The Princes and the Pea has been shortlisted for the 2026Queen’s Knickers Award for illustrated books for young children, as part of the Society of Authors Awards. A modern take on the famous H. C. Andersen tale, with an LGBTQ+ twist and gloriously illustrated by Claire Powell, The Princes and the Pea is published by Bloomsbury.
OUT NOW!
THE POO THAT GREW
When the monkeys mock the dung beetles for eating poop for lunch, Daisy and her chums go on strike. Soon the manky mound of monkey muck grows and grows and GROWS! Hilariously illustrated by Nick East and published by Hodder, THE POO THAT GREW is a poopy eco-tale on the importance of keystone species – and saying sorry!
Welcome to the SPOOKERMARKET – the spooky superstore for witches, trolls, zombies and every other ghoul. There’s upset in the aisles when the Genie of Till Thirteen is let loose. Can store boss Queenie Sweeney stop the genie’s pranks? SPOOKERMARKET is hilariously illustrated by Steph Laberis and published by Puffin. Perfect for #Halloween – or any other time!
OCTOPUS SHOCKTOPUS
WINS NATIONAL AWARD!
OCTOPUS SHOCKTOPUS! by me and the marvellous Steven Lenton and published by Nosy Crow has WON the 2022 Children’s Book Award – both the Younger Readers category AND the overall award! I am especially delighted because the Award, run by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, is the only national UK award voted for solely by children.
OUT NOW IN USA!
I AM CAT!
I am Cat. Cat is me. A most superior thing to be.
Ever wondered what life is like from your moggy’s point of view? Well, now you can find out as I AM CAT! take you through their day. Illustrated by Chris Chatterton and published in the UK by Macmillan, it is now published in the USA by PenguinWorkshop.
Welcome to my website!
Hello! Here you can find out about me and my books. If you want to learn a bit about my background and how I became a children’s author, that’s in the ABOUT section. To see any of my books, click on the BOOKS section at the top of the page, or on one of the RECENT BOOKS on the right. On this site you can also find out about how to get in touch if you would like me to come to your book event or visit your school, library or bookshop.
I try to update the site as regularly as I can, and you are very welcome to contact me if you have any ideas for anything you’d like to see. No, that doesn’t include a picture of me standing on my head in a giant bowl of custard dressed as a purple chicken. I accidentally deleted that photo from my camera. To make up for it, here is a picture of me in my pram with a poodle. It was taken by a man called Reg, who was married to Vera, who was the sister of Gladys, who was my step-grandmother. I was about six months old.
