Some folk whose books feature on our #Booky100Keepers list are just SO RIGHT for the world of children's books, so absolutely filled to the brim with joy and energy that it rubs off on you the moment you pick up one of their titles and start flicking through.

Sophy Henn is one of the lovely folk who we've interviewed in the course of writing our blog, and her brilliant "Pom Pom" books have been cacklesome fun, I mean who could possibly resist the sour puss panda (certainly no parent who has ever been on the receiving end of a mega-strop from their own kids).

"Pom Pom Gets the Grumps" tackles the subject of feelings in a hilarious way featuring a creature you wouldn't normally associate with being a stroppy sort. But Pom Pom isn't happy, he's having one of those days - and soon his bad mood begins to rub everyone up the wrong way at nursery. So much so that no one wants to play with him any more. Poor Pom.

But perhaps joining in will make all the difference, and maybe Pom's friends might rally round to lift his mood.

What we've always loved about Sophy's books is her characters. They aren't the usual two-dimensional picture book types, they have their own moods and agendas, and quite often they behave in ways you wouldn't expect to see characters behaving in children's books.

But back to that sheer feeling of joy that her books evoke...

"Edie" is lovely, the sort of book that is like a kid-friendly version of the movie "Amelie" - where the central character has such a love of life that it's utterly and completely infectious and lifts your mood for the rest of the day after reading it.

Again here's a character you can't help but love to bits the minute you see them in the book, happy go lucky and living their best life in a tale that all parents will nod along to, and share Edie's parents mild exasperation at the energy their daughter has.

Right now the world needs books filled with positive vibes and bright summery colours, so you could do a lot worse than seeking out a copy of this, it really is utterly blimmin' marvellous.

Sophy doesn't just write picture books though - she's started out writing for middle grade and once again has introduced the sort of mischievous character that felt so much like our own dear departed Great Nan that it made us sit up and take notice.

"Bad Nana: Older Not Wiser" features the titular Nana behaving in ways that might make more prim and proper Grandmas scream. She's loud, she's colourful, she's extremely naughty but she's very much loved by her grand-daughter Jeanie.

Nana is always cooking up some crazy scheme or other, and of course loves to bring Jeanie along for the ride. Whether it's misbehaving at the supermarket, or putting stuffy types firmly in their place, Nana is the hero we all need in our lives - older, not wiser but utterly and completely awesome!

We're so pleased to have 'met' Sophy through writing this blog. She's popped by for several Q & As over the years (and we've linked to some of those below as well as linking to reviews of her awesome books.

A truly amazing creative person! We wish her huge success with everything she turns her hand to.

Original Review Links and Articles

Pom Pom Gets The Grumps by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

A fabulous interview with Sophy Henn, Author and Illustrator of "Edie", a wonderful new picture book published by Picture Puffin

Pass It On by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

Pom Pom the Champion by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

It's Tedtime! Two new imaginative books for wee ones from awesome Sophy Henn (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Edie by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week ending 8th August 2014 - "Where Bear?" By Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 25th January 2018: "Lifesize" by Sophy Henn (Red Shed / Egmont)

Time to Go with Ted by Sophy Henn (Bloomsbury Children's Books)

A very very happy book birthday to "Pom Pom is Super!" by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

ReadItDaddy's Second Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 10th May 2019: "Super Duper You" by Sophy Henn (Puffin)

"Almost Anything" by Sophy Henn (Picture Puffin)

A fantastic interview with Sophy Henn, author of "Pom Pom The Champion" and "Pom Pom Gets the Grumps"

ReadItDaddy's Chapter Book of the Week - Week Ending 1st June 2018: "Bad Nana: Older not Wiser" by Sophy Henn (HarperCollins Children's Books)

We're joined by fabulous Sophy Henn, author and illustrator of upcoming picture book smasher "Almost Anything" which is out TODAY! Hooray!

Every now and again you just want to dive into a book that instantly restored your joie de vivre. If it's a rainy monday and you need a lift, or if you (like many kids) might wonder about your place in the world, or what makes "you" special, then this is like a soothing balm in book form.

