I grew up on a diet of crazy stories by Edward Lear, Dr. Seuss, and Hillaire Belloc amongst others. They instilled in me a lifelong love of books and reading. Dad created whacky stories for me every bedtime too. Little wonder I now write my own zany tales. Greedy Mrs. MacCready and the rest of the Ever So series, plus Bears Don’t Eat Egg Sandwiches, are direct descendants of the stories I loved as a child!
Experience as a classroom teacher gave me many insights into the minds of young children. I love going back into schools to read my books to a new audience. Hope you enjoy them too!
One morning Natalie wakes to find her nose goes oink whenever she speaks. Her doctor says she isn’t ill, a pig has simply trotted up it in the night.
A riotous story with a novel idea played to the full. The matter-of-fact way Natalie’s parents handle the news contrasts perfectly with the chaos of Natalie’s classmates attempting to extract said pig. Its constant oinking ruins their game of hide and seek and completely puts them off their ham rolls. A pot of pepper finally does the trick until Natalie wakes the next day with… but that would be telling.
Readers will love the whacky ways classmates try to rid Natalie of her pig, and the unexpected ending will delight. There will be animal noises in your house for days!
What if a PIG got stuck up your NOSE? How ever would you get it out?
When Natalie has to go to school with a pig stuck up her nose, her whole class gets together to find a way to get the pig out. But how will they do it?
The zany humour of Sue Hendra (of Supertato and Barry the Fish with Fingers fame) meets Babe the Pig in this funny picture book. This delightfully silly tale, brought to life by warm, comical artwork from rising star Laura Hughes, will have children…
When Lily looks out of her bedroom window she gets the best surprise – a doggy! But this is no ordinary doggy. There’s been an escape from the zoo…
Readers know from the outset Lily’s new pet is really a bear. Hear them shout ‘but he’s not a dog!’
Even Lily notices he’s quite big ‘for a dog’, but insists on taking him for a walk and teaching him tricks, none of which he is any good at. Unfortunately, the zookeeper recognises his bear from the ‘lost doggy’ poster Lily’s mum makes her display. She must give him back.
A beautifully illustrated story, full of optimism and a little girl’s irrepressibly wonderful outlook on life. It will have you laughing all the way from beginning to the cheerful final twist.
Charming, funny, beautifully illustrated this is an hilarious picture book that will resonate with dog lovers, both adults and children, as they read it together. It is full of visual jokes and it comes complete with a fold-out poster When Lily looks out of her bedroom window, she gets the best surprise ever - a doggy! But this is no normal doggy, this is actually an escaped bear. Lily's adventure with doggy is told through a poster Lily has made, advertising that she's found a lost dog. Sadly a zookeeper comes to collect Doggy. But the next day, Lily has…
Citizen Scientist begins with this extraordinary statement by the Keeper of Entomology at the London Museum of Natural History, “Study any obscure insect for a week and you will then know more than anyone else on the planet.”
As the author chases the obscure Western red-bellied tiger beetle across New…
Jack’s lost in the forest; the forest Mum warned him is full of ‘ferocious, wild beasts’. A friendly bear offers to help, but is soon as scared as Jack when he hears how hairy and big some of the beasts are. A variety of other creatures join them – there’s safety in numbers when you might be squished or pounced on or gobbled up by who knows what. And then a wild roar echoes through the forest…
I love how the creatures all seem perfectly friendly to Jack. His terrifying them all by retelling his tales of ferocious beasts, again and again, is brilliant. And the ending is just perfect – especially for any ferocious mum out there!
Jack is lost in the forest - a forest that his mum has told him is full of ferocious wild beasts! But the creatures that Jack meets there: a bear, a lion, an elephant, a crocodile, a wolf and a python, all seem perfectly friendly to him, even if they are a bit worried about these ferocious wild beasts he's been telling them about ...But then they hear a terrible roar...Who or what can it be?
The dogs are having a high-class summer ball. They dance and jump and jive to the band, but things don’t turn out quite as planned. The ever-more-frantic twisting and twirling is more than an afghan can handle; he trips and knocks over a candle. The ensuing blaze causes the dogs to leave in a hurry and the low-down belongings they left in the cloakroom on arrival get thoroughly mixed up in the rush.
A barking mad tale that rolls along in superb rhyme, explaining exactly why it is that every dog gives another dog’s bottom a sniff when they meet! Perfect for all little dog lovers.
The day has arrived for the Dogs' Summer Ball. It's so high class, that each dog must remove their bottom before they are allowed inside the hall. But in the middle of all the frivolity something unexpected happens and the dogs have to make a hasty exit... with or without the correct bottom!
'Big, clever, funny' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'It's maybe my all time favourite kids' book' DAWN O'PORTER
'Unmissable!' BOOKSELLER
Celebrating its 10th year in publication, this unmissable and hilarious picture book has been shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award, the Best Children's Illustrated Book Award and the Roald Dahl…
The constellation we know as Taurus goes all the way back to cave paintings of aurochs at Lascaux. This book traces the story of the bull in the sky, a journey through the history of what has become known as the sacred bull.
I couldn’t have a ‘best crazy book’ list without a Dr. Seuss on it! This one is stuffed full of rhythmic repetition, which drives the story along until you’re breathless, and includes the craziest of scenarios. Just the title is enough to tell you this is no ordinary story.
When faced with such a grumpy old grouch, the persistence of Sam-I-Am to get him to try his green eggs and ham is medal-worthy. It just goes to show we can’t really know what we like until we try it!
This is the perfect book to introduce children to the joy of words and reading – something so important and valuable.
‘Jack has a rather grizzly visitor arrive for lunch, but it doesn’t want to eat any of Jack’s egg sandwiches. So what do bears eat for lunch?’
A crazy tale, full of fun, with bright, dynamic illustrations and a clever twist at the end. Lots of opportunities for the young listener to join in with the repeated refrain!
Country music diva Hayley Swift has fallen off the charts and into a funk. Desperate to regain her place in the limelight, she agrees to a low-budget tour of Southern venues, starting with her 35th high school reunion.
There, in an unexpected but fortuitous reconnection, The Girls Next Door —who…
Cleo Cooper, a cross-cultural psychology professor, is living the dream on the Big Island of Hawaii. With ocean-dipping weekends, she enjoys her dog, her job, and her boyfriend Ben - until the day she’s on a research vessel and a dead body is caught in the dragline.
