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Mark Sperring worked as a printer before becoming a bookseller, and later becoming a children's book author. Mark is the author of Dino Mummy, Dino Baby, Dino Daddy, Four Silly Skeletons, I'll Love You Always and The Naughty Naughty Baddies (Bloomsbury), Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step (Puffin) and The Sunflower Sword (Andersen). He lives in Bristol.
April 2019 Book of the Month | The Naughty Naughty Baddies are deliciously, outrageously, phenomenally BAD and their antics in this new adventure will thrill young readers. Their attention is caught by a competition poster: prove that alien life exists and receive a toy-tastic reward from the president. Who could resist? Baddie Four comes up with a fiendishly naughty and brilliantly bonkers plan and – for a while at least – they manage to bamboozle the president before being found out. They still have the last laugh though, and children too will be in stitches. The story is great fun and illustrator David Tazzyman reaches new heights of gleefully wild, energetic and scribbly chaos.
The Naughty Naughty Baddies are wickedly wicked, awfully awful and diabolically dreadful, and they have just come up with a mischievous plan to blast off to the moon and to stitch up the President. But will our fiendish fraudsters come undone? Aliens, badmobiles, rockets . . . Mwa-ha-ha! Be part of the intergalactic impishness in this astronomically funny adventure. It's out of this world! With illustrations by the bestselling illustrator of You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus - over 150,000 copies sold in the UK.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2018 | Christmas is coming and there is war in the shops! In every supermarket in the town all the Christmas treats are being smashed up as soon as they get into the shops. Beautifully decorated cakes and biscuits have been sent flying and even Christmas puddings have been heaved off the shelves. Who’s the spoilsport who is ruining Christmas? The trusty Mince Spies are sent in to watch the shelves and they soon discover the surprising culprits! It takes the intervention of Santa Claus himself to make everyone feel better and for Christmas to become fun again! A thoroughly ridiculous and hugely enjoyable Christmas adventure.
The characters may be green and dinosaur-shaped, but this is all about the special fun little children have with their daddies, and the particular love between father and child. A dino-dad, distinctive in his stripy tie and lace-up shoes, plays exuberantly with two little dino-tots, in the park, in the garden and even when he should be working (Dino Warning, reads the message on his computer, 3000 urgent emails)! Sam Lloyd’s illustrations are a hoot and catch all the energy and high spirits of the dino characters, while Mark Sperring’s rhyming text is great fun to read aloud. A must-have for dino-families everywhere! ~ Andrea Reece
This clever, stylish picture book is an excellent and very accessible introduction to different art styles, from the earliest cave paintings through to Cubism and contemporary art. It is also a neat celebration of human diversity, acknowledging that we are all unique, and all works of art. In appealing lines of rhyming text, Mark Sperring presents a series of statements guaranteed to make readers examine the artworks represented in Rose Blake’s illustrations: “We might look rather classic” for example, under a painting of an Ancient Greek sculpture. It’s ingenious, fun to read and revisit, and just the sort of book to prompt a family trip to the local art gallery too. ~ Andrea Reece
Its Christmas time at Merry Farm and the animals are trying to keep calm but just how many quacks are there till Christmas?! They’re all excited to know as they prepare for the big day and wish for snow. Follow the young animals from the tiny chick to the mischievous calves as they moo, neigh, cheep and quack their way to Christmas day. Mark Spearing’s jolly rhyme is joined with bright, bold and colourful illustrations throughout from the talented Ed Eaves. This is a delightful, festive countdown to Christmas in true farmyard style. ~ Shelley Fallows - You can also find Shelley here.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a more dastardly set of villains than the naughty, naughty baddies and the criminal plan they hatch is outrageously wicked and daring! They actually break into the queen’s palace to steal the spots off her little dog Woof-Woof. In a wonderful twist they are caught out by their evil laugh, though they all escape to commit more crimes another day. Children will squeal with delight at the sheer naughtiness of this book (particularly the picture of the king reading the newspaper in the loo), and in David Tazzyman’s brilliant drawings the four baddies fizz with a gleeful, chaotic boldness. Bad behaviour has never been so appealing! ~ Andrea Reece