"Super Duper You" by Sophy Henn once again feels like it exudes joy from every single page spread.

Let's take a journey through all the things that make you wonderful, unique, talented, amazing and special...

Sometimes you're louder than an elephant as you stomp around the house.

Sometimes you're as quiet as a mouse. Sometimes you're cuddly and clingy or spiky and moody but always brilliant you!

Filled with gorgeous coloured illustrations and a superbly positive message, this is just the sort of book we need at the moment.

Step into joy, crack open the cover of "Super Duper You!" and thank us (and Sophy of course) later!

Sum this book up in a sentence: Just a riotous fabulous and colourful celebration of you, wonderful you and all the things that make you utterly amazing!

"Super Duper You" by Sophy Henn is out now, published by Picture Puffin (kindly supplied for review). 

We see a lot of animal books on the blog. A huge number, and normally they follow a pretty strict formula of presenting facts dotted with photo plates or illustrations, perhaps a glossary etc.

As lovely as they all are, we've felt for a very long time that we'd love to see an animal book that's a tad more playful, perhaps something that kids can more readily relate to and perhaps even play around with a bit...

It comes as no surprise to us that Sophy Henn is the author / artist to absolutely nail the sort of book we meant in her new picture book "Lifesize".

Kids really love anything that's relatable to themselves, and what Sophy does is to show them just how they measure up to some of their favourite animals. Literally measure up, as each life-size illustration shows just how small, large, weird or cute each animal's identifying characteristics are.

How big is a squid's eye, for example? Almost as big as your head (perhaps bigger for tiny tiddlers!)

What would you look like with a Toucan's beak? (Pretty funny actually!)

What would it be like to high-five a polar bear? You'd probably be knocked for six, they have some pretty big paws for a very good reason.

Sophy's book is a playful exploration of animals for younger readers who love books that have an element of interaction with them (and this book really does deliver in that regard, not only does it look brilliant but you can really mess around with it and see what you look like holding a panda face up in place of your own).

What an utterly brilliant work of genius!

"Lifesize" by Sophy Henn is out now, published by Red Shed / Egmont (kindly supplied for review). 

Our Chapter Book of the Week this week is a truly glorious tribute to the sort of OAP we absolutely adore...

Sophy Henn is back, and we're delighted to have her guesting on the blog in a wee short while. But first, let's take a look at "Almost Anything", her new book with a fantastic bunny character and a wonderful positive vibe...

Tea, pencils, cheese and roller skates - four of our most favourite things (and Sophy's too!)

We're very fortunate to be joined on the blog today by none other than Sophy Henn, super-cool author and illustrator of the glorious "Pom" books and today's top picture book release "Almost Anything", publishing today from Picture Puffin.

Here's another lovely little book in Sophy Henn's "Ted" series.

In "Time to go with Ted" once again the busy little fella and his amazing imagination are ready for a fun day of play.

Ted is on an amazing quest for adventure. He has his bucket, he has some bananas, he has a net and his welly boots - so nothing can stop him!

Will he meet lions out in the whispering grasses of the savannah? Maybe penguins in the fridge?

Ted is prepared for every eventuality, but most of all he's prepared for lots and lots of fun as his imagination soars.

Sophy's storytelling is beautifully illustrated and there's tons of interaction with this book and its oversize flaps and sturdy construction, perfect for the tiniest of book fans as they start to build up their own little libraries.

We absolutely adore the Ted series (and Sophy's other fab books, have a look through some of our reviews to see more of her amazing work!)

"Time to Go with Ted" by Sophy Henn is out on 5th October 2017, published by Bloomsbury Children's Books (kindly supplied for review). 

It's time for Ted. Sophy Henn is back with two delectable new 'lift the flap' books for tiny tiddlers...

A fabulous book full of joie de vivre, that's how we described Sophy Henn's wonderful "Edie"in our review (which you can find here just in case you missed it earlier!) and we're very lucky to be joined on the blog today by Sophy herself.

We've come up with a few questions for Sophy so let's get straight under way! We each came up with five questions so here are my five...!

