Koalas! Could there be a cuter Antipodean animal? Kevin the Koala is the star of "The Koala who Could" by Rachel Bright and Jim Field...

Wow. Now this is something really special! A captivating account of the early days of the American Frontier in "The Little Pioneer" by Adam Hancher...

That lovable rascally scamp is back for more fun and misbehaviour. Here's "Fred", the follow-on from "I Will Love You Anyway" by Mick and Chloe Inkpen...

We're definitely celebrating awesome women on the blog today. Our Second Book of the Week is the stunning "Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World" by Kate Pankhurst...

Our First Book of the Week this week is one we've been going round the twist in anticipation about. It's the utterly wonderful "Ada Twist, Scientist"

We're super-fortunate that today is a bit of a splurge on the blog. Posts here, posts there, posts everywhere. We couldn't resist squeezing in our stop on the fantastic "Unicorns of Blossom Wood" Blog Tour though, with a fab guest post from Catherine Coe, author of the Blossom Wood published today by Scholastic Publishing. You may have already caught up with Catherine's brilliant "The Owls of Blossom Wood" stories but now it's time for even more magic and fun with Charlotte's favourite mythical creatures.

We're joined today by Lisa Stickley, author of a fab new children's book teaching the values of practice and perseverance. Here's Lisa sharing with us her typical working day...Take it away Lisa!

If I’m having a ‘book’ day then it starts at 8:30/9am with a plan of action (in my very necessary mini notebook), inking up my mono printing block (always with black ink), and an essential side addition of tea, tea and more tea. Sometimes I will be illustrating a book I’ve already written, working on completely new ideas, or experimenting with new thoughts and pages for my portfolio.






My books start with an initial idea being vaguely scribbled down as a word and picture concept. The story comes next followed by illustration plans page by page. I quite like to map these out on huge rolls of brown packing paper (and white chalk) in case my mind wanders a bit too much. This way I can chalk up ideas for as long as necessary! Last year I built a super-narrow yet LONG kitchen table, which is the perfect place for such mapping out.



I tend to get the writing as finished as possible first, and ‘colour in’ second. Although the text and illustrations are often tweaked and twiddled along the way, as I frequently read back over and regularly check to see how the pages flow from one to the other image wise.

I like to use a variety of techniques for my illustration. Printed line, pen and ink, paper-cutting, oil pastel, paint (of various kinds – household emulsion tester pots are often a favourite!) and crayon.



Having originally trained as a printed textile designer my fabric patterns and designs often make a regular appearance in my books too, used as backgrounds, textures or to ‘dress’ the occasional pair of shorts.



I always create/ draw/ paper-cut all of the elements for each page separately (the outline for each person or creature, pattern, texture and so on). These are then scanned into the computer and collaged together to make the final composition.

Inspiration comes from all over the place. I am a prolific collector of random things and have packed boxes and sketchbooks full of ephemera, photographs, colours, fabric and paper cuttings, objects, ceramics and old toys I have gathered together over the years, all ready to dip into as and when.


For my books I particularly love using old lined paper, aged graph paper and exercise book sheets for the background. A great stash from a Parisian flea market I visited 20 years ago still comes in useful today!

My work day finishes at around 5pm when I switch back to being mummy and go forth to the splishing and sploshing of bathtime, followed by lots of stories before bed!



I am very lucky to have two lovely little daughters who are as keen on books as I am, and we have a number of go to stories we all favour. Top favourite books of the moment are;

Harry The Dirty Dog by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham (YAY!!!! We love this one - Ed)

Shh! We Have A Plan, by Chris Haughton

Outfoxed, by Claudia Boldt (hilarious!)

If I’m on a roll then when all is quiet and I’ve refuelled after dinner, the midnight oil comes out and on I go…

Handstand is published by Pavilion Books on 8th September, £9.99 hardback

Follow Lisa on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @lisalevis

Join #HandstandBook to win signed copies of the book!

I'll freely admit it. I'm not emotionally equipped to deal with cliffhangers.

I was served a glorious example of the bittersweet pain of cliffhangers in a recent beloved book series we've followed for a number of years. I'm not going to tell you which one, but if you've received a copy of the book to review recently you'll probably know exactly which book I'm talking about.

A recent TV show (I can mention the name of - "Stranger Things") also masterfully delivered a cliffhanger that left me rolling around on the floor begging for answers.