January 2017 Book of the Month In suitably jolly rhyme Ed Eaves describes just what joining Captain McGrew’s pirate crew entails, from the reasonably easy – climbing the rigging, shouting ‘Land Ahoy!’ – to the downright difficult – digging up treasure, cleaning the hull. Mark Sperring’s lively illustrations show a young would-be crew coping with everything the captain throws at them and with admirable resilience, until a surprise final twist. Sperring’s illustrations are full of colourful detail and nicely at odds with the text, which remains relentlessly upbeat as the crew appear more and more exhausted and cheesed off. It all makes for a fun picture book that puts a new spin on the ever-popular pirate theme. ~ Andrea Reece
The passage of time and the everlasting nature of a parent’s love for a child are intertwined in this charming picture book. Big Mouse answers Little Mouse’s question ‘how long will you love me?’ using the natural world to demonstrate the passage of time as day and night and the seasons come and go. We see the two playing together in the spring sunshine, on a beach in the hot sun, and as the leaves fall from the trees; throughout Big Mouse repeats the assertion that ‘as you grow bigger, my love stays the same,’ assuring the child that ‘loving you forever’ is what mummies and daddies do best; the final image of the two embracing under the starry sky tenderly reproduces the message in a picture. ~ Andrea Reece
Lots of laughs as Fred, Sid, Belle and Bill, the four silly skeletons who love to dance, get themselves in all kinds of predicaments as they cavort about – especially at night. Luckily, their resourceful Auntie June is on hand to help them when they need to be put back together again! ~ Julia Eccleshare
June 2015 Book of the Month Daddy Lion has decided it’s the perfect day for a tea party – a quiet little tea party, just him and his cubs. The cubs want to invite the other animals but Daddy Lion says no: the chimps are always monkeying about; the pot-bellied pigs hog the cream buns; the rhinos never stop charging about. But word gets out about the party, and all the animals turn up anyway. They try to behave, and it’s all very civilised, at least until an audience arrives, and the animals start to express themselves naturally. It’s lovely to see a daddy so dainty with a teapot while the illustrations are full of witty details! ~ Andrea Reece
June 2015 Book of the Month Daddy Lion has decided it’s the perfect day for a tea party – a quiet little tea party, just him and his cubs. The cubs want to invite the other animals but Daddy Lion says no: the chimps are always monkeying about; the pot-bellied pigs hog the cream buns; the rhinos never stop charging about. But word gets out about the party, and all the animals turn up anyway. They try to behave, and it’s all very civilised, at least until an audience arrives, and the animals start to express themselves naturally. It’s lovely to see a daddy so dainty with a teapot while the illustrations are full of witty details! ~ Andrea Reece
With Father’s Day approaching, this could be the perfect gift for the dino-daddy in your life! Mark Sperring’s jolly rhyming text details all the fun the dino-kids have with their daddy, from trips to the park to a bit of rough-and-tumble play-mat wrestling, and describes the familiar moments in children's everyday lives with much warmth and humour. Sam Lloyds’ cheeky dinosaurs are full of character, and children everywhere will recognise themselves in the pictures; dads too will identify with their green alter-ego, and the scenes of chaos depicted will bring a smile to their faces. Great fun for sharing. ~ Andrea Reece
Mabel and Me are an unlikely couple of friends to outsiders but that doesn’t matter because they just are each other’s very bestest, bestest of friends. It is hard to define exactly why but, when they meet first a Famous French Photographer and then a Prima Ballerina, they know that they will stand up for each other through thick and thin!
It's not easy being a big sister - especially when your new baby brother is a roaring dino baby. There are just SO many things to remember ...Be quiet in the morning, when you first get up. Because crashes, bangs and thuds will wake our dino pup. Shhhhhhhh! Don't play rough and tumble with a little thing like this. Instead be soft and gentle. We all LOVE a dino kiss. Mwaah! But, before long, this big sister grows to love teaching her brother all the grown-up things she knows and, very quickly, life in the dino family is as fun (and chaotic!) as ever.
