p_H091jtTEnOnL311FjLWF08JnYrYiFvfjG7xE_gSciGkWJxjzOv/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbJKQfSsVzRKMXI9M8ATJ7-QobykZOvnQ-ELEyFWny0zlDxZXU424Y_4Tfm60tTP2yovf7ugVZ8PJ_r7PW3G_7WF2p_H091jtTEnOnL311FjLWF08JnYrYiFvfjG7xE_gSciGkWJxjzOv/s320/image.png" width="260" /></a></div>
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Primary schools are popular campaign stops for party leaders eager to show that they have their finger on the pulse of the nation's school system and I suspect that picture book readings are often employed to ensure some level of engagement in what might otherwise be an awkward interaction between politician and pupils.<br />
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The Jo Swinson photo reminded me that an eagle-eyed friend had spotted the then opposition leader David Cameron reading <b><i><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/someone/someone.html" target="_blank">Someone Bigger</a></i> </b>by me and Adrian Reynolds to a group of pre-schoolers in a BBC news report in 2008. This story is about a small boy whose repeated attempts to take control of a runaway kite eventually prove successful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHywWlFEsaB_d4eZQEmf4flMv5Pt8H4hgVNvLMbuauH8M-ATy8z_q52MaMMEWE06n8cQ2_YgJfo4FH4uk3mOZ0mFa5BtYoFTqkoBp-Q2rJFfT3a_YoXv6dS4hmVWxXlPkfjV001-VTk5I/s1600/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+19.57.46.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHywWlFEsaB_d4eZQEmf4flMv5Pt8H4hgVNvLMbuauH8M-ATy8z_q52MaMMEWE06n8cQ2_YgJfo4FH4uk3mOZ0mFa5BtYoFTqkoBp-Q2rJFfT3a_YoXv6dS4hmVWxXlPkfjV001-VTk5I/s640/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+19.57.46.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, with an election looming, I thought I'd highlight the picture books other party leaders have read to school children. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions about whether their choice of story is intended to convey a message.<br />
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Here's Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn reading <b style="font-style: italic;">We're Going on a Bear Hunt. </b>This modern classic, <a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2018/10/picture-books-adapted-from-songs.html" target="_blank">adptated from a US folk song</a> by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, is about a family that sets out on a long and arduous quest to capture a bear, only to beat a hasty retreat when they finally encounter it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoAcxnbKcQtIG6BrVB6dr9nGFaPa_Yoq8hq5T3FZZc-dBQcF10gRn_4fz0LZsIL1Jo9TJbmIbKSPZ6jqFFQmmlpijg57d1AWSq3fTcyeCG6x4r8UWnVo_SYZjPrMHqXbi0jLYfByNU9p4/s1600/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+20.11.52.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoAcxnbKcQtIG6BrVB6dr9nGFaPa_Yoq8hq5T3FZZc-dBQcF10gRn_4fz0LZsIL1Jo9TJbmIbKSPZ6jqFFQmmlpijg57d1AWSq3fTcyeCG6x4r8UWnVo_SYZjPrMHqXbi0jLYfByNU9p4/s640/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+20.11.52.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's Conservative Leader Boris Johnson reading <i><b>Shhh!</b> </i>by Sally Grindley and Peter Utton. This is another quest tale, only this time the journey is through a giant's castle. Having been dared to wake the sleeping giant, readers are encouraged to flee the castle and shut the book. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5kSX2TpKvyPFu-o6p7uWua8TLMH4HWmEsA2R3q5UhAq0FvPoa5FskNZSEj13GDqaJqyxSPG6NCetBupWDpVHrtlaXW413A32SWKE01rZGhc3xJpiW8IPZFf4IjkAZHaQRUNLptcRxZs9/s1600/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+20.46.28.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC5kSX2TpKvyPFu-o6p7uWua8TLMH4HWmEsA2R3q5UhAq0FvPoa5FskNZSEj13GDqaJqyxSPG6NCetBupWDpVHrtlaXW413A32SWKE01rZGhc3xJpiW8IPZFf4IjkAZHaQRUNLptcRxZs9/s640/screenshot+2019-11-20+at+20.46.28.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon is shown here with a selection of picture books on World Book Day. I'm assuming she read at least one to the children, but unfortunately I don't know which.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy40HC0-bZ4hsFWl00QHT26oRO-kXbBSToIZ0Kaecbsv-PpP4EfrjC0uWn8GslrSCzrngiJZog9HZpsCPIBUWxgGvYyDpZ9AtS-igmof4j-CRDWpENBlLBdjJA1Iv8lKO9C7en32ftGakm/s1600/5ab8a8aa05d84fadb6abf2827f275cdf.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy40HC0-bZ4hsFWl00QHT26oRO-kXbBSToIZ0Kaecbsv-PpP4EfrjC0uWn8GslrSCzrngiJZog9HZpsCPIBUWxgGvYyDpZ9AtS-igmof4j-CRDWpENBlLBdjJA1Iv8lKO9C7en32ftGakm/s640/5ab8a8aa05d84fadb6abf2827f275cdf.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<b>I wasn't able to find any photos of any of the other UK party leaders reading picture books, so if you know of any, let me know and I might add them to this post!</b><br />
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It's not just UK politicians that rely on picture books to bridge the generation gap when visiting schools. US President George W. Bush is supposed to have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/22/booksforchildrenandteenagers" target="_blank">rejected proffered books</a> in favour of his tried and trusted read <i><b>The Very Hungry Caterpillar</b></i> by Eric Carle. Bush was widely mocked for claiming that Carle's story was his favourite childhood book – because it was not published until he was 23!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpilrNipH5xhMLVDJosB65SIjor-YLan6EygKdsPVb-Xyj585R31DXLYA8cnAALU-eIgnJJ6noIKhOeI-Z74w5WQ4UsDIFPHBe-rrHS5X_HRQVcLazM4TewI3MPfbi1i6-EmjmlFOkkjt/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpilrNipH5xhMLVDJosB65SIjor-YLan6EygKdsPVb-Xyj585R31DXLYA8cnAALU-eIgnJJ6noIKhOeI-Z74w5WQ4UsDIFPHBe-rrHS5X_HRQVcLazM4TewI3MPfbi1i6-EmjmlFOkkjt/s640/image.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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President Obama also preferred to stick to a tried and trusted favourite. In his case it was <i><b>Where the Wild Things Are</b></i> by Maurice Sendak. You can watch him giving a spirited rendition of the book at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in the video below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CbdNho2hgo8" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br />
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In these PR savvy days I assume that, if a politician does not have a tried and trusted favourite, a PR person will vet picture books before politicians are filmed reading them.<br />
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If not, I dare the next school Boris Johnson visits to give him Smriti Prasadam-Halls and Robert Starling's Brexit-inspired picture book <a href="https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/t/the-little-island/" target="_blank"><i>The Little Island</i></a> to share with the infants.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ocS-JlLJLTegKucpMh63pNlbbIqi1mDyIE3rBKlhFg18-rsZLo5pdFl_NDRoQVA798kQV-7_hRrS8PUwzaaZz_ziH7I38VzniO_QTju_-nxhn2pypDmJWHYqAiwy0hlWkD0EFtbJtW8n/s1600/image.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ocS-JlLJLTegKucpMh63pNlbbIqi1mDyIE3rBKlhFg18-rsZLo5pdFl_NDRoQVA798kQV-7_hRrS8PUwzaaZz_ziH7I38VzniO_QTju_-nxhn2pypDmJWHYqAiwy0hlWkD0EFtbJtW8n/s320/image.png" width="307" /></a></div>
<br />Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-31124430631807122232019-09-12T06:30:00.000+01:002019-11-20T21:34:59.866+00:00HOW THE BORKS BECAME • New Paperback Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnzjbFfvarrp3QTlNrVCQK8UELbZyYCOLT4EDtJy_r8rYuyZnOk3oBsWYQI9k6w3vk8cPwUXElDsvNt7NUiu6ww2jGtcC-lEndLbbGvxe7xHEuS95qU8sKz2EI4zc2ZCZ-g_RKiFKuBKl/s1600/Borks_PB_CVR_-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEnzjbFfvarrp3QTlNrVCQK8UELbZyYCOLT4EDtJy_r8rYuyZnOk3oBsWYQI9k6w3vk8cPwUXElDsvNt7NUiu6ww2jGtcC-lEndLbbGvxe7xHEuS95qU8sKz2EI4zc2ZCZ-g_RKiFKuBKl/s400/Borks_PB_CVR_-1.jpg" width="348" /></a></div>
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<i><b><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank">How the Borks Became</a>, An Adventure in Evolution,</b></i> written by me and illustrated by <a href="http://www.elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a>, has just been published in paperback by <a href="https://www.otterbarrybooks.com/" target="_blank">Otter-Barry Books</a>.<br />
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The book shows young children how evolution by <i><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z7hj2nb" target="_blank">natural selection</a> </i>works by following the evolution of successive generations of Borks, a fictional alien species who live on the faraway Planet Charleebob.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpR4o7RsH8QCzO7_uOaWAw-6F-KC1RApo_OuoHedHBKtxBrluW3X_eersxw_v54glB5K2Y3ZfHs3v0mkvU2-JioneKtovcFKfuqNN2cjePtPhplZgVs-ylO9o2xKSedJ82WMJat_GQtFM/s1600/screenshot+2019-09-05+at+13.59.21.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="1600" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpR4o7RsH8QCzO7_uOaWAw-6F-KC1RApo_OuoHedHBKtxBrluW3X_eersxw_v54glB5K2Y3ZfHs3v0mkvU2-JioneKtovcFKfuqNN2cjePtPhplZgVs-ylO9o2xKSedJ82WMJat_GQtFM/s640/screenshot+2019-09-05+at+13.59.21.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Borks evolve from smooth-furred, short-necked, blue into shaggy, long-necked, yellow creatures.<br />
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<i>"You see, Borks haven’t always looked as they do.</i><br />
<i>Their fur was once short and its colour was blue,"</i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy0oBX5sR6itbcwED3F7swnvZBAzd9JDkujB4Xor5RDAYMW1rNIzLmAyZHsk2kzeyaV7IgWLN7dI8onBnirod8Ga3GMmBrvg_loLSlG3Dd_FPUF69mk6_G8UJQ2_G6H8UvpKuGvQrR2dQ/s1600/snarfle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1360" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizy0oBX5sR6itbcwED3F7swnvZBAzd9JDkujB4Xor5RDAYMW1rNIzLmAyZHsk2kzeyaV7IgWLN7dI8onBnirod8Ga3GMmBrvg_loLSlG3Dd_FPUF69mk6_G8UJQ2_G6H8UvpKuGvQrR2dQ/s640/snarfle.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">The arrival of a huge flying predator - the Ravenous Snarfle – results in an evolutionary change.<br />
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<i>"They were roaming this plain on a bright sunny day.</i><br />
<i>when a Ravenous Snarfle came flying their way."</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB5jI9yAbLETyUmgr5j20jb2JTzPCbMRWdY9pbI46zA_5ZQM6kf3D69znLF13TpzZHTwQbpdn7CR8BoxKMi_aIanHSPTFofFRSudKfF1xhiXYoW3p-3iR7X5Ec0f64dpCviQsIRj3oPQ0/s1600/screenshot+2019-09-05+at+13.56.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="814" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggB5jI9yAbLETyUmgr5j20jb2JTzPCbMRWdY9pbI46zA_5ZQM6kf3D69znLF13TpzZHTwQbpdn7CR8BoxKMi_aIanHSPTFofFRSudKfF1xhiXYoW3p-3iR7X5Ec0f64dpCviQsIRj3oPQ0/s200/screenshot+2019-09-05+at+13.56.20.png" /></a>Since the original hardback edition was published last year, the book has won the <i>Best Early Years Book</i> category of the <a href="https://uclanpublishing.com/newsfeed/the-winners-of-the-first-steam-childrens-book-prize/" target="_blank">STEAM Children's Book Prize</a> which celebrates children’s books that highlight the importance of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths. And the Italian edition <i><a href="https://www.editorialescienza.it/it/libro/perch---noi-boffi-siamo-cos---.htm" target="_blank">Perché noi Boffi Siamo Cosi?</a>, </i>translated by Lucia Feoli and published by <a href="http://www.editorialescienza.it/" target="_blank">Editoriale Scienza</a>, was shortlisted for the prestigious <a href="http://www.andersen.it/premio-andersen-2019-i-finalisti/" target="_blank">Andersen Prize</a>.<br />
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The book has also picked up many <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html#reviews" target="_blank">glowing reviews</a>, including the two below from <a href="https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/h/how-the-borks-became/" target="_blank">Booktrust</a> and <a href="https://www.teachwire.net/school-books/book-reviews/how-the-borks-became" target="_blank">Teach Primary</a> magazine.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"This fantastically funny tale combines humour, rhyming text <br />and wonderfully vibrant illustrations to present evolution <br />and natural selection in an accessible way."</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">BOOKTRUST</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"Zany characters and joyous text combine into a thoughtful, lucid explanation of Darwin’s theory, so whether you’re a Y6 teacher starting this topic, or want to introduce younger children to the idea, there’s no better starting place."</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666;">TEACH PRIMARY</span></div>
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Here's a trailer I made for the book.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NyUWcX0wz64?rel=0" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br />
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You can download and print out these activity sheets for the book by clicking on their images.</div>
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Spot the Difference</td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/wordsearch/borkswordsearch.pdf" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8H2PE666cYo7c1hhkEfzLn65LyD3n0aZRoDn0TNwnK_jN9tFTe56nMb-8hrjqTzb3CwaHvk0_krMJSOqDVxfHZZrBY6zH0_70glTNKNxKJ3MyJEIC9m5Oc-3iW-PXWAgqIgxUrBmzpZ56/s1600/borkswordsearch.jpg" /></a><br />
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And you can buy the new paperback edition at your local 'Borkshop" or by using one of the sales links below.</div>
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/How-the-Borks-Became--An-Adventure-in-Evolution/23917852" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZ-cpvcwpN7Z-0qyjJvgoCgHOj2hFFKGe2gL4e38raiXe5mgkGlCKDFSAi3hoaHT_UyuLXvUCHeNsjFfOzaedvZMJgFdVHMWEnXeb8hLCRXJHLsnBetB36ZVlFQtL0CDwHl4bwxLfhWY_/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a></td><td><br /></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2NQrAAr" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Find out more about the book on my website</span></a></div>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-53465099167129194202019-07-02T16:15:00.002+01:002019-09-05T14:49:41.580+01:00HOW THE BORKS BECAME • STEAM Children's Book Prize and Lancashire Science Festival<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgB0q9rADqLMIUiDproSOHt-X4zVTvrlYWTJctjZL9NatP5XwWng9QkknrW2T9x2OHuk6k8OfBz7SCZ-1VeEUs-MB9mhj3qZ-H5NizDqV2pb5ohcm5L5GpSeMwkr08ExuxTGQbRBki2X5/s1600/D9lc8AgWwAArsnD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgB0q9rADqLMIUiDproSOHt-X4zVTvrlYWTJctjZL9NatP5XwWng9QkknrW2T9x2OHuk6k8OfBz7SCZ-1VeEUs-MB9mhj3qZ-H5NizDqV2pb5ohcm5L5GpSeMwkr08ExuxTGQbRBki2X5/s640/D9lc8AgWwAArsnD.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm thrilled to announce that <i><b><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank">How the Borks Became</a></b></i>, <i>An Adventure in Evolution</i> by me and <a href="https://elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a> has won the "Best Early Years Book" category of the inaugural <a href="https://uclanpublishing.com/newsfeed/the-winners-of-the-first-steam-childrens-book-prize/" target="_blank">STEAM Children's Book Prize</a>. </div>
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The prize was set up by <a href="https://uclanpublishing.com/" target="_blank">UCLan Publishing</a> in partnership with the <a href="https://www.bis-space.com/2018/09/27/21110/the-steam-childrens-book-prize" target="_blank">British Interplanetary Society</a> to celebrate children’s books that highlight the importance of science, technology, engineering, arts and maths. The prize is unusual in that both non-fiction and fiction books are eligible for each age category. The combined fact and fiction nature of the prize is a good fit with <i>How the Borks Became </i>as it uses fictional creatures to illustrate the non-fiction principle of evolution.</div>
