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My Mum the Handyman
Delighted to have created a wee book with Local Heroes to promote Women in the trades. Astonishingly, most kids don’t think women can be plumbers or engineers, so I hope this encourages them to think again. To find out more Go to https://www.localheroes.com/blog/my-mum-the-handyman-childrens-book-launch Or download your FREE copy here! Girls can do anything…
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Well Hello there.
I haven’t blogged in ages, but next week I’ll add some more books to my site and also tell you about the mural I’ve painted for Noah’s ark children’s Hospice https://www.noahsarkhospice.org.uk, the book I’ve done with Local Heroes, https://bit.ly/2WNDXE0and the amazing work done by refugees and migrants at the Islington Centre, where I work with…
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Three years on Squiggles, poetry, Welcome to the Family
Why don’t I blog? Because I’m too busy staring into space. But had a lovely time at the Guardian’s Big Draw with such a fine and varied group of illustrators. I did Squiggles, where you can turn a squiggle into anything. Here (above) are some of yours. On October 27th I’ll be at the Wantage…
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Fonix… or phonics?
Michael Gove has suggested that year one children be tested on their reading using words like ‘zort’ and ‘koob’. I like to think some subversive wag inserted ‘koob’ into the test. Perhaps they could add ‘werd’, too. Anecdotal evidence suggests that advanced readers will fail this test, as they don’t recognise the words and feel shy…
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To blog or not to blog
Is blogging useful? Creative? Time wasting? Does it matter if no one but you ever reads it? Am pondering these questions but meanwhile, inspired by the awesome Sarah McIntyre, who blogs as she breathes , and Helena Pielichaty (ditto) here goes. CWIG – the children’s book bit of the Society of Authors had a conference last…
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AGENTS, BLOGS, VALENTINES, ILLUSTRATORS, COMEDY NITES, ASYLUM….
FEBRUARY: What is there about February that is worth celebrating? Cold…. Snow… and Valentine’s Day… This year is Leap year, so on Feb 29th, we get a whole extra day. Perhaps time will stand still. Why not take the day off and see if anyone notices? GREAT ILLUSTRATORS’ EVENING AT UNITED AGENTS… On Feb 1st…
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Farewell Ronald Searle 1920-2011
Another hero bites the dust. Ronald Searle, gargantuan satirist, ineffable draughtsman, survivor and brilliant chronicler of the notorious Burmese railway, has died aged 91. Best known in the UK for Molesworth and St Trinians, Searle was an inspiration to Steve Bell, Posy Simmonds, Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe and virtually everyone who picked up a pen…
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CHRISTMAS SEASON TO BE JOLLY
You can see more of my Christmas cartoons here And here is DORIS, the cleaner, celebrating on a similar theme: Meanwhile, Flowkwee, my ALIEN SCHOOLBOY, is having trouble with his winter clothes: He think Father Christmas is a god -and doesn’t even seem to know what a jumper is: You can read The…
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ROALD DAHL, TOWER HAMLETS, PRIZES, LITERACY GALORE.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, No comfortable feel in any member– No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds– November! — Thomas Hood My November was quite cheery, though. Nov 4th saw the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Literacy at House of Commons with MPs…
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AWARDS, EXHIBITIONS, ALIENS SIGHTED IN CHELTENHAM, FAMILIES
The Guardian has put up a gallery of pictures from “Letters from an Alien Schoolboy’ But Earthlings are documenting Aliens everywhere. Here’s a sinister one I found lurking about at the Cheltenham Literary festival. Could it be by Imogen? I wouldn’t like to meet NEGOMI on a dark night…. I’m thrilled ‘THE GREAT BIG…