One of our Books of the Year 2013 - January 2013 Picture Book of the Month Bright images offer loads to look at for young readers to think about the shape of all the things around them in the world. Birds have a shape and so does food. But what about love? Speculation about the very special shape and look of love leads to a touching and deeply reassuring conclusion.
This is a brilliantly witty, familiar and well-observed depiction of sibling relationships. Clive is a boy who absolutely loves green. In fact, so much so that he wears no other colour but his sister is always laughing and teasing him that he’s all sorts of green things – like a toad, a pea and even a beastly bug, but of course Clive knows differently but one day he pretends to be a crocodile and eats her sister up! The big, bold illustrations really pack a punch in this cautionary tale about getting your just desserts for teasing.
This is a brilliantly witty, familiar and well-observed depiction of sibling relationships. Clive is a boy who absolutely loves green. In fact, so much so that he wears no other colour but his sister is always laughing and teasing him that he’s all sorts of green things – like a toad, a pea and even a beastly bug, but of course Clive knows differently but one day he pretends to be a crocodile and eats her sister up! The big, bold illustrations really pack a punch in this cautionary tale about getting your just desserts for teasing.
This is a brilliantly witty, familiar and well-observed depiction of sibling relationships. Clive is a boy who absolutely loves green. In fact, so much so that he wears no other colour but his sister is always laughing and teasing him that he’s all sorts of green things – like a toad, a pea and even a beastly bug, but of course Clive knows differently but one day he pretends to be a crocodile and eats her sister up! The big, bold illustrations really pack a punch in this cautionary tale about getting your just desserts for teasing.
On Christmas morning, a magnificent, red-wrapped gift sits underneath the tree. But it isn't for Esme. And it isn't for Bear. So they set out to find the rightful owner. Little do they know that it's the greatest gift in all the world. A heartwarming Christmas tale about the magic of friendship.
Meet Princess Scallywag - a feisty new heroine with more than a few tricks up her royal sleeve! From brand-new picture book pairing Mark Sperring and Claire Powell comes this hilarious, subversive fairy tale for girls and boys alike. What's a queen to do when she wakes up to find a huge bothersome dragon ransacking her kingdom and terrorising the villagers? By a stroke of luck, the bravest knight in the land happens to be skipping by at just the right moment. If he can rid the land of the dragon he can have her daughter's hand in marriage - but who would want to marry pond-bathing, stinky-footed Princess Scallywag?! But maybe there's more to this brave knight than meets the eye... This brilliant picture book will make unconventional princesses everywhere laugh until they snort! A laugh-out-loud funny, subversive princess book for girls and boys age four and up - perfect for fans of Princess Smartypants and The Paper Bag Princess!
The Naughty Naughty Baddies are wickedly wicked, awfully awful and diabolically dreadful, and they have just come up with a mischievous plan to blast off to the moon and to stitch up the President. But will our fiendish fraudsters come undone? Aliens, badmobiles, rockets . . . Mwa-ha-ha! Be part of the intergalactic impishness in this astronomically funny adventure. It's out of this world! With illustrations by the bestselling illustrator of You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus - over 150,000 copies sold in the UK.
April 2019 Book of the Month | The Naughty Naughty Baddies are deliciously, outrageously, phenomenally BAD and their antics in this new adventure will thrill young readers. Their attention is caught by a competition poster: prove that alien life exists and receive a toy-tastic reward from the president. Who could resist? Baddie Four comes up with a fiendishly naughty and brilliantly bonkers plan and – for a while at least – they manage to bamboozle the president before being found out. They still have the last laugh though, and children too will be in stitches. The story is great fun and illustrator David Tazzyman reaches new heights of gleefully wild, energetic and scribbly chaos.