Hi Sophy, thanks for talking to us!

My pleasure! Thank you both for having me!

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Heavens! Well, I am an author and Illustrator who lives in slightly sunny Sussex. I have a dog called Buster, and I am mainly a mum. I like reading, jumping around, Peanuts, rock pooling and chocolate raisins, among other things.

Sophy at her desk, busy as ever!

"Pass it On" by Sophy Henn

Sophy Henn is back with an all new character set to steal your heart. Here's "Edie" and she's lovely!

Sophy Henn's endearing little Panda is back! He's not grumpy this time, he's SUPER!!

Blog favourite Sophy Henn is back and she's taking a wee step back from bears to discover the joys of the world around us and all the things in it, big and small. Here's "Pass It On"...

Pom Pom the (no longer) grumpy Panda is back, hooray! Let's take a closer look at Sophy Henn's awesome second outing for our fave Panda chum!

Sophy Henn - Author of the wonderful "Where Bear?" and "Pom Pom" books.

One of our favourite author-illustrators has very kindly popped by the blog to say hello. With a second fantastic "Pom Pom" book coming very soon, we talk to Sophy Henn and find out a little bit more about her awesome work.

Q1: Hi Sophy and welcome to ReadItDaddy, thanks for stopping by to put yourself under the spotlight. Tell us a bit about yourself!

Well, I'm a Mummy who read lots and lots and lots of books to my daughter. Books by Lauren Child, Dr Seuss and my childhood favourites Roald Dahl, Janet and Allan Ahlberg, to name a few. And it was while I was reading those books I thought I'd like to have a go at writing and illustrating a picture book myself. That's how I ended up here! But I never imagined I'd get this far, and certainly not being interviewed by your good selves!

Q2: As you know, we loved "Where, Bear?" and "Pom Pom Gets the Grumps" ("Where Bear") was a Book of the Week, we loved it that much! Now Pom Pom the Champion is on the horizon, are you sticking with awesome bear characters for a while longer?

It's funny but I never realised I loved bears so much! To be honest it wasn't a conscious decision to do lots of bear books they were just the strongest and most fully formed characters I had in my head/sketchbooks. But the book after Pom Pom the Champion has a little girl as the main character. There are some animals in it, even a Red Panda, but mainly children.


Q3: What's your favourite place to work? Are you happy jotting ideas down in a notepad while sipping coffee at your local coffee den or do you need a quiet space to work in?

If I am at the beginning of a project, the ideas stage, then I can work almost anywhere. Ideas can come at any moment so I try and have a notebook on me at all times. I usually lug around a laptop, phone and sketchbook too, so I am always prepared and have excellent arm muscles!
But if I am writing a final draft I do need a quiet room and endless supply of tea. I can't concentrate if it's noisy or I'm thirsty! I don't drink coffee anymore as I get the fidgets and had to go for a run the last time I tried! If I am doing final illustrations I need my big old iMac and a lightbox, so on a practical level I need to be in my workroom. I like the radio on when I'm drawing ( Lisa Tarbuck or a Radio 4 whodunnit are my favourites), and more tea!

iMac jealousy! What an awesome studio!

Charlotte's Questions:

Q1: Will there ever be a cuddly Pom that we can buy and take home?

I really, really, really, really hope so! I think he would be pretty cuddly and rather cute. I had promised myself I would try and crochet a Pom Pom this summer (I'm not too bad! I've managed to make a pear, bunny and a hedgehog!), but it's been a bit busy so far. I will send over a picture if I manage it!

Q2: What's the best way to become a children's author?

Hmmm, thats a very good question! I think there are lots and lots of different ways and I'm not sure I know the best one, but I do know what worked for me and that was to remember who I was writing for...children! I know that sounds obvious but when you are making a book you get very attached to it and it's easy to cling onto the things you love or think are clever, but they might not be right for your audience. I try to remember what it was like to be that age, what it felt like and the things that really mattered to me. And that's no mean feat as that was about a million years ago!
Also keep writing/drawing as much as you can manage, again I fear I am stating the obvious! Jump in and go for it! Accept that not everything you write or illustrate will work out, that is FINE, it happens to EVERYONE! A lot of my mistakes have really helped me, pushed me in a different direction or given me a new idea. And some haven't, you can't win them all!