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I went up to the UCLan campus in Preston last Saturday to pick up the award at the <a href="https://lancashiresciencefestival.co.uk/" target="_blank">Lancashire Science Festival</a>. <br />
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My wife Rachel and I decided to make a weekend of it and took the opportunity to visit Antony Gormley's <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Place_(sculpture)" target="_blank">Another Place</a></i> sculpture on the way. The sculpture consists of one hundred life sized cast iron figures facing towards the sea. The figures have been there since 2007; many are fully submerged at high tide and are covered in barnacles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgyCeUPjSUI9Y44yfZSiB_Cv5zqFkJBgjXRwty2aQkEBorVVFwskTxarLw6rOD76foathUcEkwmm26bFni2lzkL-fbBAaS7bd_FHIo2x06ZTbw3EjCUBcyhKfHTyrcB3boq8mtUR02oh1/s1600/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+11.43.11.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgyCeUPjSUI9Y44yfZSiB_Cv5zqFkJBgjXRwty2aQkEBorVVFwskTxarLw6rOD76foathUcEkwmm26bFni2lzkL-fbBAaS7bd_FHIo2x06ZTbw3EjCUBcyhKfHTyrcB3boq8mtUR02oh1/s640/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+11.43.11.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLgB0q9rADqLMIUiDproSOHt-X4zVTvrlYWTJctjZL9NatP5XwWng9QkknrW2T9x2OHuk6k8OfBz7SCZ-1VeEUs-MB9mhj3qZ-H5NizDqV2pb5ohcm5L5GpSeMwkr08ExuxTGQbRBki2X5/s1600/D9lc8AgWwAArsnD.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a>I did a couple of <i>How The Borks Became</i> events as part of the science festival and the award was presented to me at the start of my first event by Hazel Holmes of UCLan Publishing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJKnDQiTjpSow5Xp4DJoCR-wmxftAp8fdgBydyLiIFLWFfGnWrvvU2sj6rxUfDmPKNikxg0eUSe617KcDwxW2gt4grx7TUbVciFH2cM8PmJ0lN7MlLfCLzq6_S2uooIjtvavqLKM2-D9x/s1600/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+12.54.47.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJKnDQiTjpSow5Xp4DJoCR-wmxftAp8fdgBydyLiIFLWFfGnWrvvU2sj6rxUfDmPKNikxg0eUSe617KcDwxW2gt4grx7TUbVciFH2cM8PmJ0lN7MlLfCLzq6_S2uooIjtvavqLKM2-D9x/s640/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+12.54.47.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was really impressed by how many fantastic events and activities there were to see and do at the Science Festival and how many local families had come along to explore them.<br />
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Here's one of the budding young scientists that the Borks and I met.</div>
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Local bookseller <a href="https://twitter.com/tonydoesbooks" target="_blank">Tony Higginson</a> of <a href="http://www.beyond-books.co.uk/" target="_blank">Beyond Books</a> was on hand to sell copies of my books and do a bit of Bork-spotting afterwards. Thanks for letting me use some of your photos on this blog, Tony!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_fZZOk2nsmgkEp-oh8TJj-en0sHFyJ1hXnJ8Afyh9PYYBFmc0Trbn32nNaTcgb1UhwKtsVvLZHDqssM7bn0Scwt_1Cmk9d-ekgmbccbWXwUZs-77ELNfiTLX8rZ-rnm1L2ieprgHRvb7/s1600/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+11.37.00.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_fZZOk2nsmgkEp-oh8TJj-en0sHFyJ1hXnJ8Afyh9PYYBFmc0Trbn32nNaTcgb1UhwKtsVvLZHDqssM7bn0Scwt_1Cmk9d-ekgmbccbWXwUZs-77ELNfiTLX8rZ-rnm1L2ieprgHRvb7/s640/screenshot+2019-07-02+at+11.37.00.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once the festival was over, Rachel and I popped up the coast to Blackpool and paid a visit to the Tower and its stunning <a href="https://www.theblackpooltower.com/attractions/blackpool-tower-ballroom/" target="_blank">ballroom</a> (as featured in <i>Strictly Come Dancing) </i>before heading home.<br />
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I'd like to say a big <b>THANK YOU</b> to festival organiser Stephanie Brayn for making me part of this year's festival, volunteer Charlie for helping out at my events, Hazel Holmes and the rest of the team at UCLan Publishing for organising the wonderful STEAM Prize and the <a href="https://www.bis-space.com/2018/09/27/21110/the-steam-childrens-book-prize" target="_blank">judging panel</a> for choosing <i>How the Borks Became</i> as the prize's very first "Best Early Years Book".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc02vf16olaWPvw8U_Xlv2mtbSdJ4AYvFJPkIskiuUzQXCmliSRMi02xAXkH0ksDCARzp2PmRWuSq5s6wI4v6xorPiJUjuHoJIANP4SCqWnPMND8NJDSrZPl0g0MYwbHE_dHTm9kyxNvGE/s1600/Borks+cover+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc02vf16olaWPvw8U_Xlv2mtbSdJ4AYvFJPkIskiuUzQXCmliSRMi02xAXkH0ksDCARzp2PmRWuSq5s6wI4v6xorPiJUjuHoJIANP4SCqWnPMND8NJDSrZPl0g0MYwbHE_dHTm9kyxNvGE/s320/Borks+cover+small.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc02vf16olaWPvw8U_Xlv2mtbSdJ4AYvFJPkIskiuUzQXCmliSRMi02xAXkH0ksDCARzp2PmRWuSq5s6wI4v6xorPiJUjuHoJIANP4SCqWnPMND8NJDSrZPl0g0MYwbHE_dHTm9kyxNvGE/s1600/Borks+cover+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a><i style="text-align: left;"></i><br />
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<i style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank"><b>How the Borks Became</b></a> An Adventure in Evolution</i></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">illustrated by <a href="http://www.elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a> is published by <a href="https://www.otterbarrybooks.com/" target="_blank">Otter-Barry Books</a></span>.<br />
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/How-the-Borks-Became/21865768" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_PjD0pDU0dwJ_TtJ1MZkOAwP-hQt5S34rl8p0tvq_mPxuHSDIe88W2oKe8KThtVIP_YbBSx_SZZfuMxUivucuUs8Urkf2JntbLFZjRUNkU9bRmWlxGS_aQ87Ql2ZZRc7PQFm1v7EILRP/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2qx7hdP" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2ELiIDS" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank">Find out more about this book and</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank">download activity sheets on my website</a></span><br />
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My <b><i>How the Borks Became</i> event</b> is suitable for ages 5-9 years.<br />
If you're interested in booking it, you can download an event outline <a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/downloads/BorksKS1Outline.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-55779794218209012272019-05-21T07:30:00.001+01:002021-03-21T16:01:09.848+00:00Dear PTAs: if you want your children to go places, a School Library Service subscription will be a better investment than a school trip or a minibus.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD03wh4rW6rU6YSwIhq1QzrlLu6czXXspT_O1gCDSfTB9qOnO0VyRczDmuN13ycLWs6DeREzcvfNysoJxdIMREcIxqGZKLRAYZpH_XG1KlL-8dGYW_1pRm4eWfuMKXQ4AQMOUJMBi_c6nq/s1600/PTA+goals.png"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD03wh4rW6rU6YSwIhq1QzrlLu6czXXspT_O1gCDSfTB9qOnO0VyRczDmuN13ycLWs6DeREzcvfNysoJxdIMREcIxqGZKLRAYZpH_XG1KlL-8dGYW_1pRm4eWfuMKXQ4AQMOUJMBi_c6nq/s640/PTA+goals.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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A child’s education is the responsibility of their parents and guardians as much as their teachers and most good schools have the support of a dedicated Parent Teacher Association. A key activity of most PTAs is fundraising. A recent survey carried out by UK PTA organisation <a href="https://www.parentkind.org.uk/News/Annual-return-results-are-in%20revealed" target="_blank">Parentkind</a> revealed that PTAs raised £108 million for UK schools in 2018, with an average of £8,030 per school.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgggdL_Tfis22Yu-CLh6WSfx_0M_yFUWBk3xk1-ltTlYg2jLorns3o8VjTY7QUpBll5IM4FiINScrg1aIJZlK6ltlK3bCMqAPYe4ZymcJlq1Wd2O4ASAKASYN0QFUXdavFB08tsEJW5DR8/s1600/Parentkind+fund+graphic.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgggdL_Tfis22Yu-CLh6WSfx_0M_yFUWBk3xk1-ltTlYg2jLorns3o8VjTY7QUpBll5IM4FiINScrg1aIJZlK6ltlK3bCMqAPYe4ZymcJlq1Wd2O4ASAKASYN0QFUXdavFB08tsEJW5DR8/s400/Parentkind+fund+graphic.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2018 PTA fundraising infographic from <a href="https://www.parentkind.org.uk/uploads/files/1/News/Annual%20Survey%20Infographic%20FINAL4.pdf" target="_blank">Parentkind</a></td></tr>
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The survey showed that books were among the items most commonly bought with PTA funds along with school trips and sports and playground equipment. As we approach the end of this school year, and PTAs start to think about their fundraising wish-lists for next year, I’d like to make the case for making an annual subscription to a School Library Service a priority item.<br />
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For anyone unfamiliar with them, a School Library Service or SLS (also known as an Education Library Service or ELS) is a locally run service that provides books and other learning resources to schools. Books are borrowed rather than bought, enabling schools to refresh in-school stock on a regular basis. The way School Library Services are funded varies, but most schools have to buy into the service. As school budgets have become tighter and tighter, some schools have had to cancel or reduced their SLS subscriptions, opting to purchase new books for themselves or make do with the books they already own. As a consequence, many SLSs are struggling to stay in business. Last year both Derbyshire SLS and Walsall SLS were closed. And once an SLS is gone, it’s gone for good – it’s a case of use them or lose them.<br />
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The cancellation of SLS subscriptions may save schools a few hundred pounds a year in the short term, but it’s a false economy that could have a detrimental effect on children’s educational achievement and life chances in the long term. There is now a <a href="https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/reading-pleasure-research-overview/" target="_blank">wealth of research</a> demonstrating that children that read for pleasure do better in maths, vocabulary and spelling than those who rarely read and gain advantages that last their whole lives. Children have widely differing tastes, so the more books a child can get access to, the more likely they are to find books they’ll enjoy reading. The easiest way for most children to get regular access to a wide selection of books is through their school library. <br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"The only way to create a lasting culture of reading for pleasure within a school is to have a thriving school library; an annual SLS subscription is THE easiest and most cost-effective way for schools to achieve this."</span></div>
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As an author who visits schools regularly, I know that the only way to create a lasting culture of reading for pleasure within a school is to have a thriving school library; an annual SLS subscription is THE easiest and most cost-effective way for schools to achieve this. Most children will not want to keep visiting a library that offers the same selection of books any more than they will want to keep watching a TV channel that offers the same selection of programmes. For a school library to maintain its appeal and relevance, its stock needs refreshing frequently and an annual SLS subscription, which allows schools to exchange books regularly, costs a great deal less than repeatedly buying in new books.<br />
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<a href="https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/services-schools/els/" target="_blank">Inspire ELS</a>, my local service, currently charge primary schools just £5.85 per book, per year for their “Unlimited Exchange” package. This is less than the price of most new paperbacks! Schools can keep the same book all year or exchange it for another as often as they like, either by visiting the Inspire ELS showroom or by weekly van delivery. So if a book is swapped every half-term then the cost works out at less than £1 per book per half-term. And, while books owned by schools deteriorate and go out of date, books borrowed from an SLS are constantly refreshed with new and up to date replacements. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI5YY9IxwgsvHN4hmA6tmi92lqp-cb0DcR7yUMfAGpQ22Iu3VZjEU5l5h3goRzV9FVNRIodAOSYcFhiAfDSDCvnk-Hx9LJe_XrCLUv2vQl0wBE0JMVyVDdPY7cp9w6ogstRku2Ta7izek/s1600/els.max-1000x1000.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrI5YY9IxwgsvHN4hmA6tmi92lqp-cb0DcR7yUMfAGpQ22Iu3VZjEU5l5h3goRzV9FVNRIodAOSYcFhiAfDSDCvnk-Hx9LJe_XrCLUv2vQl0wBE0JMVyVDdPY7cp9w6ogstRku2Ta7izek/s320/els.max-1000x1000.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: start;">
SLSs can put together tailor-made book collections</div>
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to match specific topic criteria.</div>
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An SLS will stock a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction books, along with many other educational resources. So, whether your school has ‘traditional tales’ or ‘space’ as a classroom topic, an SLS can provide a range of books to support it. Teachers can either select individual titles themselves (by browsing in the showroom or using an <a href="https://emlib.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/els" target="_blank">online catalogue</a>) or ask the SLS to put together a <a href="https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/services-schools/els/els-project-request-mail-order/" target="_blank">tailor-made collection</a> to match their specific topic criteria.<br />
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Another huge benefit of an SLS subscription is access to the SLS’s team of specialist librarians. Around <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/childrens-books-market-grow-young-adult-fiction-publishing-diversity-my-mum-tracy-beaker-matilda-30-a8589611.html" target="_blank">10,000 new children’s books</a> are published in the UK every year. Teaching staff have enough work on their hands without having to sift through this endless stream of publications trying to find the new “hook books” that will turn children into avid readers. Fortunately this is a task that SLS librarians excel at. All the books in an SLS loan collection will have been individually reviewed and selected by the SLS’s expert team and their advice and assistance comes for free with an SLS subscription.<br />
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So, if you are a hardworking member of a PTA and would like your fundraising efforts to have a lasting legacy, please consider directing some of your funds towards an annual SLS subscription. And, if your school’s lucky enough to have an existing subscription, please consider increasing it to cover a few more books. You will be helping to build a culture of reading for pleasure in your school that will benefit your children for the rest of their lives.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRbfwQyg3zJYqgSAZkx9IPQe2p0XNqgAuaRYe_DJRSWoheIFUXEEvVt5t2WLWQ2iGOdJfzdcVv9SLwwYu-E4UgXpxmJbIMEiCv0Y_KuoxS4kQx4lqFtD9qFRTtS8Vnbgs9a6cUkTfOiiA/s1600/sls-uk-logo-final-e1505297356384.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRbfwQyg3zJYqgSAZkx9IPQe2p0XNqgAuaRYe_DJRSWoheIFUXEEvVt5t2WLWQ2iGOdJfzdcVv9SLwwYu-E4UgXpxmJbIMEiCv0Y_KuoxS4kQx4lqFtD9qFRTtS8Vnbgs9a6cUkTfOiiA/s400/sls-uk-logo-final-e1505297356384.jpg" /></a></div>
