Hank Goes Honk

Hank the goose spends a lot of his time being obnoxious. His selfish behaviour and unpleasant manners upset others and mean that Hank can get lonely. So, he decides to change his ways and learn how to be an im-PECK-able goose, but it’s not as easy as it seems!

Published just in time for back to school week, ‘Hank Goes Honk’ is absolutely perfect for school assemblies and class discussions with children of all ages as well as for sharing at home! The text uses the words ‘obnoxious’ and ‘considerate’, clearly explaining what they mean and giving examples of Hank’s behaviour to demonstrate whilst the illustrations clearly show the impact of his actions on those around him. There are so many moments where children will naturally want to pause to discuss Hank’s behaviour, offering the perfect opportunity to develop empathy with the other characters. The impulse for Hank to pop Bunny’s balloon is sure to resonate with many little ones and the story gently shows the affect this has, not only on Bunny, but also on Hank.

One of the best things about the story is that Hank does not instantly become a saint. He tries really hard, but somehow the big, red balloon is just too much for him. This results in his becoming very frustrated with himself, but the story makes it clear that this does not mean that he is irredeemable. This again is a really important point to discuss with children- a one off incident can happen to anyone- support and encouragement is what is needed, not condemnation and shaming!

The illustrations are wonderful with so much to notice and enjoy. I love the little caretaker mouse who spends most of the book scurrying round tidying up after Hank- I feel there is a whole book yet to be written about him! There are so many little details to enjoy which add plenty of humour to Hank’s tale and I’m sure many will want to meet his high five to congratulate him on his improved behaviour!

Full of gentle humour, ‘Hank Goes Honk’ is perfect for encouraging children to be kind and considerate to others.

Hank Goes Honk

Maudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Duncan Beedie

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1801046527

Published 5th September 2024

You can read my review of ‘The Christmas Department Store’ by Maudie Powell-Tuck here and ‘No Sleep for Bear’ by Duncan Beedie here which also has links to reviews of some of his other books.

Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2023

Bath is a gorgeous city with so much to see and enjoy and every year since it started (with the obvious exceptions!), I have joined many other book lovers at the Children’s Literature Festival held there every autumn. Always a wonderful occasion, so many wonderful poets, illustrators and authors take part in this joyful event, making it a pleasure to return year after year!

My festival adventure this year started with a drawing session with Nadia Shireen and Sophy Henn, compered by Steven Butler. Full of fun and fabulous drawings, the illustrators were challenged to create pictures inspired by words selected from the audience. There were giraffes in space, secret agents doing karate in the woods with a goose side kick, scientist rabbits and secret agent guinea pigs! Sophy and Nadia rose to every challenge whilst Steven constantly challenged them with extra details!

The audience were also encouraged to draw along and it was amazing to see just how creative and inventive they were too! It was a brilliant way to start the day…

My next event was with Nikita Gill who was sharing her new book, ‘Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra’ (review here). These are stories that Nikita grew up with, told to her by her grandmother, and her love of them was very evident! It was a joyful session of storytelling.

Loving myths, legends and traditional tales, I knew that ‘Mythical Adventures of Greeks and Gods’ was also going to be a session I would really enjoy. Joanna Nadin was talking to Tom Holland about his book, ‘The Wolf-Girl, The Greeks and the Gods’ (review here) - and he was absolutely fascinating! He took his young family to Greece with him for 6 months to be able to visit all the locations and immerse himself in the story, using the character of Gorgo to keep his young daughter engaged on their travels.

Rocket is one of my favourite picture book characters so it was a joy to hear Dapo Adeola (again!) as he read the latest story, ‘Speak Up!’ (review here) and taught us all how to draw Luna the cat. The children in the audience were excellent with their answers in the quiz and also asked some great questions. Dapo gave lots of good advice, reminding children that ‘there is a lesson in every drawing’ and encouraging them to persevere and have fun!

After drawing with Dapo, I was fired with enthusiasm for my next event, ‘Heavy Metal Badger’ with Duncan Beedie. Having listened to the story, the rock music generated the perfect atmosphere for creating some heavy metal band names and designing their logos. Some of the adults in the audience got even more carried away than their children at this point!! Duncan then showed everyone how to draw Badger sliding on his knees, loving the heavy metal!