In fact, that's just it isn't it. We are now at the behest of creatives who are probably giggling their heads off because they (may) know the answers and are delightfully teasing us until their creative process is finished, and the next story (or series) is delivered.

In the meantime, the internet goes completely nutso with a zillion fan theories or analyses of the story or show, that are a bit like rubbing vinegar on a wound. You may receive some temporary relief but when the sting kicks in, you'll feel worse than you originally did.

So with the particular book I'm thinking of, it wasn't so much that the cliffhanger left both of us (Charlotte and I) sitting there, mouth agape thinking "WHAT THE FELLOWSHIP JUST HAPPENED!", it was that it was delivered in such a masterful way that kept you guessing right up until the very very last page.

Beautifully done.

Likewise in Stranger Things, the unanswered questions are as tantalisingly teasing as the answered ones. Without dipping into spoiler territory (though if you haven't seen Stranger Things, get yourself signed up for a Netflix trial just to binge-watch it, seriously do that thang!) again the cliffhanger and the unresolved fates of several key (beloved even) characters made us crave the next series, which could be...a year or more away? TV is never speedy nor is the delivery of a new book.

It's bittersweet pain though, bittersweet. We crave closure and completion but there's definitely something extremely satisfying in knowing that the rest of the world (other than the individual or teams working on the next book or series script) is also sharing and feeling the same pain.

The only thing I hate about cliffhangers is that whole spoiler thing. You have to practically become an outcast to avoid any potential spoilers once any new 'thing' arrives post-cliffhanger as there'll always be some smart alec ready to ruin the bittersweet pain of a cliffhanger by blaring out what happens next, just because they're pond scum!

Cliffhangers! Gotta love 'em and congratulations if you know which book we're on about and are feeling the same sting!

"Zany" is one of those words that we don't get to use often enough in modern life...

Once again Otter-Barry books look like they've got an amazing and diverse line-up of children's books planned for this autum. Let's take a look at three new titles releasing today from this innovative and exciting publisher.

First is "Wings" by Paul Stewart and Jane Porter, an adorable little story about a penguin who would love to soar in the skies like all his friends.

Penguin just can't seem to get off the ground, no matter what he tries. Eagle, Flamingo, Duck and Robin all want to help but the task seems insurmountable. Penguin just isn't built to take to the sky.

Can they all combine their talents and brainpower to find a way to help Penguin zoom through the clouds?

A fantastic book of friendship and working together, with some truly stunning papercraft illustrations, "Wings" by Paul Stewart and Jane Porter is released today by Otter-Barry Books. 


Next, a brilliant traditional 'flood tale' from India. In "Pattan's Pumpkin" by Chitra Soundar and Frane Lessac, the story of Pattan unfolds as the wise man and his wife are set a seemingly impossible task, to protect all the animals from a gigantic flood that's set to blight the land.

Pattan and his wife hit on the idea of hollowing out a gigantic pumpkin that grows in their garden.

This huge gourd has more than enough room for everyone, to keep them safe and afloat as the rain lashes down.

Beautifully retold and presented, "Pattan's Pumpkin" by Chitra Soundar and Frane Lessac is out today from Otter-Barry Books. 

The third book from Otter-Barry in our roundup is something really special, a hugely emotional and very timely story of a little boy whose homeland is torn apart by war...

"Peter in Peril" by Helen Bate is the story of a young boy living in Budapest just before the outbreak of the second world war.

Peter's life is just like any other boy's, he loves to play football and get up to all sorts of mischief.

But as war breaks out, Peter's home country Hungary is torn apart, leaving Peter, his cousin and mum and dad no choice but to flee and go into hiding as Russian forces invade and start to enforce a brutal regime of cruelty, starvation and displacement.

Without a doubt, this is the sort of book that is needed now more than ever, to educate children about the terrible atrocities of war, and how ordinary children like themselves became caught up in the conflict, taken far away from their homes and everything they knew and loved.

At times it's quite a tough read, certainly a title for older children but it imparts its story with sensitivity and thought. This is the sort of book we'd truly love to see championed in schools and libraries.

"Peter in Peril" by Helen Bate is out today from Otter-Barry Books. 

Three stunning titles, we're sure you'll agree. Watch out for more amazing releases from Otter-Barry and drop by their website for more amazing stories and upcoming releases.