You can find your local UK School Library Service on this page of the School Library Services UK website: <a href="https://sls-uk.org/uk-sls/">https://sls-uk.org/uk-sls/</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_UVZnsiR3aBNMecqVb6sS3DHf7pPHILc2RDbOqkahecmvgzuh3Dp8Erta0Chqx405op__lGIaQQLTOa2TxG1hwngWhgFlvP8MNVb7lg90xgHlRnMW846J-k7aKKtWBNzxb1WuCY04hFj/s1600/inspire-logo%25402x.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="76" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE_UVZnsiR3aBNMecqVb6sS3DHf7pPHILc2RDbOqkahecmvgzuh3Dp8Erta0Chqx405op__lGIaQQLTOa2TxG1hwngWhgFlvP8MNVb7lg90xgHlRnMW846J-k7aKKtWBNzxb1WuCY04hFj/s200/inspire-logo%25402x.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>If you are a PTA of a school in Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire </b>and would like to find out more about subscribing to Inspire ELS, you can visit their website at <a href="https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/services-schools/els/" target="_blank">https://www.inspireculture.org.uk/services-schools/els/</a>, phone Val Sawyer or Rachel Marshall on 0115 98854200 or email them on <a href="mailto:val.sawyer@inspireculture.org.uk">val.sawyer@inspireculture.org.uk</a> and <a href="mailto:rachel.marshall@inspireculture.org.uk">rachel.marshall@inspireculture.org.uk</a>. Inspire ELS can arrange for a librarian to come to talk to your PTA about the service they offer, if you’d like them to.<br />
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-63521531969598765632019-01-18T16:51:00.000+00:002019-01-19T09:57:00.762+00:00A SPOT OF BOTHER was my most borrowed UK library book in 2018<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s1600/spotPBcover.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="894" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwK6J8eCeHmFAs-mcv2chJ5odpXl8GY5Z9YAKTtbUhFhzhhq62R4kwdGDKmhe9RkgPW2IwYh_JE3gC1-Cz4ccw8Eyxej2f-NjB6P5mNsMiCwwf4QEDg0bDLkpWDRYrGTHC0wvJCtcLwZR/s320/spotPBcover.png" width="320" /></a></div>
I've just received last year's UK library loans figures for my books, courtesy of the <a href="http://www.plr.uk.com/">Public Lending Right</a> (PLR) organisation. Although my top 5 books most borrowed books remain the same they have shuffled around a bit and there is a new number 1!<br />
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<a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/spot/spot.html" target="_blank"><i><b>A Spot of Bother</b></i></a>, illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, has jumped from 2nd place last year to become my most borrowed book. The sequel to<i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/knickers/knickers.html" target="_blank"> <b>The Pig's Knickers</b></a></i> was taken out of UK libraries over fourteen thousand times last year.<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></b></i>, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, has leapfrogged <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/herebemonsters/herebemonsters.html" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Here Be Monsters</a><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>and<i class="" style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank">The Princess and the Pig</a>, </i><span class="">also</span><i class="" style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>illustrated by Poly, to take second place, while <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html" target="_blank">The Silver Serpent Cup</a>, </b>illustrated by Ed Eaves, retains its place at number 5.<br />
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The PLR figures show that my books were borrowed from UK libraries a total of 138,352 times last year.<br />
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<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" style="text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td>Position</td><td></td><td>Title</td><td>Nº of loans</td><td><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Relative Position</span></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">1</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s1600/mini.spot.cover.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVFSHgDJXvzP-tAWlzZrEngCRsvhRMBXhZ3O9Q7DzjVQuS86Rr3GM9dNSXoCOYnq-qFA7ivk05i9lh_WvBnAdtOvfwevylc8ufUEeug7VUAoF_T42-9GezVIMrQOFY8asuZDRyqe8Ynz6/s400/mini.spot.cover.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/spot/spot.html" target="_blank">A Spot of Bother</a></span><br />
illustrated by Vanessa Cabban</td><td>14,461</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">2</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW43DlI_kkRQ9CFwhs1oA2iq8sw-bq7yDOQQ3qWXWxdBOBYEtH8YuUYlM2HF4hHk2clXbz0Hccxr4KrQCkfkrY8eG_I4eorzOSwU-gFxgrqgKEp1HovEnFW8Kg40LLSf3lL4IQqB0SX4Hd/s400/miniribbit.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/ribbit/ribbit.html" target="_blank">Prince Ribbit</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>13,508</td><td><b>↑</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">3</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvthE5ctxDbgt00NIs9cE5NlPYCm_5xCYArnd1pmJUchcUvDDfLY6q6dTM6BwkVMvHvjAKhz5VTyIHhLnL5BKPnNwZKnCb6HLIm2dPdafYsK7PzIytJ58x_SKWlSr_Uqk8wg8W3FAJ2V7E/s1600/miniherebemonsters.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvthE5ctxDbgt00NIs9cE5NlPYCm_5xCYArnd1pmJUchcUvDDfLY6q6dTM6BwkVMvHvjAKhz5VTyIHhLnL5BKPnNwZKnCb6HLIm2dPdafYsK7PzIytJ58x_SKWlSr_Uqk8wg8W3FAJ2V7E/s400/miniherebemonsters.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/herebemonsters/herebemonsters.html" target="_blank">Here Be Monsters</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>13,038</td><td><b>↓</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">4</span></td><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank"><img alt="" name="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDOUQPmHu_fyhtaVvv4TCjil8Hi5tV_8PaOx_BzK4Eh1-IS_tqhU3OVanhm2hZv0QzukjTxYLI2ti9prEHcRtCGHxx9d6XcwEDqpt6qr1P0p8WV-DuovQuT9ZTrShF1GlM3NL9DDCeScc6/s1600/miniprincesspig.png" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk//pictures/princesspig/princesspig.html" target="_blank">The Princess and the Pig</a></span><br />
illustrated by Poly Bernatene</td><td>10,235</td><td><b>↓</b></td></tr>
<tr><td><span style="font-size: x-large;">5</span></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R9PdCfeSU7ANj3OUdlBNs0VfSXhctBXNS9tFbKAXYFLgJ0AkfwTj03qIpvasyhBbmGFRnYIVWXBXE_1oSkWvZburmANmXmRHdWSaLJuhdoIbP3q3Dc5AV9kd0Gws9fHZE-Gu8XvPm7QZ/s1600/miniSilver-Serpent-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0R9PdCfeSU7ANj3OUdlBNs0VfSXhctBXNS9tFbKAXYFLgJ0AkfwTj03qIpvasyhBbmGFRnYIVWXBXE_1oSkWvZburmANmXmRHdWSaLJuhdoIbP3q3Dc5AV9kd0Gws9fHZE-Gu8XvPm7QZ/s400/miniSilver-Serpent-Cover.jpg" /></a></td><td><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html" target="_blank">The Silver Serpent Cup</a></span><br />
illustrated by Ed Eaves</td><td>9,618</td><td><b>–</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A big THANK YOU to everyone that borrowed my books, the wonderful librarians that made them available and the UK PLR scheme for helping authors like me to earn a living.<br /><br />Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-80437256067723911032018-12-26T07:00:00.000+00:002018-12-26T07:00:04.728+00:00Gift-Wrapped Characters Christmas Quiz<h4>
This post was originally published on <a href="https://picturebookden.blogspot.com/2018/12/gift-wrapped-characters-christmas-quiz.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Den</a>, a blog about picture books by picture book authors and illustrators.</h4>
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When I was a child, part of the excitement of the run-up to Christmas was shaking, squeezing and even sniffing the gift-wrapped presents beneath our Christmas tree in an attempt to deduce what was inside. For this year's Christmas quiz, I've gift-wrapped 10 picture book characters. Since shaking, squeezing and sniffing are not options, you'll have to work out who they are from their outlines alone. How many can you identify?<div>
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<strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Click on each image to reveal the answer</span></strong></strong></div>
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<a><img onmousedown="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ezEyIm0Y1E1tM_GAmo4iCnm7X4Z413i2EzosEi11JGCdi5cB68EJ7b324COT47qnvAVpnVPgLzKpsRTmSciIPs_fyfFCV7GX2Mms_w08f18wg5yuFPqoe5ZYl3PDzlBLQH-YEY74q5Ix/s1600/3b.jpg'" onmouseout="this.src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6yuvIIM4ZxbS0yCVMrbgZFEFydBxIPLKzk4FeaAO8JgVn-357_RGlOMlh_KLBXVcRdodf0yvNCs1cYC2M3ZNxZ5_eZH3zK7dAAmS_KHQSCEWBZ1-XqwU13EaXqc2rJQ0Y38wOrdYqpIR/s1600/3.jpg'" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6yuvIIM4ZxbS0yCVMrbgZFEFydBxIPLKzk4FeaAO8JgVn-357_RGlOMlh_KLBXVcRdodf0yvNCs1cYC2M3ZNxZ5_eZH3zK7dAAmS_KHQSCEWBZ1-XqwU13EaXqc2rJQ0Y38wOrdYqpIR/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></div>
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How did you do?<br />
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<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="60"><strong>10</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>All <i>present</i> and correct: </b>Your picture book character recognition skills are exemplary!</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>7–9</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b><i>Gifted</i></b></span>: You know your Seuss from your Scheffler.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>4–6</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b>Some contents missing:</b> Not bad, but perhaps you should add a few picture book classics to your Christmas list.</td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" valign="top" width="50"><strong>1–3</strong></td><td align="left" valign="top"><b><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">A bad <i>wrap</i></span>:</b> You need to brush up on your picture book knowledge.</td></tr>
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My delightfully dark Christmas picture book <i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/santatrap/santatrap.html" target="_blank">The Santa Trap</a></b></i>, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, is available in a UK paperback print-on-demand edition from Hatchling Books and a US Hardback edition from Peachtree Publishers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnrYUUrGkTkGnRJ2nS1lR3fMjtz3v6AexVzKmY19_ShPmNrY7rKTZ6dzg1TT-06gcZwJWShbZzsZQknfqvksNl0ruFm_l7Urc8DlzVqzqw4aME2h-4y-JvE9hnipjSl2SfIx4NYLTwlEi/s1600/santa+trap+cover+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnrYUUrGkTkGnRJ2nS1lR3fMjtz3v6AexVzKmY19_ShPmNrY7rKTZ6dzg1TT-06gcZwJWShbZzsZQknfqvksNl0ruFm_l7Urc8DlzVqzqw4aME2h-4y-JvE9hnipjSl2SfIx4NYLTwlEi/s320/santa+trap+cover+cropped.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2EA8Jqi" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561456705/scribblestree-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-32234473045952077562018-12-01T16:47:00.001+00:002018-12-07T17:59:20.472+00:00Are UK authors only prepared to defend the rights of people like themselves?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuup54UKVki66ADPMAO1X4kcVkBf6e2S-ZP0EMwY9B1nry818xhv6YYb-wGBX_UglWVkHIzjEjg1cKJAbO30N8BRgThDum0xwfWZP49uCgRnvfWtreil5pVtS_yoYX7TudqNxhU0ZnGsm9/s1600/MatthewAhmed.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuup54UKVki66ADPMAO1X4kcVkBf6e2S-ZP0EMwY9B1nry818xhv6YYb-wGBX_UglWVkHIzjEjg1cKJAbO30N8BRgThDum0xwfWZP49uCgRnvfWtreil5pVtS_yoYX7TudqNxhU0ZnGsm9/s640/MatthewAhmed.png" style="display: none;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>This article was originally published in<a href="https://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/united-front-901871" target="_blank"> <i>The Bookseller</i></a> on 30 November 2018</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuup54UKVki66ADPMAO1X4kcVkBf6e2S-ZP0EMwY9B1nry818xhv6YYb-wGBX_UglWVkHIzjEjg1cKJAbO30N8BRgThDum0xwfWZP49uCgRnvfWtreil5pVtS_yoYX7TudqNxhU0ZnGsm9/s1600/MatthewAhmed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuup54UKVki66ADPMAO1X4kcVkBf6e2S-ZP0EMwY9B1nry818xhv6YYb-wGBX_UglWVkHIzjEjg1cKJAbO30N8BRgThDum0xwfWZP49uCgRnvfWtreil5pVtS_yoYX7TudqNxhU0ZnGsm9/s640/MatthewAhmed.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victims of UAE injustice: UK academic Matthew Hedges, with his wife Daniela, and UAE Human Rights Campaigner Ahmed Mansoor, with three of his children.</td></tr>
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The UAE government’s<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46341310" target="_blank"> pardoning of UK academic Matthew Hedges</a> earlier this week was clearly a cause for celebration. Matthew’s release was the result of the courageous campaigning of his wife Daniela Tejada. After months of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-45968506">having her requests to meet with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt ignored</a>, Daniela decided to disregard the Foreign Office’s advice and shared the story of her husband’s plight with the UK media. By doing so she secured the immediate attention of Jeremy Hunt along with the sympathy and support of the UK public. The UAE’s mistreatment of Matthew caused such outrage that the staff of three UK universities <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/nov/24/matthew-hedges-jailing-two-more-uk-universities-cut-ties-with-uae" target="_blank">voted to boycott</a> their UAE campuses and several UK authors booked to appear at next March’s state-sponsored <a href="https://www.emirateslitfest.com/authors/" target="_blank">Emirates Airline Festival of Literature</a> in Dubai announced that they would <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/22/authors-boycott-uae-book-festival-over-matthew-hodges-jailing" target="_blank">boycott the festival</a> if Matthew remained in prison.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"The academic and author boycotts of the UAE helped to send an emphatic signal to both governments that the UK public was not willing to turn a blind eye to such shocking mistreatment of a fellow citizen."</span></div>
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The UAE is currently the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/12/nearly-half-of-us-arms-exports-go-to-the-middle-east">world's fourth-largest buyer of arms</a> and one of the UK’s most lucrative trading partners. The UK government has <a href="https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2017/10/13/uk-prioritises-trade-over-human-rights-in-uae">a track record of prioritising trade over human rights</a> in its dealings with the Gulf state and it seems likely that, if the UK public had been indifferent to Matthew’s predicament, he would still be languishing in an Abu Dhabi jail. The academic and author boycotts of the UAE helped to send an emphatic signal to both governments that the UK public was not willing to turn a blind eye to such shocking mistreatment of a fellow citizen.<br />
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Obscene miscarriages of justice like Matthew’s are everyday occurrences in the UAE, where writers, academics and journalists are routinely arrested, imprisoned and tortured for expressing the mildest criticism of the country’s sociopathic rulers. In the words of Amnesty International’s Middle East Director Lynn Maalouf, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/03/uae-prominent-academic-jailed-for-10-years-over-tweets-in-outrageous-blow-to-freedom-of-expression/">“The authorities have left no room for doubt: those who dare to speak their minds freely in the UAE today risk grave punishment." </a><br />