Princess Scallywag and the Queen are back in a brand new rollicking adventure, taking on no-good pirates on the high seas in their hilarious, take-no-prisoners style! Everybody's favourite Queen and not-so-princessy Princess are setting sail on the royal yacht today, but beware... stinky, sweaty, no-good PIRATES are on the horizon... Yo Ho me hearties! Whatever are a Queen, and a Princess, to do? Luckily, they've still got their trademark tricks up the royal sleeves... This brilliant picture book will make unconventional princesses everywhere laugh until they snort! A laugh-out-loud funny, subversive princess book for girls and boys age four and up - perfect for fans of Princess Smartypants and The Paper Bag Princess!
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2018 | Christmas is coming and there is war in the shops! In every supermarket in the town all the Christmas treats are being smashed up as soon as they get into the shops. Beautifully decorated cakes and biscuits have been sent flying and even Christmas puddings have been heaved off the shelves. Who’s the spoilsport who is ruining Christmas? The trusty Mince Spies are sent in to watch the shelves and they soon discover the surprising culprits! It takes the intervention of Santa Claus himself to make everyone feel better and for Christmas to become fun again! A thoroughly ridiculous and hugely enjoyable Christmas adventure.
Who or what is destroying all the Christmas treats in the supermarkets? Santa sends his Mince Spies on a secret mission to uncover the culprits. With puff-pastry jetpacks, shortcrust walkie-talkies and squirty whipped cream they foil the villains - with a bit of help from Santa. A hilarious rhyming romp of a story with a festive message for all baddies: it's better when you're nice!
Meet Norman the Brave: He's in need of some knaves to help him get ready for royal parades. Can you protect Norman? Can you polish his armour? Darn his socks? Feed his horse? Could this be the job for you? Or is being a knave more difficult than it seems? Fire-breathing dragons, trusty steeds, bandits, brigands and ... a pair of medieval pants - you'll find them all in this fun adventure for brave knights everywhere.
Meet Norman the Brave: He's in need of some knaves to help him get ready for royal parades. Can you protect Norman? Can you polish his armour? Darn his socks? Feed his horse? Could this be the job for you? Or is being a knave more difficult than it seems? Fire-breathing dragons, trusty steeds, bandits, brigands and ... a pair of medieval pants - you'll find them all in this fun adventure for brave knights everywhere.
This glorious rhyming celebration of love and hugs introduces baby animals from the jungle to the Antarctic, the forest to the ocean - along with their adoring parents! From ducklings to seal pups, from penguins to tiger cubs . . . every mummy and daddy knows that the littlest things give the loveliest hugs! With the feel of an instant classic, this lyrical book is perfect for cuddle time - and the ideal gift for a new baby, Christening or birthday celebration. Mark Sperring is the bestselling author of Father Christmas on the Naughty Step and How Many Sleeps Till Christmas.
The characters may be green and dinosaur-shaped, but this is all about the special fun little children have with their daddies, and the particular love between father and child. A dino-dad, distinctive in his stripy tie and lace-up shoes, plays exuberantly with two little dino-tots, in the park, in the garden and even when he should be working (Dino Warning, reads the message on his computer, 3000 urgent emails)! Sam Lloyd’s illustrations are a hoot and catch all the energy and high spirits of the dino characters, while Mark Sperring’s rhyming text is great fun to read aloud. A must-have for dino-families everywhere! ~ Andrea Reece
This glorious rhyming celebration of love and hugs introduces baby animals from the jungle to the Antarctic, the forest to the ocean - along with their adoring parents! From ducklings to seal pups, from penguins to tiger cubs . . . every mummy and daddy knows that the littlest things give the loveliest hugs! With the feel of an instant classic, this lyrical book is perfect for cuddle time - and the ideal gift for a new baby, Christening or birthday celebration. Mark Sperring is the bestselling author of Father Christmas on the Naughty Step and How Many Sleeps Till Christmas.