Q3: Who is your all-time favourite fictional bear?

OOOh, so many to chose from. Paddington, Yogi, Baloo, Fozzie (come on he invented "Fart Shoes"), and even the one from the Muller Rice advert is pretty cool. But I suppose it has to be Winnie the Pooh (or Winnie A Pooh as my daughter used to call him). He's far from perfect, but tries his best and is, by and large, a good friend. Oh and he gave us Pooh Sticks, classic!

"Pom Pom the Champion" out on 3rd September 2015. Reserve your copy now!

Don't miss Sophy's new book "Pom Pom The Champion" coming tomorrow (3rd September 2015) from Picture Puffin.

The minute Charlotte saw that a new book by Sophy Henn had arrived, she was over the moon. Sophy always writes lovely messages on a postcard (and we always pin them up on our zap board in the 'office') and we couldn't wait to dig in and find out all about her newest character.

Pom Pom the Panda stares out from the cover of Sophy's book, looking for all the world like he's at the start of the worst day ever! Surly, grumpy, tetchy. Pom Pom gets out of bed the wrong side one morning, and things slide downhill from there.

Poor Pom Pom has a tough time at breakfast, and as for getting his hair 'just so' - forget it!

Things don't get any better at Animal Nursery either. Nothing that Pom Pom's friends suggest to try and cheer him up works, and soon Pom Pom finds that being a grump can actually mean that no one wants to be around you.

Is there something, anything that can bring the little fellah around?

Maybe those friends might be able to help after all!

Like "Where Bear", which we absolutely adored, Sophy has a real talent for bringing her adorable animal characters to life with delightful humour and depth. Pom Pom might be a panda bear with a sore head, but we absolutely loved his story!

"Pom Pom Gets The Grumps" is out today from Picture Puffin.

Charlotte's best bit: Charley's visit to the dentist. Rinse please!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Brilliant fun for tiddlers, beautifully illustrated and told

(Kindly sent to us for review by Picture Puffin)

Like this? We think you'll love these too!

"Where Bear?" by Sophy Henn

Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony

Brighton Alumni (yay!) Sophy Henn's debut picture book for Puffin book plopped through our letterbox the other day and we've been cuddling it ever since.  Yesterday was publication day for "Where Bear?" but we just had to make it book of the week, it really is something rather special.

A boy and a bear - so many books take this simple premise and run with it, so coming up with an original and engaging story around this set-up is pretty tough but Sophy has managed it with aplomb.

We meet both boy and bear when they're tiny - but as the years pass, boy grows but bear also grows - rapidly getting far too big to stay at home with the boy. So what can they do? Find somewhere new to live? But where bear? Where!

The boy struggles at first. Bear doesn't want to live at the zoo, or in a dank cave. But after frantic searching and a lovely blue lolly or two, boy and bear hit on the perfect idea.

We won't spoil the book by telling you where Boy and Bear end up but Sophy's subtle message tucked neatly in between furry bear and boy is rather touching and lovely, and important too - We took it as a missive on animals in captivity, perhaps even a look at how our relationship with animals is often a tricky thing to balance (I could go into a huge ramble about zoos and safari parks, or even farm parks and how they jar a bit but let's concentrate on this fab book instead).

Sophy's art is deliciously gorgeous. Sophy's writing is taught, informed, engaging and the use of repetition makes this a read-aloud joy (particularly if, like me, you like to adopt a nice gruff voice when Bear shouts "Noooooo!" at each suggestion the boy comes up with of a new place to dwell).

Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte pointed out that blue lollies that the bear and boy eat (and the bear spills down his lovely white fur!) are bubblegum flavour. So now you know!

Daddy's Favourite bit: A hugely impressive debut for Puffin from Sophy. Keep an eye on her, she's going to be stratospherically huge in children's picture books, mark my words!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Picture Puffin)