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One of the UAE’s notable prisoners of conscience is the engineer and blogger Ahmed Mansoor, formerly described by Amnesty as <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/03/release-emirati-human-rights-defender-ahmed-mansoor/">"the last remaining Emirati human rights defender”</a>. After being released from eight months in prison in 2011 for the crime of “insulting officials”, the UAE government confiscated Ahmed’s passport, forcing him to remain in the country. Knowing full well that his actions would inevitably result in further imprisonment and torture, Ahmed continued to speak out against human rights violations in the UAE. In 2015 a jury of ten global human rights organisations, including Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, awarded him the <a href="http://www.martinennalsaward.org/hrd/ahmed-mansoor-2/">Martin Ennals Award </a>for Human Rights Defenders in recognition of his courageous work.<br />
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<i>Human rights organisations explain the vital role played by UAE human rights defender<br />Ahmed Mansoor in this 2015 video made before his return to prison.</i></div>
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In March 2017, Ahmed was<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/05/uae-activist-ahmed-mansoor-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-social-media-posts/" target="_blank"> re-arrested and sentenced</a> to 10 years imprisonment for the “crime” of criticising the UAE government on social media. Unlike Daniela Tejada, Ahmed’s wife is unable to campaign for his release. The family and friends of UAE prisoners of conscience who challenge prisoners’ convictions are liable to become prisoners themselves and that would leave Ahmed’s four young children without a parent. If Ahmed and the many other UAE prisoners of conscience convicted purely for exercising their freedom of expression are to be pardoned, the pressure must come from outside of the UAE.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"If UK authors are prepared to boycott a festival over the unfair imprisonment of a single innocent UK citizen, then surely we should be prepared to do the same for the scores of innocent Emiratis like Ahmed Mansoor."</span></div>
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If UK authors are prepared to boycott a UAE state-sponsored festival over the unfair imprisonment of a single innocent UK citizen, then surely we should be prepared to do the same for the scores of innocent Emiratis like Ahmed Mansoor. If not, we’re effectively saying that the welfare and liberty of a UK citizen are worth far more than those of a foreigner imprisoned for defending the freedom of others.<br />
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I’d like to think that UK authors are better than that. Freedom of expression is the fundamental principle on which our craft depends; whether we boycott the festival or choose to attend it, UK authors should challenge those who are brutally suppressing freedom of expression within the UAE. So, as we celebrate Matthew Hedges’ release, we should also speak out to defend the rights of those who have no one else to defend them.<br />
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<b>Further Reading</b><br />
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<b><a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/matthew-hedges-free-what-about-uae-citizens-who-are-unfairly-jailed-and-silenced-1339552680" target="_blank">Matthew Hedges is free. What about UAE citizens who are unfairly jailed and silenced?</a></b><br />
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Middle East Analyst Bill Law's November 2018 article for <i>Middle East Eye.</i><br />
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<b><a href="https://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2018/03/emirates-festival-of-cognitive-dissonance.html" target="_blank">THE EMIRATES FESTIVAL OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE: How do writers and publishers square their commitment to freedom of expression with sponsorship by a brutally repressive regime?</a></b><br />
My March 2018 blog post on the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.<br />
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-82877888030206924002018-11-05T07:58:00.001+00:002020-10-29T09:34:09.262+00:00THE SANTA TRAP • New UK Print-On-Demand Paperback<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnrYUUrGkTkGnRJ2nS1lR3fMjtz3v6AexVzKmY19_ShPmNrY7rKTZ6dzg1TT-06gcZwJWShbZzsZQknfqvksNl0ruFm_l7Urc8DlzVqzqw4aME2h-4y-JvE9hnipjSl2SfIx4NYLTwlEi/s1600/santa+trap+cover+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnrYUUrGkTkGnRJ2nS1lR3fMjtz3v6AexVzKmY19_ShPmNrY7rKTZ6dzg1TT-06gcZwJWShbZzsZQknfqvksNl0ruFm_l7Urc8DlzVqzqw4aME2h-4y-JvE9hnipjSl2SfIx4NYLTwlEi/s400/santa+trap+cover+cropped.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
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I'm delighted to announce that <a href="http://www.polybernatene.com/" target="_blank">Poly Bernatene</a> and I have just published a new UK print-on-demand edition of our "darkly funny" Christmas picture book <i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/santatrap/santatrap.html" target="_blank">The Santa Trap</a>.</b></i></div>
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When children ask which of my own books is my favourite, this is the book I pick. It tells the story of Bradley Bartleby, an obscenely rich, villainous child who sets out to trap Santa Claus so that he can steal all of Santa's presents. One of the reasons I'm particularly fond of the book is that it's <i>slightly</i> autobiographical; as a child, I used to build Santa traps. However, unlike Bradley, I didn't want to capture Santa and steal his presents – I just wanted to get a glimpse of him. So the traps I built were designed to wake me up the moment Santa set foot in my room.</div>
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After several years of creating increasingly complex traps, I came up with the tripwire system shown in the diagram below. I strung four thin nylon tripwires around my bedroom and tied the ends to four large beads resting on one end of a Lego see-saw. The opposite end of the see-saw was wired up to a battery-powered alarm. If a tripwire moved, the bead it was tied to would be pulled off the see-saw, causing the opposite end to drop and close the circuit on the ear-piercing alarm. In addition to real tripwires, I strung a similar number of decoy tripwires around the room. It was impossible to tell the real tripwires and the decoys apart – so they both had to be avoided. I tested the trap myself and — even with the light on – I was unable to cross the room without setting off the alarm. The whole system took me so long to build and test that I didn't get into bed until almost midnight, by which time my bedroom looked like an enormous web, crisscrossed with gossamer threads, with me lying spider-like at the far end.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACBXA9hF-T1I5SBUnQJ7_ujGC0NQgLbCWjlk60Gk83n83GcmjKsMyomLBPxqkGak-S8oDX0DNTLt4NigxkDCJYTQQtjnadxL8zmzQDmZ9Biw5cWiotrQFTGfAjVbs0yAf6UOVJg87nb7S/s1600/trap+diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACBXA9hF-T1I5SBUnQJ7_ujGC0NQgLbCWjlk60Gk83n83GcmjKsMyomLBPxqkGak-S8oDX0DNTLt4NigxkDCJYTQQtjnadxL8zmzQDmZ9Biw5cWiotrQFTGfAjVbs0yAf6UOVJg87nb7S/s640/trap+diagram.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This diagram, from one of my school sessions, shows the final trap I built in my attempts to trap Santa. </td></tr>
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The strict code of secrecy surrounding Santa prevents me from telling what happened that night*, but I can tell you that it was the last Santa trap I ever built.<br />
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Another reason I'm particularly fond of the book is Poly's wonderful illustrations. Although it didn't take long to find a publisher, it took three years to find a suitable illustrator. A couple of illustrators agreed to do it but then changed their minds. Eventually, editor Emily Ford found Poly and asked him to do a sample. He turned out to be a perfect fit and well worth the wait. Poly and I have since done another three books together.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw08tWyZ7piSS0aKMQkJq9pNK1txdkQF15TxujpnSsuczZNqKdOsRJE1YZs9xTC0DU8cvrJI5AnWbrMnTlB2vmYTuV7LcTNZMLGotGrOIyFegIT1j75-FoLf64RZjFR3ryi8Iy4FeXf0Zw/s1600/fireplace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw08tWyZ7piSS0aKMQkJq9pNK1txdkQF15TxujpnSsuczZNqKdOsRJE1YZs9xTC0DU8cvrJI5AnWbrMnTlB2vmYTuV7LcTNZMLGotGrOIyFegIT1j75-FoLf64RZjFR3ryi8Iy4FeXf0Zw/s640/fireplace.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favourite spreads from the book.</td></tr>
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Bradley's darkly comical antics were a hit with readers and <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/santatrap/santatrap.html#reviews" target="_blank">reviewers</a> alike and in 2015 the story was adapted into <a href="https://belfieldslatermusicals.squarespace.com/the-santa-trap" target="_blank">a stage musical</a> by Robin Belfield and Simon Slater.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjao-EqlNYh70t19p7f6W0ooRCmoJWPb8KVM8ujrWRLeJlYt7By67AugKtK12ZiRSQyO-iLzfaQG7xlLd1eStuLo_wECPBhAQMZA5tPVC6XxklnczDMobpPbEPyACrETNUHA3kCDmudvLYa/s1600/Santa%252BTrap%252B40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjao-EqlNYh70t19p7f6W0ooRCmoJWPb8KVM8ujrWRLeJlYt7By67AugKtK12ZiRSQyO-iLzfaQG7xlLd1eStuLo_wECPBhAQMZA5tPVC6XxklnczDMobpPbEPyACrETNUHA3kCDmudvLYa/s640/Santa%252BTrap%252B40.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toby Vaughan (left) as beastly Bradley with Elouise Secker and Ben Tolley as his parents in Belfield Slater's 2015 stage production<i>.</i></td></tr>
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Although technically in print, the original UK paperback has not always been available in the weeks leading up to Christmas, so Poly and I have published the new print-on-demand edition to ensure its availability this year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-lnPuLIjTLKrIfGnTnFknKdeYcVtynYaLW6SV6LxnxsidAkh3TnpHRropFjVhmAsa5-X0EQFyuTrbUY1S6MQh5_JyL_GcRx9a4o086n48rZx4fC_2gIPMbYQ3EuMt8tHbuj6uuJ1BIQk/s1600/boom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-lnPuLIjTLKrIfGnTnFknKdeYcVtynYaLW6SV6LxnxsidAkh3TnpHRropFjVhmAsa5-X0EQFyuTrbUY1S6MQh5_JyL_GcRx9a4o086n48rZx4fC_2gIPMbYQ3EuMt8tHbuj6uuJ1BIQk/s640/boom.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another spread from the new edition.</td></tr>
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Here's a trailer I put together for the new edition:<br />
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The book has proved popular in schools and <a href="https://www.hertsforlearning.co.uk/" target="_blank">Herts For Learning</a> have produced a set of <b>lesson plans</b>, based on the book which you can download using the link below.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogsdothertsforlearningdotcodotuk.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/santa-trap-planning-ideas.pdf" target="_blank">Download Herts For Learning's Primary<br />School lesson plans for <i>The Santa Trap</i></a></span></div>
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You can also download some activity sheets for the book by clicking on the images below.<br />
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/maze/SantaTrapMaze.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/maze/thumbs/SantaTrapMaze.jpg" /></a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/wordsearch/SantaTrapWS.pdf" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/wordsearch/thumbs/SantaTrapWS.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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The book is also available in a <a href="https://peachtree-online.com/portfolio-items/the-santa-trap/" target="_blank">US Hardback edition</a> from <a href="https://peachtree-online.com/" target="_blank">Peachtree Publishers</a>. You can order the new UK print-on-demand edition and the US edition using the buttons below.</div>
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<td><a href="https://amzn.to/2EA8Jqi" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td>
<td><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561456705/scribblestree-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td>
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<a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pops/alphabet/alphabet.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Find out more about the book on my website</span></a></div>
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<h5 class="authorcomment" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
* Which is a shame because it was extremely funny.</h5>
Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-81912240563976964002018-10-04T07:00:00.000+01:002018-10-18T17:25:12.717+01:00ALPHABET STREET • New UK Novelty Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEG-dayiq8iQ-Bsh-GbbPlgIlbyK-bs3g2fJlxgXS_diIGbpzPTIWceeQeYd_Y0Hf_PvRYmoJnPkZ-ZLiGexpT7pFs_nLuVziFdyinSi7T-LwmNiZdcf7Q3UMumgsMojyelPPLNxZXbKAB/s1600/streetcover.png" imageanchor="1"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgP1I14URpG5OAFsnjiwhWQswbfwe51hYtlPq5ybaFvm4Ces4H4lM4OvFCguVfrzjF0NVzLZVFQWowBt44CIiRXAaMaj7KozgGeHj4J8Q9cmF5RhQjPB8Z0Whf7n-zjD0qqlWc3I2do_v/s1600/Alphabet+Street+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYgP1I14URpG5OAFsnjiwhWQswbfwe51hYtlPq5ybaFvm4Ces4H4lM4OvFCguVfrzjF0NVzLZVFQWowBt44CIiRXAaMaj7KozgGeHj4J8Q9cmF5RhQjPB8Z0Whf7n-zjD0qqlWc3I2do_v/s640/Alphabet+Street+1.jpg" width="472" /></a></div>
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<b><i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pops/alphabet/alphabet.html">Alphabet Street</a></i></b>, my new novelty book with illustrator<b> <a href="http://www.ingelaparrhenius.com/" target="_blank">Ingela P Arrhenius</a></b>, is published in the UK today by <a href="https://nosycrow.com/" target="_blank"><b>Nosy Crow</b></a>!<br />
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The book features a street of shops with alphabetised names (<b><span style="color: red;">A</span></b>lfie’s <b><span style="color: red;">B</span></b>akery, <b><span style="color: red;">C</span></b>offee & <b><span style="color: red;">D</span></b>oughnuts, etc.). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyvhAsqlxOIlVc1wumBIVrwLySwRHNdEZMfEi7HFxnLPL8MOA2E3pb2YWUdH2aFTjVfEZNhDm5o5WEmy_quMvrcOKag8ju5YLPsqZRncxhlN5y1t4J-Tpl6Q-icJ2J4goTwZEEuWGmOhp/s1600/Spread+1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFyvhAsqlxOIlVc1wumBIVrwLySwRHNdEZMfEi7HFxnLPL8MOA2E3pb2YWUdH2aFTjVfEZNhDm5o5WEmy_quMvrcOKag8ju5YLPsqZRncxhlN5y1t4J-Tpl6Q-icJ2J4goTwZEEuWGmOhp/s640/Spread+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Flaps on each shop open to reveal rhyming couplets of alphabetised animals engaged in alphabetised activities.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtnqYr6Q-Q2LJ16bfZCo2wv8XQxQN7k1LfQz4U0XcDvhdFZVz_9dJs_wstTYy1H0gCZ985jbm5BWDO5NsTW9wO4flsq17Rh2CLMxpvVBd0p-oHEJ5AUmxxYk8EbmAXbD0iBq-FA9vIBJp/s1600/Spread+1+OPEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCtnqYr6Q-Q2LJ16bfZCo2wv8XQxQN7k1LfQz4U0XcDvhdFZVz_9dJs_wstTYy1H0gCZ985jbm5BWDO5NsTW9wO4flsq17Rh2CLMxpvVBd0p-oHEJ5AUmxxYk8EbmAXbD0iBq-FA9vIBJp/s640/Spread+1+OPEN.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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It can be read as a conventional book or opened out to show all 13 shops as a wallchart or free-standing play scene.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jOR2EKqheQ_C96kzzby5LMiilEaTjO8AaItjt6YfsGJFk4XaQ8d9u85ipkpNSOcgqjDCWi1feVoEfwohqXsEbj6sdxJ3eXw2k4SuVL32HhXnNj1wLFrK3-Ymx_q5rVHIKaOJpufZmn1E/s1600/AlphabetStreet_Photo_BC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jOR2EKqheQ_C96kzzby5LMiilEaTjO8AaItjt6YfsGJFk4XaQ8d9u85ipkpNSOcgqjDCWi1feVoEfwohqXsEbj6sdxJ3eXw2k4SuVL32HhXnNj1wLFrK3-Ymx_q5rVHIKaOJpufZmn1E/s640/AlphabetStreet_Photo_BC.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