My time at this year’s festival finished on an absolute high. Ana Sampson is responsible for gathering the poems for the most amazing collection, ‘Gods and Monsters: Mythological Poems’ (review here), which has been brilliantly illustrated by Chris Riddell. This has very quickly become a favourite of mine and it was a joy to listen to Ana (and Chris!) whilst Chris drew constantly. There was a battle of the monsters as the audience were asked to vote in a number of rounds to discover which monster they thought would be the winner! It was the perfect way to end the day.

Today is the last day of Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2023- and I’m already looking forward to next year!

I Really Really Love You So

Bush Baby is back- and just as adorable as ever! She has something really important to say…and explores more and more extreme ways of declaring her love and expressing how it makes her feel.

It is impossible to read this story without a huge smile on your face! Bush Baby’s enthusiasm is infectious and shows the importance of expressing how you feel in which ever way makes you happy. The text is a complete delight to real aloud as it trips along, building in pace in places and leaving moments to pause in others. Humour mingles with the poignancy of the message, making it a perfect book to share again and again with all those you love.

As with the first book about Bush Baby, ‘I Really Really Need a Wee’, there is no indication of gender (I have chosen to use ‘she/her’) allowing anyone to identify with Bush Baby and empathise with how she is feeling. Children are sure to add their own declarations of love as they read the story and find their own ways of sharing how they feel which is so important for us all.

The illustrations are as delightful as ever! One child told me previously that Duncan’s characters feel like ‘they are my friends because they look at me as if inviting me into the story’ and you can instantly understand what they mean when you look at Bush Baby. Her little face bursts with a vast range of emotions as she seeks to share her feelings and those eyes say it all!

‘I Really Really Love You So’ is a complete and utter joy. I can’t wait to see what Bush Baby gets up to next- tackling school, new food, bedtime…who cares?! Whatever she does, it is sure to be the basis of a wonderful story from this very talented duo!

I Really Really Love You So

Karl Newson, illustrated by Duncan Beedie

Little Tiger ISBN: 978-1801044080

You can read my review of ‘I Really Really Need a Wee’ here and my Q and A session with Duncan Beedie here.

Meet Duncan Beedie

Bristol-based Duncan Beedie has been a great favourite with children - and teachers- since his first book, ‘The Bear Who Stared’. Since then he has not only written his own books, but illustrated those of others, delighting readers with trips to the moon, inventions in the Stone Age and warmed our hearts with tales of kindness. He also does wonderful school visits- dressing in space gear last time I saw him! I am thrilled he agreed to join me today!

1.       I was delighted when Bear from ‘The Bear Who Stared’ made a second appearance in your new book, ‘No Sleep for Bear’. Will there be more adventures for this loveable character?

Funny you should ask that. At this very moment in time I am waiting for the green light from my publishers to begin the third instalment of the 'Bear' saga. I can't give too much away but, like the previous stories, it revolves around a simple relatable theme and , yes, Frog does come to the rescue once again.

2.       In ‘The Last Chip’, your illustrations show that Bristol is the city where Percy the pigeon lives. Are the settings of your stories often inspired by places you know?

'The Last Chip' is the the only story I've written that has a specific geographical setting – and even then I took some artistic license with how I represented it. The setting for 'The Lumberjack's Beard' was essentially a love letter to my time in the US when I was a student at the University of Wyoming. I got to travel to the Rockies, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and beyond. The vastness of the mountains and the forests was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

3.       When a new story comes to you, do you have an idea for the setting or characters first- or does it vary?

It is usually the character that comes to me first, then I build outwards form there. I ponder: where do they live? Where do they sleep? What do they eat? What might their daily routine be? If a story idea then hooks itself to that scenario I try and run with it. Needless to say, for every story I have successfully completed there are about a dozen unfinished or just plain unworkable ones.

4.       In my experience, children find the eyes of your characters very appealing! They feel (and I quote) that ‘they are my friends because they look at me as if inviting me into the story’. Do you spend a lot of time getting the eyes of your characters right – or is this a happy accident?

Well, first off, that is probably the most beautiful and awe-inspiring description of my work that I have ever received! With children coming out with turns of phrase like that, it is massively reassuring that there is a generation of wordsmiths out there, just waiting to make their mark.
As for the question itself, I find that it's the eyebrows that are key – hence they are a prominent feature with all of my characters. Whenever I do a school or festival visit I always like to point out the art of eyebrow expression and how it portrays the characters' emotions throughout the story.

5.       As well as writing and illustrating your own stories, you illustrate those by other authors. Which do you prefer doing and how much discussion do you have with authors about what their characters should look like before you work your magic?