This clever, stylish picture book is an excellent and very accessible introduction to different art styles, from the earliest cave paintings through to Cubism and contemporary art. It is also a neat celebration of human diversity, acknowledging that we are all unique, and all works of art. In appealing lines of rhyming text, Mark Sperring presents a series of statements guaranteed to make readers examine the artworks represented in Rose Blake’s illustrations: “We might look rather classic” for example, under a painting of an Ancient Greek sculpture. It’s ingenious, fun to read and revisit, and just the sort of book to prompt a family trip to the local art gallery too. ~ Andrea Reece
Our bodies might all differ in shape, and form, and frame, but think how dull the world would be if we were all the same... Celebrate difference and diversity with this wonderful and beautiful book that tells children it's OK to be different - in fact it's perfect to be different. Told from the perspective of works of art, the book illustrates different styles and movements and demonstrates that there is no single masterpiece in galleries, or with people - we're all works of art in our own special way. Illustrated by the artist Rose Blake, and packed with different types of art on every page, the book also includes a handy beginners' guide to the various styles of art - from prehistoric to cubist, ancient Egyptian to contemporary. Written by bestselling author, Mark Sperring, the text is lyrical, funny and perfect for reading aloud. Don't forget - we are all works of art. Every one of us is an original!
It's not easy being a dino-mummy - especially when you have two roaring little dinos to take care of. But somehow Dino-Mummy makes everything look so easy ... Do you know a secret? I'm sure you dino-do! It's something rather special about a certain `you know who'! From the moment that you wake up, she's a sing-song superstar, Singing out `Good morning!' with a dino `Tra la la!' Dino-Mummy is AMAZING, and whether it's morning, noon or night, she's always on hand. After all, life in the dino family is just as fun (and chaotic) as ever. Tell your dino-mummy just how much you love her with his special gift edition, perfect for Mother's Day!
Meet Princess Scallywag - a feisty new heroine with more than a few tricks up her royal sleeve! From brand-new picture book pairing Mark Sperring and Claire Powell comes this hilarious, subversive fairy tale for girls and boys alike. What's a queen to do when she wakes up to find a huge bothersome dragon ransacking her kingdom and terrorising the villagers? By a stroke of luck, the bravest knight in the land happens to be skipping by at just the right moment. If he can rid the land of the dragon he can have her daughter's hand in marriage - but who would want to marry pond-bathing, stinky-footed Princess Scallywag?! But maybe there's more to this brave knight than meets the eye... This brilliant picture book will make unconventional princesses everywhere laugh until they snort! A laugh-out-loud funny, subversive princess book for girls and boys age four and up - perfect for fans of Princess Smartypants and The Paper Bag Princess!
Meet Princess Scallywag - a feisty new heroine with more than a few tricks up her royal sleeve! From brand-new picture book pairing Mark Sperring and Claire Powell comes this hilarious, subversive fairy tale for girls and boys alike. What's a queen to do when she wakes up to find a huge bothersome dragon ransacking her kingdom and terrorising the villagers? By a stroke of luck, the bravest knight in the land happens to be skipping by at just the right moment. If he can rid the land of the dragon he can have her daughter's hand in marriage - but who would want to marry pond-bathing, stinky-footed Princess Scallywag?! But maybe there's more to this brave knight than meets the eye... This brilliant picture book will make unconventional princesses everywhere laugh until they snort! A laugh-out-loud funny, subversive princess book for girls and boys age four and up - perfect for fans of Princess Smartypants and The Paper Bag Princess!
'How many quacks till Christmas?' the ducklings want to know. 'How many quacks till Christmas?' and 'Quack, will there be snow?' Puppy is pouncing round the farmyard one evening, when he is assailed by various animals wanting to know how many quacks, moos, baas or neighs there are until Christmas. Luckily, the answer is - only one! With lashings of Christmas joy, and much fun to be had with animal noises, this is the perfect funny Christmas gift. By a super-commercial author and illustrator pairing with combined sales of over 230,000 copies in the UK alone.
Its Christmas time at Merry Farm and the animals are trying to keep calm but just how many quacks are there till Christmas?! They’re all excited to know as they prepare for the big day and wish for snow. Follow the young animals from the tiny chick to the mischievous calves as they moo, neigh, cheep and quack their way to Christmas day. Mark Spearing’s jolly rhyme is joined with bright, bold and colourful illustrations throughout from the talented Ed Eaves. This is a delightful, festive countdown to Christmas in true farmyard style. ~ Shelley Fallows - You can also find Shelley here.