The book had a long journey to publication – I came up with the idea almost two decades ago and my agent Caroline Walsh and I had been pitching it to UK publishers since 1999. The reason most publishers gave for turning the book down was that, “alphabet books can’t be translated” – so they’d be unable to split the book’s high production costs with foreign co-publishers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A concept drawing sent to publishers, showing how the book could be opened out into a wall-chart or play scene.</td></tr>
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Nevertheless, I felt that the book was sufficiently appealing and original to justify dusting it off and re-submitting it to publishers every few years. And this perseverance paid off when the book was finally accepted by Nosy Crow.<br />
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Ironically – after years of being rejected as untranslatable – the book is also being published in eight different foreign language editions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx5EHyJU7QyVz1PNX23laIUHqgtl5QU455So_fFhr0vGf4Xx3Myqmv_eO_hyEa0M605m6gqPmPBTG1CpQukBj6MDnl_cJpyb9CUNU_QHk9U9RPCNo5j8-8zWYrzWxqpE3kMjwTRuCB_tL/s1600/coeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx5EHyJU7QyVz1PNX23laIUHqgtl5QU455So_fFhr0vGf4Xx3Myqmv_eO_hyEa0M605m6gqPmPBTG1CpQukBj6MDnl_cJpyb9CUNU_QHk9U9RPCNo5j8-8zWYrzWxqpE3kMjwTRuCB_tL/s640/coeds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first edition has been published in nine different languages.</td></tr>
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A key part of the book’s appeal to the overseas market is the beautiful artwork of Swedish illustrator Ingela P Arrhenius whose bright, cheerful style is very popular with European readers. And Nosy Crow cleverly avoided the “alphabet books can’t be translated” issue by pitching the book to foreign co-publishers in a non-alphabetic, non-rhyming version with the alternative title “Busy Busy Street”.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMgmvZFC_RvviJ_UGdv0KYGvWS1HthhtbPH6tStaJla_MHD-1VnBvNxnLR_zQ4PS5A-q9XBGyAEYNK0hRwfxdA8RzZCYRTtLsz_WWMi88dVJCinJbJLePQ1uSuRypB7AVCJyVFdrTVshU/s1600/panorama.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMgmvZFC_RvviJ_UGdv0KYGvWS1HthhtbPH6tStaJla_MHD-1VnBvNxnLR_zQ4PS5A-q9XBGyAEYNK0hRwfxdA8RzZCYRTtLsz_WWMi88dVJCinJbJLePQ1uSuRypB7AVCJyVFdrTVshU/s640/panorama.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A section of Ingela's park panorama from the reverse side of the book.</td></tr>
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Which just goes to show that, “if at first you don’t succeed” in finding a publisher, it can be worth persevering, and that, if an alphabet book has sufficient appeal beyond the alphabet element, it CAN be translated!<br />
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/Alphabet-Street/22633157" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_PjD0pDU0dwJ_TtJ1MZkOAwP-hQt5S34rl8p0tvq_mPxuHSDIe88W2oKe8KThtVIP_YbBSx_SZZfuMxUivucuUs8Urkf2JntbLFZjRUNkU9bRmWlxGS_aQ87Ql2ZZRc7PQFm1v7EILRP/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2OWB6A7" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pops/alphabet/alphabet.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Find out more about the book on my website</span></a></div>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-26932807264113400822018-10-02T06:30:00.001+01:002020-10-30T16:34:06.322+00:00🎶 ALL TOGETHER NOW! 🎶 Picture books adapted from songs<h4>
This post was originally published on <a href="https://picturebookden.blogspot.com/2018/09/picture-books-adapted-from-songs.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Den,</a> a blog about picture books by picture book authors and illustrators.</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6RAcC4s11DyObMiAIGv1hSUk4JbZKeC7vpK7zBFaeWf3EbMwGdDmVBWX21ffwk8CZCEkmG4oYHFK3yE2yu8jQYaiUgbo1v49pgR1Rywm4k14aaLbUQgnUiaf4HCd_WBROr6ZIqgcdoE9u/s1600/Picture+books+adapted+from+songs.png"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6RAcC4s11DyObMiAIGv1hSUk4JbZKeC7vpK7zBFaeWf3EbMwGdDmVBWX21ffwk8CZCEkmG4oYHFK3yE2yu8jQYaiUgbo1v49pgR1Rywm4k14aaLbUQgnUiaf4HCd_WBROr6ZIqgcdoE9u/s640/Picture+books+adapted+from+songs.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Although some people will only know <i>We’re Going on a Bear Hunt</i> as a picture book by <a href="https://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/" target="_blank">Michael Rosen</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Oxenbury" target="_blank">Helen Oxenbury</a>, the text is adapted from an <a href="https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2291" target="_blank">American folk song</a> and many children of my generation will have known it as a scout and guide campfire song long before the picture book was published.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YaX5IaXy8ShAJdt7U0xYijFZEkSVJZMZVEScShEcKYpVsi3WAvuj7TrxSjHp4bUMtyijQi1x8o4IFDw53uOQZYRRJFmUmN5CTwfV1L-jHiz399g1zBJFFt_MJdLofmenYas1KU38gHHh/s1600/bearhunt.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5YaX5IaXy8ShAJdt7U0xYijFZEkSVJZMZVEScShEcKYpVsi3WAvuj7TrxSjHp4bUMtyijQi1x8o4IFDw53uOQZYRRJFmUmN5CTwfV1L-jHiz399g1zBJFFt_MJdLofmenYas1KU38gHHh/s320/bearhunt.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>We’re Going on a Bear Hunt</i> is one of the most celebrated examples of a picture book adapted from a song. Song lyrics often need some authorial tinkering to make them work well as a picture book text and the onomatopoeic sounds in the book (<i>Swishy swashy! Splash splosh!</i> etc.) and the verses about the forest and the snowstorm <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/nov/05/how-we-made-bear-hunt" target="_blank">are both Rosen's invention</a>.<br />
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My picture book <i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mountain/mountain.html" target="_blank">She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain</a>,</i> illustrated by<i> </i><a href="http://www.deborahallwright.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Allwright</a>, was also adapted from an <a href="http://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/shellbecominroundthemountain.htm" target="_blank">American folk song</a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciusf1n6j2ZliCbDLfxA0G4CmmUGa2PLnObNgUPIPscnE2ILGpKtiVlKwerSh_6VqnDfBpGb22XwVFV78FRmWqpFR42797_m9KOETCFZMGOqdQGpzQBFWFUuDWbRI4BGJFfzbtg92qrv7/s800/SBCRTMCover.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="621" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciusf1n6j2ZliCbDLfxA0G4CmmUGa2PLnObNgUPIPscnE2ILGpKtiVlKwerSh_6VqnDfBpGb22XwVFV78FRmWqpFR42797_m9KOETCFZMGOqdQGpzQBFWFUuDWbRI4BGJFfzbtg92qrv7/w310-h400/SBCRTMCover.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
When an editor asked me to adapt the song a few years ago, I decided that the first thing I needed to do was reduce the repetition. While a degree of repetition is often encouraged in picture book writing, I felt that having the same phrase repeated five times on every spread would become a little tedious, so I replaced two of the repeated phrases in each verse with a rhyming couplet.<br />
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So this first verse of the original folk song:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes,</div>
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TOOT-TOOT!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
TOOT-TOOT!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming ‘round the mountain,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming ‘round the mountain,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
TOOT-TOOT!</div>
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Became this in my picture book version:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
TOOT-TOOT!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
TOOT-TOOT!<br />
<b>Yes, she'll whistle like a train,<br />As she speeds across the plain,</b><br />
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes,</div>
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TOOT-TOOT!</div>
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I also replaced most of the folk song's later verses – including the ones about <i>sleeping with grandma</i> and <i>killing the old red rooster</i> – with new verses. The new verse where the cowgirl paints the whole town purple was a cowboy-hat-tip to the Clint Eastwood western <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Plains_Drifter" target="_blank">High Plains Drifter,</a></i> in which an enigmatic cowboy <i>literally</i> paints a whole town red.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlR-8DJ8ZzgtqkNEW2Zdx9-06quR428eowAtcqafkez-gz-HK0SYpDNhnBoVEDHOm4JWI-BWzVKxIu8wrr6WyBbVvfYPo5buV4pxwU01EkN7QIh68o0ejSPZWea9PQ9_TgDOTPVQ9P4oz/s1293/SBCRTMInsidesUK_2-1.jpg" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="1293" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlR-8DJ8ZzgtqkNEW2Zdx9-06quR428eowAtcqafkez-gz-HK0SYpDNhnBoVEDHOm4JWI-BWzVKxIu8wrr6WyBbVvfYPo5buV4pxwU01EkN7QIh68o0ejSPZWea9PQ9_TgDOTPVQ9P4oz/w640-h416/SBCRTMInsidesUK_2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>
Songs often make it onto the page without any authorial tinkering. There are plenty of picture book adaptations of <i>Over in the Meadow </i>and<i> Old MacDonald had a Farm</i> that feature the original lyrics …<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUOHCOjXVU-gUxTBSrToYYEl5DisygsVktqskZvsGZkZTWsSnklXcGRXvz4s7_X76fzsAbXsZONmWKXVI7rTQ57ToFSdxN0gxxFpz1UJ9c45G8hwqzC-pNVXzyN1CkZNYedO-GZ6_V-aX/s1600/macdonald.jpg"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwUOHCOjXVU-gUxTBSrToYYEl5DisygsVktqskZvsGZkZTWsSnklXcGRXvz4s7_X76fzsAbXsZONmWKXVI7rTQ57ToFSdxN0gxxFpz1UJ9c45G8hwqzC-pNVXzyN1CkZNYedO-GZ6_V-aX/s640/macdonald.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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… but there are also quite a few adaptations that have been re-written to include a more exotic, mechanical or <i>flatulent</i> cast of characters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZiIGaWN_HI7HoUTqypSyYJA6Vx-DUSdNNUx0RWdPGrjaJZ0kH7mDMPqFltpBLowMKtIdEYQCgSgtcqEtBFoK_ls_rHVdSzbghVTQC3FBGnMD844B7KqU-980_-cJXTZvHmsYg3gcax5h/s1600/jungle.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZiIGaWN_HI7HoUTqypSyYJA6Vx-DUSdNNUx0RWdPGrjaJZ0kH7mDMPqFltpBLowMKtIdEYQCgSgtcqEtBFoK_ls_rHVdSzbghVTQC3FBGnMD844B7KqU-980_-cJXTZvHmsYg3gcax5h/s640/jungle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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While all of the above examples are adapted from folk songs, picture book adaptations of contemporary songs have become increasingly common in recent years. One of the first examples I remember seeing is this 2007 adaptation of the Peter Paul and Mary song <i>Puff the Magic Dragon</i> illustrated by<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ericpuybaret/" target="_blank"> Eric Puybaret</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDotMvvny2ENv3jW_pxsfqNSVxFHU-WrlRi_IQaiC7VeM1Wr2nyLPrDvJWslOjZgn7fYDorLb8bw8LG6cirXIN9QRbprLsHYqnwwy_vcXsBKyLjP4hdXolWTrGMttUVQZX-6fChA9xk2Y/s1600/puff.jpg"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWDotMvvny2ENv3jW_pxsfqNSVxFHU-WrlRi_IQaiC7VeM1Wr2nyLPrDvJWslOjZgn7fYDorLb8bw8LG6cirXIN9QRbprLsHYqnwwy_vcXsBKyLjP4hdXolWTrGMttUVQZX-6fChA9xk2Y/s320/puff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since then, contemporary songs by Bob Marley, Dolly Parton, John Lennon, Kenny Loggins and many others have been adapted into picture books.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJLhRck-Y0jw9ODHH9zqXj_RWDJR79nQl5uAMF3YomNM6qc_JjkDmaeR2tY8_Nb0vkhhST2z3U8FaRcX6r8dVv7abMJJqPQ6drMs2CeZ4yviY5Di4kSDhNR1NEOPGLT5GCAmvmn6q7QiH/s1600/screenshot+2018-09-19+at+20.35.43.png"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJLhRck-Y0jw9ODHH9zqXj_RWDJR79nQl5uAMF3YomNM6qc_JjkDmaeR2tY8_Nb0vkhhST2z3U8FaRcX6r8dVv7abMJJqPQ6drMs2CeZ4yviY5Di4kSDhNR1NEOPGLT5GCAmvmn6q7QiH/s640/screenshot+2018-09-19+at+20.35.43.png" width="622" /></a></div>
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Illustrator <a href="https://www.timhopgood.com/">Tim Hopgood</a> has produced a series of picture book adaptations of classic 20th Century songs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzzrIsyXJH_iGBILh0xeiQTxLFPocdoa8aJ0lZl7YJp_kDK6r5FFnQ2E-vmwanL5ZEo1uKcYTfuxaXsn-ru9kXsTh2Yt5sepLVkGvYimWWfe4nsJYWOOlgQnC0eZ8eyE-w6OuBHu80qWT/s1600/screenshot+2018-09-16+at+11.58.16.png"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzzrIsyXJH_iGBILh0xeiQTxLFPocdoa8aJ0lZl7YJp_kDK6r5FFnQ2E-vmwanL5ZEo1uKcYTfuxaXsn-ru9kXsTh2Yt5sepLVkGvYimWWfe4nsJYWOOlgQnC0eZ8eyE-w6OuBHu80qWT/s640/screenshot+2018-09-16+at+11.58.16.png" width="636" /></a></div>
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As picture books adapted from songs have become increasingly popular, the interval between the song coming out and the picture book being published seems to be reducing. Last year’s picture book adaptation of <i>When I Grow Up</i>, illustrated by <a href="http://www.steveantony.com/" target="_blank">Steve Anthony</a>, was published just seven years after the song first appeared, in <a href="http://www.timminchin.com/" target="_blank">Tim Minchin</a>’s<i> Matilda the Musical.</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga8Z9OHfyTGy_T-FWjbt65oTdeW53XYD-xujVyOxY3w_82gZlefjse_xDORKjPd1CsowM9PGw4c6-NnMywZ-QRDgUn9s9o23KMd928kMhGAqbdpUzzvJgFqUEu2jXM6J4bNyF80Bc7gxuo/s1600/whenIgrow+up.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6HhWJgRnLmJwZcXskk0icuUqRD5AGppsG8gLLJXq41zV6XIpTB8zBs8HbG6MpGt7BDs1zLWbIkrVpOF-qq6RTVk0Aq9daXV4SUFgeKPywtpXsEwyqzDC5J5-nE2pHONCMhYK6tUu5dyk/s1600/51-O3pFgbjL._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6HhWJgRnLmJwZcXskk0icuUqRD5AGppsG8gLLJXq41zV6XIpTB8zBs8HbG6MpGt7BDs1zLWbIkrVpOF-qq6RTVk0Aq9daXV4SUFgeKPywtpXsEwyqzDC5J5-nE2pHONCMhYK6tUu5dyk/s320/51-O3pFgbjL._SY498_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the picture book version of Pharrell Williams’ <i>Happy!</i> (illustrated with photographs) came out only one year after the song was released!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrxR9wOjPEgURwrH5xDByiOmpUW6ZHoXN7jvbx828ezKHuVghkrdfYKcbjqKqhDvtREgDh6KIsn6mLvY1vqjRZKi6-vZ_5-schnX0AOWxR_S6g9NzUNv1poU1BT45e1__X_ZJYyPDDuHl/s1600/happy.jpg"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrxR9wOjPEgURwrH5xDByiOmpUW6ZHoXN7jvbx828ezKHuVghkrdfYKcbjqKqhDvtREgDh6KIsn6mLvY1vqjRZKi6-vZ_5-schnX0AOWxR_S6g9NzUNv1poU1BT45e1__X_ZJYyPDDuHl/s320/happy.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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So if you’re a picture book author or illustrator looking for ideas, you might try flicking through an old songbook or switching on the radio. If you’re lucky, you might discover the inspiration for the next <i>We’re Going on a Bear Hunt!</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciusf1n6j2ZliCbDLfxA0G4CmmUGa2PLnObNgUPIPscnE2ILGpKtiVlKwerSh_6VqnDfBpGb22XwVFV78FRmWqpFR42797_m9KOETCFZMGOqdQGpzQBFWFUuDWbRI4BGJFfzbtg92qrv7/s800/SBCRTMCover.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="621" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhciusf1n6j2ZliCbDLfxA0G4CmmUGa2PLnObNgUPIPscnE2ILGpKtiVlKwerSh_6VqnDfBpGb22XwVFV78FRmWqpFR42797_m9KOETCFZMGOqdQGpzQBFWFUuDWbRI4BGJFfzbtg92qrv7/w248-h320/SBCRTMCover.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: center;">You can order print-on-demand editions of <i>She'll Be coming Round the Mountain</i> using the links below.</h3><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="https://amzn.to/34rRCSf" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/3mG0qdt" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaiAl5yMjvTGQKxXCC5OICvAbyRAklnIrSY9s8i4th-uL8Btt3AIHouCiCErEWuy5MuyLTURxQvyElyKI-3ptKX_X4tMbsBOaRriF6DJ1hBOiqUBlOa6LjrYY1XqS1mEZI0MUOY8GEYD2/s1600/buy-US.png" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/mountain/mountain.html" target="_blank">Find out more about this book on my website</a></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>
Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-44977013242733701782018-07-17T06:30:00.000+01:002018-10-05T14:31:26.582+01:00GOOD VIEWERS ALSO MAKE GOOD WRITERS: Finding inspiration in films, TV and video games.<h4>
This post was originally published on <a href="https://picturebookden.blogspot.com/2018/07/good-viewers-also-make-good-writers.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Den,</a> a blog about picture books by picture book authors and illustrators.</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERVeGwwPQ0OiC7MaiktAkitpjpiOTQijCzs0irbbxtRdKvgTluFq8Lds1c3sxzj0rMl_jjT8xi9SJgHRdVDssg0QRPy2hfVvtc-QZb3vuS2U3elxDaRbYmyDTj2q138mMNxVka0NAI6__/s1600/screen-idea.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERVeGwwPQ0OiC7MaiktAkitpjpiOTQijCzs0irbbxtRdKvgTluFq8Lds1c3sxzj0rMl_jjT8xi9SJgHRdVDssg0QRPy2hfVvtc-QZb3vuS2U3elxDaRbYmyDTj2q138mMNxVka0NAI6__/s400/screen-idea.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The question I’m asked most often in school Q and A sessions is “where do you get your ideas from?” The answer I usually give is “anywhere and everywhere” before elaborating with some specific examples. I tell the children that I get many of my ideas from reading books by other authors – the oft quoted maxim that <i>good readers make good writers</i> is a sound one. But I also tell them that some of my best ideas come from watching TV and films and playing video games, because <i>good viewers can also make good writers!</i><br />
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I always feel like I’m breaking some unwritten rule for authors visiting schools by telling children this. The main reason children’s authors are invited into schools is to help foster an enthusiasm for books and reading – not wax lyrical about screen media, the pervasive appeal of which is often blamed for the decline in children’s reading. However, while it’s clear that many young children prefer to look at a screen than a page, I think this preference has more to do with content than medium. And, if we want children to recognise that a picture book can be every bit as appealing as their favourite film, TV show or video game, it makes sense for picture book writers to recognise the appeal screen media has for many children and to try to channel that appeal onto the page.<br />
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One of the picture books I’ve written that was inspired by screen media is <i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html" target="_blank">The Silver Serpent Cup</a></b></i> which was devised in collaboration with illustrator <a href="http://edeavesillustrator.com/" target="_blank">Ed Eaves</a>. The book’s main screen media inspirations are Hanna-Barbera’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wacky_Races_(1968_TV_series)" target="_blank"><i><b>Wacky Races</b></i></a> animated TV series, which Ed and I had both enjoyed as children, and Nintendo’s <b><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Kart" target="_blank">Mario Kart</a> </i></b>series of video games, which were hugely popular with my own children and their friends. Ed’s action-packed illustrations do a terrific job of capturing the excitement of playing <i>Mario Kart</i> and when we were creating the book we’d considered including a <i>Mario Kart </i>style course map at the side of each spread, showing the positions of each racer, but eventually decided against it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2MYpMq3N8bOiHztvPa5DIBz6PY77xsF2F4_moTwwWHodTeKFThBofrnelVxD345VQldoOos1VCdNGE-sHrzlpPFs5X-cCGXM_xtCTh0rNjrFL140PBB1amx9nJ2s8-SBLIRQQkyTi2sB/s1600/serpent+and+mario.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2MYpMq3N8bOiHztvPa5DIBz6PY77xsF2F4_moTwwWHodTeKFThBofrnelVxD345VQldoOos1VCdNGE-sHrzlpPFs5X-cCGXM_xtCTh0rNjrFL140PBB1amx9nJ2s8-SBLIRQQkyTi2sB/s640/serpent+and+mario.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">A spread from <i>The Silver Serpent Cup,</i> illustrated by Ed Eaves and Nintendo's Mario Kart.</td></tr>
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When I read <i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i> in schools I preface the reading by talking about the inspirations behind the book. When I mention that Ed and I were trying to capture the thrill of playing <i>Mario Kart</i> and show an image from the video game, a noisy ripple of excitement ALWAYS goes around the room. Children who had been staring out of the window or fidgeting with their shoes are now giving me their undivided attention. You can sense what these previously unengaged children are thinking – <i>I love Mario Kart! This book is worth paying attention to!</i><br />
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For our newly-published follow up, <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/cleopatra/cleopatra.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee</i></b></a>, Ed and I drew our inspiration from video games like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider" target="_blank"><b><i>Tomb Raider</i></b> </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Run" target="_blank"><b><i>Temple Run</i></b></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_(franchise)" target="_blank"><b><i>Indiana Jones</i></b></a> films. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l44-R1IFABHxwxx0DjW_SH7ZsaDBotddTT4B_Gsbmv6e_upueTqzappJzd_CzQnfMidlgxCVG3zCOyPOoy_K8EURmuyJG2iDqc6Xkl9P3cHUaB51CPY8usL2IxtDFIwAY7C_IcmOtAtb/s1600/cleo+inspiration.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5l44-R1IFABHxwxx0DjW_SH7ZsaDBotddTT4B_Gsbmv6e_upueTqzappJzd_CzQnfMidlgxCVG3zCOyPOoy_K8EURmuyJG2iDqc6Xkl9P3cHUaB51CPY8usL2IxtDFIwAY7C_IcmOtAtb/s640/cleo+inspiration.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><i>Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee</i> draws inspiration from treasure-hunting games and films.</td></tr>
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Creators of TV, film and video games have become extremely adept at recognising appealing content in children’s literature and channeling that appeal onto the screen. If we want to stop children abandoning pages for screens at an early age, picture book authors, illustrators and publishers need to ensure that this channelling works both ways by creating more picture books that reflect the appeal of popular films, TV shows and video games. We have to stop regarding screen media as a bogeyman who's luring children away from books and recognise it as a valuable source of inspiration that can make books more appealing to young readers.</div>
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Further Reading</h3>
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<li><b><a href="http://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.com/2013/02/why-its-bad-idea-to-try-to-champion.html" target="_blank">Why it’s a bad idea to try to champion books by discrediting other media</a></b></li>
<li><b><a href="http://coolnotcute.blogspot.com/2014/11/how-picture-books-can-compete-more.html#blogpost" target="_blank">How picture books can compete effectively with other children’s media</a></b></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPOWHA8on1lpJ00dktEeCC4KojtNEg7ge0GhkM2_DMiwiqfC5-uqwHzAdCUvedI1hPe4lUjrMvqK9rrGxj-YlxDGoIL_koHha8Ns_xZbontlrfoq-xoIWyxDdNEK2QF_VFY16KHoPZ69L/s1600/Cleopatra+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-size: 15.399999618530273px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPOWHA8on1lpJ00dktEeCC4KojtNEg7ge0GhkM2_DMiwiqfC5-uqwHzAdCUvedI1hPe4lUjrMvqK9rrGxj-YlxDGoIL_koHha8Ns_xZbontlrfoq-xoIWyxDdNEK2QF_VFY16KHoPZ69L/s320/Cleopatra+Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Jonathan Emmett's </i><i>latest screen media inspired picture book</i></div>
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<i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/cleopatra/cleopatra.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee</span></a></b></i></div>
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<i>is</i><i> illustrated by <a href="http://edeavesillustrator.com/" target="_blank">Ed Eaves</a> and published by <a href="https://global.oup.com/education/children/?region=uk" target="_blank">Oxford University Press</a>. </i></div>
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<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/Cleopatra-Bones-and-the-Golden-Chimpanzee/21791737" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_PjD0pDU0dwJ_TtJ1MZkOAwP-hQt5S34rl8p0tvq_mPxuHSDIe88W2oKe8KThtVIP_YbBSx_SZZfuMxUivucuUs8Urkf2JntbLFZjRUNkU9bRmWlxGS_aQ87Ql2ZZRc7PQFm1v7EILRP/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2KN7e78" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://new.myubam.com/p/7075/cleopatra-bones-and-the-golden-chimpanzee" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWZYKQC7Bbl9PRVcqO0BKA9q1ctYWcSUBVFzg-edYnF5Ep607lh23MHMDv2zi6revRxoTFxALk_SFKTCcqO-uFnp1OaoRNSsONNuMEWXMyLAy2vAFvkAMyOnGmwdCgNZh2oWNi_0zBDiT/s400/buy-UsborneUS.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/cleopatra/cleopatra.html" target="_blank">Find out more about this book on my website</a></span></div>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-12933680384384647022018-07-05T07:00:00.000+01:002018-07-05T09:28:21.779+01:00CLEOPATRA BONES AND THE GOLDEN CHIMPANZEE • New UK and US picture book<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWSMxKg5aTNni-dcy0Z6Z-bht7VV_hhxavW_NeVb40MWzsBuomUFGznbMRVr0xc9SQxwUFiIpeXU52OmjtNcEFmTy6RKp9r9NkY_idgm3n9ovxzq0qC2k7yQXr4Crzx9FRbSYkWHztDFv/s1600/Cleopatra+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWSMxKg5aTNni-dcy0Z6Z-bht7VV_hhxavW_NeVb40MWzsBuomUFGznbMRVr0xc9SQxwUFiIpeXU52OmjtNcEFmTy6RKp9r9NkY_idgm3n9ovxzq0qC2k7yQXr4Crzx9FRbSYkWHztDFv/s400/Cleopatra+Cover.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">🇬🇧 UK Edition - Oxford University Press</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv577afG56QrITrsr8EAYDu2mXhhyphenhyphen5i7BdaYpf7wJhObOFd-aH8xEeJ5oe0qZGGVrQ8-MBlddKkag7AlYaDvFyg8cRPYZzNUs40VG7w4lSgaxwfPEbGC_ognAw2Qk_0w1rZKQU6cm75p_T/s1600/cleopatra-bones-golden-chimpanzee-US+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv577afG56QrITrsr8EAYDu2mXhhyphenhyphen5i7BdaYpf7wJhObOFd-aH8xEeJ5oe0qZGGVrQ8-MBlddKkag7AlYaDvFyg8cRPYZzNUs40VG7w4lSgaxwfPEbGC_ognAw2Qk_0w1rZKQU6cm75p_T/s400/cleopatra-bones-golden-chimpanzee-US+cover.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> 🇺🇸 US Edition - Kane Miller</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">"In the ruins of a temple, down a dark and winding stair,
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explorer Cleopatra Bones is creeping with great care.
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Springing nimbly sideways to avoid a deadly trap,
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she squeezes through a secret door and finds a TREASURE MAP!"
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<i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/cleopatra/cleopatra.html" target="_blank">Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee</a></b></i>, my new picture book with illustrator <a href="http://edeavesillustrator.com/" target="_blank">Ed Eaves</a>, is published today by <a href="https://global.oup.com/education/children/?region=uk" target="_blank">Oxford University Press</a> in the UK and <a href="http://www.kanemiller.com/" target="_blank">Kane Miller</a> in the US!<br />
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The book is a sequel to the 2015 race-themed picture book <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/serpent/serpent.html"><b><i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i></b></a>. I think the preference many young children have for TV, film and video games over picture books has more to do with content than medium; a lot of the content that young children find extremely appealing in electronic media is relatively difficult to find in picture books. In <i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i>, Ed and I had drawn on the content of race-themed video games like <i>Mario Kart </i>and TV shows like <i>Wacky Races</i> for inspiration. For <i>Cleopatra Bones and the Golden Chimpanzee</i>, we drew on treasure-seeking video games like <i>Tomb Raider</i> and <i>Temple Run</i> and films like <i>Indiana Jones</i>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0K-_25xBu30Dg3kn_1BwCY5Xg88oUOt7j3N1GIRvynIuUSHDSJIEzwwUtXh6h-wM-MO4GpU0pUODrbCh3nQ2yHKhZlNc9y09Jcd_Lk8fC0pDG_NXKoCIKScle_z9x1cyf7h5JqXOECDx/s1600/influences.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0K-_25xBu30Dg3kn_1BwCY5Xg88oUOt7j3N1GIRvynIuUSHDSJIEzwwUtXh6h-wM-MO4GpU0pUODrbCh3nQ2yHKhZlNc9y09Jcd_Lk8fC0pDG_NXKoCIKScle_z9x1cyf7h5JqXOECDx/s640/influences.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The book draws on video games like <i>Tomb Raider </i>and<i> Temple Run</i> and films like the <i>Indiana Jones</i> series for inspiration.</td></tr>
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While the race-winning hero of <i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i> is not mentioned in the book’s title (so as not to spoil the surprise for first time readers), it’s obvious from the start of this second book that Cleopatra Bones is the heroine and OUP felt that her name should be in the sequel’s title. Cleopatra’s character was originally called <i>Oklahoma</i> Bones but OUP Sales Manager Matt Ager suggested the name Cleopatra, which felt like a perfect for an adventurous archaeologist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC5J7lPM2zc0_0lJfg7pV7F9k6QXNZL5LHsuPU3HBIaJztpIp_Fco9WCCmQ2Cfrs4sX4NS0It9OKb027IxMcvzyVbvXqZeRbeuU0IiWK_3DjCV2IWJsBi7Y4tRPZX3meAwsSS2wM-_ySD/s1600/cleo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC5J7lPM2zc0_0lJfg7pV7F9k6QXNZL5LHsuPU3HBIaJztpIp_Fco9WCCmQ2Cfrs4sX4NS0It9OKb027IxMcvzyVbvXqZeRbeuU0IiWK_3DjCV2IWJsBi7Y4tRPZX3meAwsSS2wM-_ySD/s640/cleo1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heroic hound Cleopatra has a sure nose for ancient treasure.</td></tr>
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Although this sequel has a new heroine, alligator Al McNasty returns as the dastardly villain …<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoQBhh83u8rNeDhnOqz4k7i7nXkhIAgnZjLMzCB4-A1lwNVRH2kfnVQ_bRGh7NA36H9PuLPIliGGXxSvLD6baESkVDHP6u0sqon9Y1msikSsHwefVzSu7vyaRl4dJ5tueO56NPwULEH40/s1600/al+returns.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoQBhh83u8rNeDhnOqz4k7i7nXkhIAgnZjLMzCB4-A1lwNVRH2kfnVQ_bRGh7NA36H9PuLPIliGGXxSvLD6baESkVDHP6u0sqon9Y1msikSsHwefVzSu7vyaRl4dJ5tueO56NPwULEH40/s640/al+returns.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awful Al McNasty is determined to take the treasure for himself.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
… and eagle-eyed readers should be able to spot six more characters from <i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i> among the eighteen animals racing to find the lost treasure of the Golden Chimpanzee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-Iyvd3_BjAzPstt780vUq-nrt3SP-p-mQ7SZzmoXO15T3NiXQufdoMsn3dhK_bxBrWhDELHCd58iEPMg5TKVJ6-6C7LmmJtGEEym6z73H93dI6oG4Z3-WuVcAVFc72mIxerQJ4ywIwPz/s1600/returningracers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-Iyvd3_BjAzPstt780vUq-nrt3SP-p-mQ7SZzmoXO15T3NiXQufdoMsn3dhK_bxBrWhDELHCd58iEPMg5TKVJ6-6C7LmmJtGEEym6z73H93dI6oG4Z3-WuVcAVFc72mIxerQJ4ywIwPz/s640/returningracers.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five of the racers from The Silver Serpent Cup return in new vehicles for this book.