75% of my time is probably spent illustrating for other authors. It's the bulk of my day to day work and I love it. Each author has a unique style that requires a different approach, but it's still important for me to imprint my own approach through my art style. I presume that is why a publisher would approach me in the first place.
Discussion between author and illustrator is minimal to non-existent in my experience. I believe that's the best way to be as good editors and art directors (who are worth their weight ion gold, I should point out) can steer the creative process smoothly and with the minimum of fuss.

6.       What are you working on at the moment? Would you consider writing highly illustrated fiction for younger readers?

I wrote a chapter book draft back in pre-Covid times – remember them? Those heady, halcyon days? Needless to say it got shelved and I burrowed into picture book illustration work to get me through as much of lockdown as I could. However, I will be blowing the dust off it later this year and see if it has legs.

7.       And lastly- and most importantly according to my niece- what is your favourite cake?

Well, I have to say it would be my mum's Bakewell tart. It's astonishingly good. It's like having an intravenous injection of almond essence.

Many thanks to Duncan for answering my questions. I can’t wait to see what Bear gets up to next and really hope your dusty chapter book makes an appearance soon!

You can read my review of ‘Oof Makes an Ouch! here, Molly’s Moon Mission here and ‘The Last Chip’ here. You can find out how to make a sleepy Bear here.

Blog Tour: No Sleep for Bear

I love Duncan Beedie’s books and so was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour for his new book, ‘No Sleep for Bear’.

Bear (star of The Bear Who Stared’) is back in another story! As Winter approaches, Bear is looking forward to a very long sleep. He makes a list and settles down…but the more he tries, the more awake he feels. Eventually, he meets Frog, who shows him how to relax and soon he is snoring contentedly!

A new book from Duncan Beedie is always a delight! ‘No Sleep for Bear’ is completely adorable and is sure to become a firm favourite as a bedtime story. Full of gentle humour, Bear learns the importance of relaxing and being calm before going to sleep, brilliant advice for little ones and adults alike when thinking about bedtime. All of Bear’s friends try to help him in his quest for a good night’s sleep- even when it takes them all winter to do so!

There are obvious links between the story and hibernation, animal habitats and well being, making this a lovely story to include in a topic box as well as on class and library shelves.

The illustrations are full of visual jokes and plenty of details to keep readers entertained on every reading. I love the little family of ladybirds- they need a book of their own!

Bear is so lovely that he would make the perfect subject for a Book Group session. Here is an idea for a simple awake/ asleep Bear glove puppet which could be made with children at home or school.

You need some thicker paper (sugar paper works well, but any can be used really), thin card for the wheel (teabag box card is good), felt pens, scissors and a split pin. Bear is brown, but white could easily be used and coloured/painted.

Using your hand as a guide for size, cut two matching ‘mit’ shaped pieces (see middle picture) for Bear’s face/body. Now you need to create a ‘wheel’ so that Bear can gradually close his eyes as he falls asleep. Draw round something circular, which is just slightly wider than the mit shape, on white card and then cut this out.

Decorate Bear, carefully cutting out eye holes. I forgot to add his distinctive eyebrows! Cut two smaller circles out the the same material you used for the body to be his ears.

Position the wheel carefully so that it is not too high up or the pieces of the puppet will not be able to be glued together. When you are happy with the position, use the split pin to attach the pieces and then cover the sharp ends with a piece of masking tape so that little fingers will not get caught on them. Then stick the front and back sections of the mit together across the top (making sure you are above the wheel) and on each side (beneath the wheel). The wheel will poke out of either side so it is easy to turn.

Now, you need to draw the eyes in so Bear falls asleep as the wheel is turned. I copied the four stages from the pictures in the book. It’s worth doing this in pencil first to make sure they fit as the different eyes need to be drawn quite close together so they can be seen without the other eyes appearing (this might not sound like it makes sense, but you’ll see!). The wheel will need to be turned a few times to loosen it so it moves freely and then Bear can fall asleep as you turn the wheel one way and then wake up again as you turn the wheel back. Finally, glue his ears into position.

Now enjoy making Bear fall asleep and wake up again. You could use the puppet whilst reading the story or for retelling your own version! Have fun!

No Sleep for Bear Duncan Beedie

Templar ISBN: 978-1787419865

Thanks very much to Duncan and the people at Templar for asking me to be part of the Blog Tour for this lovely book. Make sure you look at the other posts!

You can read my review of ‘Oof Makes an Ouch! here, Molly’s Moon Mission here and ‘The Last Chip’ here.