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of the most appealing things about <i>The Silver Serpent Cup</i> were the extraordinary vehicle designs Ed created for each of the characters and Ed has come up with a similarly impressive array of aircraft, boats and land vehicles for this follow-up. As with the first book, Ed designed each vehicle to mimic its owner. So orang-utan Diego Del Grippo’s OranguTank is fitted with two giant gripping hands that can be fired into the treetops, allowing him to swing his way through the jungle, while chameleon Pablo Prisma’s nippy little jungle buggy can change colour as quickly as he can.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VZH-kSKEJQ4a6RVqUBm6TlrcdEQN2eqAZ6OkywazhVDnrmT8qBa3ulmQkWYfDuL3rKqlAo90B1M3n3PI0ZC88bJAFQpAqjAzAMrAR9r6_5aXV00cbCfUgg0fSfeLtUCkTouSLNT3dLRZ/s1600/Diego+and+Pablo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3VZH-kSKEJQ4a6RVqUBm6TlrcdEQN2eqAZ6OkywazhVDnrmT8qBa3ulmQkWYfDuL3rKqlAo90B1M3n3PI0ZC88bJAFQpAqjAzAMrAR9r6_5aXV00cbCfUgg0fSfeLtUCkTouSLNT3dLRZ/s640/Diego+and+Pablo.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diego De Grippo and Pablo Prisma's vehicle designs mimic the creatures driving them.
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To add an element of interactivity, Ed's illustrations are peppered with coded messages for readers to decipher. At the beginning of the book Cleopatra Bones discovers the location of the Golden Chimpanzee using a treasure map covered in hieroglyphic symbols. The same symbols can also be seen carved into other stone objects throughout the book. A key for decoding the symbols can be found on the book’s title page, but readers may find it easier to print out the activity sheet at the bottom of this post and use the symbol key on that instead.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGKN1YyypNzpglBOvdBmsXDhyXChZs0RwJxVDpofHhu6SIjAxDabH3pF10xhw-rVLUNLB9A6lx8E4unjKnaYgiYwIP00AjGBqPka5xr5HJicZaJNeg5iI-Fr-jImpy_oFQQzPBDhDF7dP/s1600/IMG_2984+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGKN1YyypNzpglBOvdBmsXDhyXChZs0RwJxVDpofHhu6SIjAxDabH3pF10xhw-rVLUNLB9A6lx8E4unjKnaYgiYwIP00AjGBqPka5xr5HJicZaJNeg5iI-Fr-jImpy_oFQQzPBDhDF7dP/s640/IMG_2984+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hieroglyphic symbols on the illustrations can be decoded using the symbol key on the book's title page<br />
or the separate activity sheet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This book was just as much fun to work on as the first one, so I’m hoping that Ed and I will be able to bring some of our intrepid animal adventurers back for a third outing before long!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
Here's a trailer I made for the book.</div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-1H8c4i6V8o?rel=0" style="text-align: center;" width="650"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can download and print Cleopatra's Code Cracker activity sheet and colouring sheets of all 18 of the book's characters with their vehicles by clicking on the images below.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/codes/CleopatraCode/CleopatraCode.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghsRGzLt2gRw1b6mMaNRKerHy3wQQ9HQCiLcPR6XArzS4X_vaPAXOgD5GKqhPwNSKc8PXyItvgvaM8nCqkywdujXLANOXnu7NPnQLOwIj-pcUUapI0xSOkVZncTyIDzT08we3VfQrcRhn/s320/CleopatraCode.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleopatra's Code Cracker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/games/colouring/CleopatraColouring/CleopatraColouring.pdf" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuJkKKa6w3f2bVITsrUOnaXhF9ZCx9q8Oxi0edW8FZT3GE7AqiK98sDgDXNeWsNWR5RifAYbT4pBw3NM1-lYb2v-fsYmvAoHFY9AigSWJdHm52nXjxAcT_fRX65c5FenGCiCt5QwHBJ5T/s400/cleopatra+colour+6.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colouring sheets</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr align="center" valign="middle"><td><a href="http://track.webgains.com/click.html?wgcampaignid=179685&wgprogramid=10671&wgtarget=https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Jonathan-Emmett/Cleopatra-Bones-and-the-Golden-Chimpanzee/21791737" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_PjD0pDU0dwJ_TtJ1MZkOAwP-hQt5S34rl8p0tvq_mPxuHSDIe88W2oKe8KThtVIP_YbBSx_SZZfuMxUivucuUs8Urkf2JntbLFZjRUNkU9bRmWlxGS_aQ87Ql2ZZRc7PQFm1v7EILRP/s1600/buy-hive.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://amzn.to/2KN7e78" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy this book at amazon UK" border="0" id="uksale" name="uksale" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf4gttOlUJBq8nwdn08TS-6n2MrfdgkmqNp3-QT3Q6rwNDj2yNE-NH1xOJXcXKG746lQs5bxzvGi5jG6gSzAVNh4ewRpV6OopEw96KTvioc7Agf2mtqklaU4ZUw3f7V4DJOtrL0UpJVVi/s1600/buy-UK.png" /></a></td><td><a href="https://new.myubam.com/p/7075/cleopatra-bones-and-the-golden-chimpanzee" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy at amazon US" border="0" id="ussales" name="ussales" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWZYKQC7Bbl9PRVcqO0BKA9q1ctYWcSUBVFzg-edYnF5Ep607lh23MHMDv2zi6revRxoTFxALk_SFKTCcqO-uFnp1OaoRNSsONNuMEWXMyLAy2vAFvkAMyOnGmwdCgNZh2oWNi_0zBDiT/s400/buy-UsborneUS.png" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/cleopatra/cleopatra.html" target="_blank">Find out more about the book on my website</a></span></div>
</div>
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-6470896209195379292018-05-31T07:00:00.001+01:002020-10-29T09:34:24.474+00:00PIGS MIGHT FLY! New Paperback Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoTTaYOEtnmgmUdmYLkDFdCGofwDRPK0Zg3Mgo5Xh4U1Lz2IkOih8awq9_gaoNQwz2OiwhGmSopnOY2r4p61m3spl_Jl5OcrgyNgZRRhIAjtWwNwGO8YCu-rcDGLIayPTbnLm1wumhyXe/s1600/pigscover.png" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238);"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoTTaYOEtnmgmUdmYLkDFdCGofwDRPK0Zg3Mgo5Xh4U1Lz2IkOih8awq9_gaoNQwz2OiwhGmSopnOY2r4p61m3spl_Jl5OcrgyNgZRRhIAjtWwNwGO8YCu-rcDGLIayPTbnLm1wumhyXe/s400/pigscover.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
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<div>
Around this time last year illustrator Rebecca Harry and I published a set of <a href="http://scribblestreetnews.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/ruby-books-new-edtions.html" target="_blank">print-on-demand editions of our Ruby the Duckling books</a> after the original editions went out of print. I'm pleased to announce that <b><i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/pigsfly/pigsfly.html" target="_blank">Pigs Might Fly!</a></i>,</b> one of my picture books with illustrator <a href="http://cargocollective.com/stevecoxillustration" target="_blank">Steve Cox</a> which recently went out of print, has just been re-published in the same format.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGiaJ8TvsjiBZUp8DN-d_tqMdgMrbvnJjTZfAscn0yX8O4zgMSPuqrV6tyCHA7ctQ45edYptRbJbuV4J8lbtxrNE5ur_WYdHM6j5Z3BWShv01YmpwykzHv9i-AV_v_1-v4YSgo1BO_2uF/s1600/IMG_2958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGiaJ8TvsjiBZUp8DN-d_tqMdgMrbvnJjTZfAscn0yX8O4zgMSPuqrV6tyCHA7ctQ45edYptRbJbuV4J8lbtxrNE5ur_WYdHM6j5Z3BWShv01YmpwykzHv9i-AV_v_1-v4YSgo1BO_2uF/s640/IMG_2958.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new square-format, print-on-demand edition.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was particularly keen to get <i>Pigs Might Fly!</i> in print again as it's one of my most popular books to read on school visits and its production is the focus of the <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/school/sessions.html#made" target="_blank"><i>How a Picture Book is Made</i></a> presentation I do with Year 5 and 6 classes.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZamfH3cn_l_kELvaX6un0fehixCjHyeNzsn-eacA9ii0a4m7nvvx87aPL5BClm8A2JKet6iIUA1iwAaG8rY8NC01q-aDTP_KsLv3ecFxIP6PSCd1H7X321ffoNuWfYmFa3gvwd7hOi16/s1600/pig+sketches.png" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZamfH3cn_l_kELvaX6un0fehixCjHyeNzsn-eacA9ii0a4m7nvvx87aPL5BClm8A2JKet6iIUA1iwAaG8rY8NC01q-aDTP_KsLv3ecFxIP6PSCd1H7X321ffoNuWfYmFa3gvwd7hOi16/s640/pig+sketches.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This slide from my <i>How a Picture Book is Made</i> schools presentation shows some of the character<br />
designs Steve came up with before arriving at the final characters of Waldo, Woody and Wilbur.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
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<div>
The book's popularity with young readers was also demonstrated when it won the <b>“</b>Books for Younger Children” category at the 2006 Red House Children’s Book Awards, a national children's vote awards organised by <span style="background-color: white;">the </span><a href="http://www.fcbg.org.uk/" target="_blank">Federation of Children’s Book Groups</a><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCCGP6eU3dOvifyHz9oYXznv0P0q1JlB8LftoPLT6UWD8tG9Us9VgaSUhRBnH5u9a6mCw_MWtXehonFX7sjqXE2FZ5wKurzghdj8tDBiZIi4-4xvQdQu8NI7Nt17lXGDAsrPo-UmsvPvg/s1600/P6020033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCCGP6eU3dOvifyHz9oYXznv0P0q1JlB8LftoPLT6UWD8tG9Us9VgaSUhRBnH5u9a6mCw_MWtXehonFX7sjqXE2FZ5wKurzghdj8tDBiZIi4-4xvQdQu8NI7Nt17lXGDAsrPo-UmsvPvg/s400/P6020033.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve and I with my son and daughter and a very shiny trophy<br />
at the 2006 Red House Children’s Book Awards.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<br />
The new edition has different page proportions to the original and has been re-typset using open source fonts. One of the advantages of having to re-work the layouts was that it gave us the opportunity to produce a 'directors cut' version of the book which incorporates a few improvements. For example: the original version had no imprints page, so the imprints details were printed on the opening spread. This gave the story a rather awkward start, so we created a new imprints/title spread for the new edition and reworked the opening text to cover both sides of the opening spread.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelwEOVRHyItI9XkCQBjGuZS7BJWW288FEgtVzSWv4bSERn3PH7rwD_weJe-vz2QJrlSmG5qLY0fcUoBpRZMUbSoEAntwowA_8uX7bTynuRl3rDfF7XQ5JiKEk_a8jEAsh3F6QdyHo8F55/s1600/screenshot+2018-05-28+at+19.01.43.png" imageanchor="1" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelwEOVRHyItI9XkCQBjGuZS7BJWW288FEgtVzSWv4bSERn3PH7rwD_weJe-vz2QJrlSmG5qLY0fcUoBpRZMUbSoEAntwowA_8uX7bTynuRl3rDfF7XQ5JiKEk_a8jEAsh3F6QdyHo8F55/s640/screenshot+2018-05-28+at+19.01.43.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">While the original edition (top) had the imprint details printed on the opening spread,<br />
the new edition (bottom) has the imprints details on a new imprints/title spread.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
Most of the other changes were done in response to my experience of reading the book aloud in schools and are less easy to spot. So fans of the book can rest assured that the Big Bad Wolf is just as conniving as he was in the original edition …</div>
<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO7XMa1jluJQvhLy7VlpC_YzEPoHML2KCU3dVvc9rkCVq9g9jtZTeP9l4zCUu2f6NUsIxU9rD6niaAT1P45lSytGOS6qfhEBsylRZi6YhLPw6nUjA9k_WoM1r5oENUZnbuo8Omd2GDMMP/s1600/PigsMightFlyInsidesFullRes9.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDO7XMa1jluJQvhLy7VlpC_YzEPoHML2KCU3dVvc9rkCVq9g9jtZTeP9l4zCUu2f6NUsIxU9rD6niaAT1P45lSytGOS6qfhEBsylRZi6YhLPw6nUjA9k_WoM1r5oENUZnbuo8Omd2GDMMP/s640/PigsMightFlyInsidesFullRes9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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… and Wilbur just as indomitable!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9n-wiMYtzvvO46tt0hdTywuJD1Z7fve3H0vBdRo91zNmwYBPjg1zU-MN1u6PLg9Qb9G_8e5sYW0N5luRbLDYn2FGQwHSwDcvLpI6khxM52CcGlLjavFiWL4KYUJAeQbdinfVmxTKPXd-/s1600/PigsMightFlyInsidesFullRes14.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9n-wiMYtzvvO46tt0hdTywuJD1Z7fve3H0vBdRo91zNmwYBPjg1zU-MN1u6PLg9Qb9G_8e5sYW0N5luRbLDYn2FGQwHSwDcvLpI6khxM52CcGlLjavFiWL4KYUJAeQbdinfVmxTKPXd-/s640/PigsMightFlyInsidesFullRes14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here's what reviewers said about the book when it was originally published.</div>
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<div class="review" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4em; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">"A super book with a good storyline, amusingly told and wonderfully illustrated … </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">a book children will want to look at again and again."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;">BOOKS FOR KEEPS</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"><i>"Bright, breezy and fun with action on every page."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">CAROUSEL</span></span></div>
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You can find out more about the book on <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/pigsfly/pigsfly.html" target="_blank">this page of my website</a> and download and print the new <i>Spot the Difference</i> activity sheet by clicking on the image below.<br />
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Jonathan Emmetthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11413964991466780348noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8266015362211013614.post-46494409718681087952018-05-21T06:00:00.000+01:002019-08-10T09:21:28.459+01:00DARWINISM FOR BEGINNERS: Picture books that introduce children to evolution<h4>
This post was originally published on <a href="https://picturebookden.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/darwinism-for-beginners.html" target="_blank">Picture Book Den</a>, a blog about picture books by picture book authors and illustrators.</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhaIgezoabZ9WGz7uXOFHLUFBurThAE1_2KbosUcp9cDDrZB_JNPGY2grhgl6166MAWNGR0yfXTo0EHrnpibrjDGLacUr0F1357BykHcePU-FRUjo4E4N_1P9SU2SEfExBmrDa9w43pL5/s1600/6books.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhaIgezoabZ9WGz7uXOFHLUFBurThAE1_2KbosUcp9cDDrZB_JNPGY2grhgl6166MAWNGR0yfXTo0EHrnpibrjDGLacUr0F1357BykHcePU-FRUjo4E4N_1P9SU2SEfExBmrDa9w43pL5/s640/6books.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Until recently, the UK school curriculum did not require children to be taught about evolution until they reached secondary school. In September 2014, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/nov/08/evolution-primary-school-curriculum-education" target="_blank">after years of lobbying by scientists</a> and other groups, evolution was introduced into the final year (age 10-11) of the primary curriculum. While this is a step in the right direction, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2016/mar/31/intelligent-design-popular-evolution-creationism" target="_blank">research has shown</a> that children are more likely to accept evolution’s rational explanation of creation if they’re introduced to it towards the beginning of their primary education rather than at the end, by which time less-rational explanations (both religious and non-religious) may have taken root.<br />
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For the last few years I've been using my poem <i><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/readers/skyboy/images/cucumberspread.jpg" target="_blank">My Cousin is a Cucumber</a></i> (from <a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/readers/skyboy/skyboy.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Skyboy and other Stupendous Science Stories</i></b></a>) to explain to Year 3 and 4 classes that all life on Earth is believed to have a<i> single common ancestor. </i>Most seven-year-olds are fascinated to learn that they are descended from an "itsy-bitsy blob of life" and amused to discover that they are the distant cousins of both cockatoos and cucumbers. An awareness of evolution is fundamental to a child’s proper understanding of the natural world and, if presented in an appropriate and engaging way, there is no good reason for evolution not to be introduced to children as young as five or six.
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Picture books can be a very effective way to introduce evolution to children from an early age. <i><b><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank">How the Borks Became</a></b></i>, my new picture book with <a href="http://www.elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a>, was written specifically to explain <i>natural selection</i>, the process by which evolution takes place. It was developed in consultation with Boston University’s Child Cognition Lab who have been researching how to teach evolution effectively to young children. As a result of their research, the team developed their own natural selection picture book, <i><b>How the Piloses Evolved Skinny Noses</b></i>, which is aimed at a slightly older age group to <i>How the Borks Became</i> and explains the process in a more detailed way. You can find out more about the team’s research and their book at <a href="http://evolvingmindsproject.org/">evolvingmindsproject.org</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc02vf16olaWPvw8U_Xlv2mtbSdJ4AYvFJPkIskiuUzQXCmliSRMi02xAXkH0ksDCARzp2PmRWuSq5s6wI4v6xorPiJUjuHoJIANP4SCqWnPMND8NJDSrZPl0g0MYwbHE_dHTm9kyxNvGE/s1600/Borks+cover+small.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc02vf16olaWPvw8U_Xlv2mtbSdJ4AYvFJPkIskiuUzQXCmliSRMi02xAXkH0ksDCARzp2PmRWuSq5s6wI4v6xorPiJUjuHoJIANP4SCqWnPMND8NJDSrZPl0g0MYwbHE_dHTm9kyxNvGE/s320/Borks+cover+small.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
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<i>How the Borks Became</i> follows the evolution of a fictional species, the llama-like Borks, who live on “a far distant planet, quite like our own Earth”. The books shows how three environmental factors - climate, predation and availability of food – result in Borks evolving from smooth-furred, short-necked, blue creatures into shaggy, long-necked, yellow ones.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4G7QbEK7IxKwN9A4rxbWLLKEI_fwnV8Q0XxV9-Djp-KBSKf9_hUzL2DymSN0esXzyMyuLMx30_SJ1Y-k-SQh8PMg26_q66mGMJ_Y4o7ZIRSr3F25me7cywZpdwmlW0G6RK6KId3QY8O1/s1600/4borks.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4G7QbEK7IxKwN9A4rxbWLLKEI_fwnV8Q0XxV9-Djp-KBSKf9_hUzL2DymSN0esXzyMyuLMx30_SJ1Y-k-SQh8PMg26_q66mGMJ_Y4o7ZIRSr3F25me7cywZpdwmlW0G6RK6KId3QY8O1/s640/4borks.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>How the Borks Became</i> shows how natural selection transforms the Borks from smooth-furred, short-necked, blue creatures into shaggy, long-necked, yellow ones.</td></tr>
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The use of a fantasy alien ecosystem gives the book licence to represent the process of natural selection in a speeded-up, caricatured form over just four generations of Borks. A page at the end of the book explains that evolution on Earth happens at a far slower rate with much smaller changes and that it might take an Earth animal millions of years to change as much as the Borks in the story.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBcuPTR3RYaIrbMu1nFBZQe9aiUIEnKpozGhBFyYiXiB5OP-xDUbCZbWpvMAKMfUKrxTztWPEkpWKN5VRqkysoQgmXaXE8g3ZSO-9Dr1d7JRgxJ-4w6IiAXP73WAFPFZ2SwK68y-Mlo3_/s1600/snarffle.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBcuPTR3RYaIrbMu1nFBZQe9aiUIEnKpozGhBFyYiXiB5OP-xDUbCZbWpvMAKMfUKrxTztWPEkpWKN5VRqkysoQgmXaXE8g3ZSO-9Dr1d7JRgxJ-4w6IiAXP73WAFPFZ2SwK68y-Mlo3_/s640/snarffle.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When a greedy predator gobbles up all of the blue-furred borks, only the better-camouflaged yellow-furred Borks are left to parent the next generation.</td></tr>
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<b>Here are five more picture books that do a great job of introducing the fundamentally important topic of evolution to children at primary school age.</b></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKgmWFyYm7cytZ9lQ-8GdaeCj8pZg0LvtHdiQjB29p6g_r-3fzVOQoERJSzJI-buH7kLkPz2FXFMRrFfRvSrkym9JCplwyjXXXUFPjuIqN1pbbC0okYaRkZ3uRg9yruA1fXa3Vvzf_8HV/s1600/ourfamilytree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKgmWFyYm7cytZ9lQ-8GdaeCj8pZg0LvtHdiQjB29p6g_r-3fzVOQoERJSzJI-buH7kLkPz2FXFMRrFfRvSrkym9JCplwyjXXXUFPjuIqN1pbbC0okYaRkZ3uRg9yruA1fXa3Vvzf_8HV/s320/ourfamilytree.jpg" width="305" /></a>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><i><span style="color: #783f04;">Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story</span></i></b><i style="color: #38761d;"> </i></span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">written by <a href="http://lisawestbergpeters.com/" target="_blank">Lisa Westberg Peters</a></span></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">illustrated by <a href="http://www.laurenstringer.com/" target="_blank">Lauren Stringer</a></span></i></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">Suitable for age 5 and above.</span></h4>
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This is a US picture book, but can easily be bought on import. Westberg Peter’s simple, poetic text charts the evolution of humans from our beginnings as simple single-cell organisms to the present day, highlighting significant stages along the way. Stringer’s illustrations intercut pictures of creatures in their natural habitats with images of a family mapping out an evolutionary diagram on a sandy beach. These sand drawings are cleverly employed to illustrate important developments in internal anatomy, such as the appearance of backbones and lungs. A glossary page and timeline at the back of the book give additional details and a sense of perspective to the book’s four billion year narrative. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_I_2xJvtNxk1QscseqhN6DvKAM8wfehRF77Sx53_yHDZKJcZUweyr2LXE_Vv3mTYBGIDHWoOTi5FkRVzIMAAs592DGR-kacIM5-P_8gUi12CqIyQ0nCbAxVPJfDjI-iaMA8jxIUV_fMR6/s1600/backbone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_I_2xJvtNxk1QscseqhN6DvKAM8wfehRF77Sx53_yHDZKJcZUweyr2LXE_Vv3mTYBGIDHWoOTi5FkRVzIMAAs592DGR-kacIM5-P_8gUi12CqIyQ0nCbAxVPJfDjI-iaMA8jxIUV_fMR6/s640/backbone.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spread from <i>Our Family Tree</i>, showing the development of fins and a backbone.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKq_xnH_mIiE8ZVbxe4q9Gc4Of07XSrXNh6AUZraNBwbTR35G9xen9dnTMeeoCdfF3x-WXPy2znEgW3CSXq0d6o6v4ECyrTs7p8787s8EIaO_433K87u17iv6zio7S4Q0ZY9oPNGS5GbQR/s1600/The+Story+of+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKq_xnH_mIiE8ZVbxe4q9Gc4Of07XSrXNh6AUZraNBwbTR35G9xen9dnTMeeoCdfF3x-WXPy2znEgW3CSXq0d6o6v4ECyrTs7p8787s8EIaO_433K87u17iv6zio7S4Q0ZY9oPNGS5GbQR/s320/The+Story+of+Life.jpg" width="276" /></a>
<i><b><span style="color: #783f04;">The Story of Life</span></b></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">written by <a href="http://www.unitedagents.co.uk/catherine-barr" target="_blank">Catherine Barr</a> and Steve Williams</span></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">illustrated by <a href="http://www.amyhusband.co.uk/" target="_blank">Amy Husband</a></span></i></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">Suitable for age 6 and above.</span></h4>
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This book covers an even longer timeline than <i>Our Family Tree</i> and charts the evolution of all life on Earth with the time period displayed in the corner of each page. Amy Husband’s lively illustrations display the diversity of Earth’s plant and animal life at various stages in its early history, before narrowing the focus to show the last 12 million years of human evolution from the the first apes to modern man on the last four spreads. The book finishes with an environmental message about the need to look after the planet that is our only home. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9wkiEm3_-v3YZKGQTZ3hKlgw2C7EU69VrKIXSqotHon8Xo_YX_N8pPe8mILHxPeYg9iSkVb4F1bfOAoSpjIALmPHpdLA0Z48n29iRqJQM0cKdyf8XzR9cO01wOhxdsAuqaqy9fLUrO75/s1600/lifespread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9wkiEm3_-v3YZKGQTZ3hKlgw2C7EU69VrKIXSqotHon8Xo_YX_N8pPe8mILHxPeYg9iSkVb4F1bfOAoSpjIALmPHpdLA0Z48n29iRqJQM0cKdyf8XzR9cO01wOhxdsAuqaqy9fLUrO75/s640/lifespread.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This spread from <i>The Story of Life </i>illustrates the diversity of life on prehistoric Earth.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdth4G8FxBJh6_9KJa-hyLD7_vItPVox-NjXW0yQNjfleOof3AoLTQ5je3krfV5X7_9SkPWnt9ubPPkq2NB2DKNb4Jz1o2O2g27YeiJyCy1D_152j2bddJN2SkKkXs0SMum_rhlTUZ3uD/s1600/dawinsaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdth4G8FxBJh6_9KJa-hyLD7_vItPVox-NjXW0yQNjfleOof3AoLTQ5je3krfV5X7_9SkPWnt9ubPPkq2NB2DKNb4Jz1o2O2g27YeiJyCy1D_152j2bddJN2SkKkXs0SMum_rhlTUZ3uD/s320/dawinsaw.jpg" width="320" /></a><i><span style="color: #783f04;">What Mr Darwin Saw</span></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">by Mick Manning and Brita Granström</span></i></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">Suitable for age 7 and above.</span></h4>
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Although the concept of evolution predated Charles Darwin, it was not widely accepted until Darwin discovered the principle of natural selection. Mick Manning and Brita Granström’s biographical picture book spans the life of this revolutionary scientist, but focusses chiefly on the five years the young Darwin spent as a captain’s companion and naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle. The book uses scenes from the voyage and excerpts from Darwin’s diary to show how his encounters with the plants and animals of South America, and the Galapagos Islands in particular, informed his subsequent work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoCF7n7zzBKbvEyenIKSdKNaLdotKG2veRDrPgoFYGWes0Df17PodD3bCCOWcGOcMd8HB8anQXe7BqKYZnY4XVwd60LA035Gu1EWKfFXvtT-WiyLOkgPzZt2d28oGkH1fq-PMY-XcfEUU/s1600/tortoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwoCF7n7zzBKbvEyenIKSdKNaLdotKG2veRDrPgoFYGWes0Df17PodD3bCCOWcGOcMd8HB8anQXe7BqKYZnY4XVwd60LA035Gu1EWKfFXvtT-WiyLOkgPzZt2d28oGkH1fq-PMY-XcfEUU/s640/tortoise.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>What Mr Darwin Saw </i>illustrates how Darwin’s experiences during the voyage of the HMS Beagle informed his later work.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7h12Awe8LvPwKdGZrKS1F7nL8uYOB1SZEc0e4k96ThGHaw3ZR0D81unaa6SG26WWlG58Or-nHsMIb-4GOhhaho6jVkimM9sEiRo6QyoLU_7FyuXlXmrwxJZC40ER4620ACZzvtk_bTseB/s1600/misadventures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7h12Awe8LvPwKdGZrKS1F7nL8uYOB1SZEc0e4k96ThGHaw3ZR0D81unaa6SG26WWlG58Or-nHsMIb-4GOhhaho6jVkimM9sEiRo6QyoLU_7FyuXlXmrwxJZC40ER4620ACZzvtk_bTseB/s320/misadventures.jpg" width="248" /></a><i><span style="color: #783f04;">The Misadventures of Charles Darwin</span></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">written by <a href="https://isabelthomas.co.uk/" target="_blank">Isabel Thomas</a></span></i></h3>
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">illustrated by <a href="http://www.petewilliamson.co.uk/" target="_blank">Pete Williamson</a></span></i></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">Suitable for age 9 and above.</span></h4>
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This book, part of Oxford University Press’s Treetops in Fact series, presents an entertaining biography of Darwin’s life, from “stinky schoolboy” to aged “celebrity scientist”. It also does a great job of explaining Darwin’s theories clearly and succinctly and examines some of their implications for science and culture. Isabel Thomas’s engaging and accessible text is liberally peppered with archive photographs and Pete Williamson’s illustrations and ‘Mythbuster’ panels throughout the book help to correct common misconceptions about Darwin’s life and work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltZfjwCOkfnunk2r5ZE1rYzPVqzLSCrjoPNkDvWaRn3S6ZpeY71dREdo3GNAzYVeGy0RgukKQK-YCmqU2AMsIOjjvFFkNatVJLS71uHmQy12bB5zoDoQhEj3Xv14GLjTOF21SgJdevqC0/s1600/misadventuresspread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltZfjwCOkfnunk2r5ZE1rYzPVqzLSCrjoPNkDvWaRn3S6ZpeY71dREdo3GNAzYVeGy0RgukKQK-YCmqU2AMsIOjjvFFkNatVJLS71uHmQy12bB5zoDoQhEj3Xv14GLjTOF21SgJdevqC0/s640/misadventuresspread.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This spread from<i> The Misadventures of Charles Darwin</i> looks at how Darwin’s theories were initially received.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUECdffgqJDBX_5C04gZ-vdvkSYv9Vxuqetsm9gTlZZ4dlARiEALLjBkWBjEeQhdK3WYCu4eloP5yFCk4CzJ49cpFUbkKmaLSsiaOW4yKQX7BtrEOsKbc3Bxcu_XxEUihkwj06IWkRl6ky/s1600/winston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUECdffgqJDBX_5C04gZ-vdvkSYv9Vxuqetsm9gTlZZ4dlARiEALLjBkWBjEeQhdK3WYCu4eloP5yFCk4CzJ49cpFUbkKmaLSsiaOW4yKQX7BtrEOsKbc3Bxcu_XxEUihkwj06IWkRl6ky/s320/winston.jpg" width="249" /></a><i><span style="color: #783f04;">All About Evolution: From Darwin to DNA</span></i></h3>
<h3>
<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">by <a href="https://www.robertwinston.org.uk/" target="_blank">Robert Winston</a></span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">(Previously published as <i>Evolution Revolution</i>)</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-weight: normal;">Suitable for age 10 and above.</span></h4>
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This book, written by scientist and broadcaster Robert Winston is crammed with detailed information on every aspect on evolution, from its historical development as an idea, to its possible implications for the future of mankind. One minor criticism is that some spreads feel a little too crowded, making it difficult to take in the content, but this is easily forgiven given the breadth and quality of information the book contains. Although this book is probably more suited to secondary school readers, it contents will be of interest to more advanced and inquisitive readers in their final years of primary school as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUXJRkotFt01dQBkbQxfFXoeaGeMGDlvHc__5KO9Pb-uHZzXZvgid2cW9NykfZrBMEpW83Eni7NAuC73HyrtOyymnmACcJEgEMO9NJuplahKJ6T71nnAuo7Fi4NfqC8VUzBrG1NgEytqh/s1600/eyespread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUXJRkotFt01dQBkbQxfFXoeaGeMGDlvHc__5KO9Pb-uHZzXZvgid2cW9NykfZrBMEpW83Eni7NAuC73HyrtOyymnmACcJEgEMO9NJuplahKJ6T71nnAuo7Fi4NfqC8VUzBrG1NgEytqh/s640/eyespread.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This spread from <i>All About Evolution</i> shows how scientists think complex structures like the human eye evolved via a series of incremental changes.</td></tr>
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<i style="text-align: left;"><i style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.scribblestreet.co.uk/pictures/borks/borks.html" target="_blank"><b>How the Borks Became</b></a> An Adventure in Evolution</i></i></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">illustrated by <a href="http://www.elysdolan.com/" target="_blank">Elys Dolan</a> is published by <a href="https://www.otterbarrybooks.com/" target="_blank">Otter-Barry Books</a></span>.</div>
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