A delightfully funny story that will reassure every child anxious about starting a new school or nursery. Bears are clumsy. They don't sit still. They're much, much bigger than teachers - and they eat SUCH a lot of lunch! Yes, taking a bear to school is a BAD idea. But will this little boy find the courage to face the first day of school alone? With so much to do, like painting, dressing up, storytime, and making new friends, he just might! And Bear? He'll always be waiting at the end of the day, with a great big hug!
Feeding time at the zoo has never been so much fun! A hilarious new picture book from the creators of `Mabel and Me' and `Max and the Won't Go to Bed Show'. Daddy Lion is having a polite and genteel tea party for his cubs. They want to invite all their friends but Daddy says no; he doesn't want the pot-bellied pigs hogging the cream buns or Skunk pooh, pong, stinking the place out! But things do not go quite as planned... A laugh-out-loud story full of noise and chaos!
A delightfully funny story that will reassure every child anxious about starting a new school or nursery. Bears are clumsy. They don't sit still. They're much, much bigger than teachers - and they eat SUCH a lot of lunch! Yes, taking a bear to school is a BAD idea. But will this little boy find the courage to face the first day of school alone? With so much to do, like painting, dressing up, storytime, and making new friends, he just might! And Bear? He'll always be waiting at the end of the day, with a great big hug!
Once there were four Naughty, Naughty Baddies. And each one was as naughty as the next. They liked nothing more than being diabolically dreadful. But best of all, they loved creeping ... When Four suggests a cunning plan to STEAL all the spots off the Queen's Little Doggy Woof-Woof, they all grin fiendishly and chuckle evilly as they creep, creep, creep ... WHAT will the Queen do when she sees her spotless Little Doggy Woof-Woof? WHERE is the King sitting as they creep, creep past? (Clue: a throne of sorts.) WILL the Naughty, Naughty Baddies get away with it? A very funny, deliciously naughty story that will have children and adults alike laughing with glee. From the bestselling pen of Mark Sperring and the bestselling brush of David Tazzyman.
A fun and feisty picture book retelling of a classic fairytale - by bestselling author Mark Sperring and illustrator Barbara Bongini. With a double dollop of bravery, Beauty leaves her darling Popsey and beloved sisters behind to live with the dreaded Beast. He has terrifying horns and even scarier table manners... but is the Beast really so very beastly, after all? BOOKS BY MARK SPERRING & BARBARA BONGINI Beauty and the Very Beastly Beast Cinderella and Her Very Bossy Sisters
January 2017 Book of the Month In suitably jolly rhyme Ed Eaves describes just what joining Captain McGrew’s pirate crew entails, from the reasonably easy – climbing the rigging, shouting ‘Land Ahoy!’ – to the downright difficult – digging up treasure, cleaning the hull. Mark Sperring’s lively illustrations show a young would-be crew coping with everything the captain throws at them and with admirable resilience, until a surprise final twist. Sperring’s illustrations are full of colourful detail and nicely at odds with the text, which remains relentlessly upbeat as the crew appear more and more exhausted and cheesed off. It all makes for a fun picture book that puts a new spin on the ever-popular pirate theme. ~ Andrea Reece
The passage of time and the everlasting nature of a parent’s love for a child are intertwined in this charming picture book. Big Mouse answers Little Mouse’s question ‘how long will you love me?’ using the natural world to demonstrate the passage of time as day and night and the seasons come and go. We see the two playing together in the spring sunshine, on a beach in the hot sun, and as the leaves fall from the trees; throughout Big Mouse repeats the assertion that ‘as you grow bigger, my love stays the same,’ assuring the child that ‘loving you forever’ is what mummies and daddies do best; the final image of the two embracing under the starry sky tenderly reproduces the message in a picture. ~ Andrea Reece
How long will I love you? A second is too short. A second is no time for a love of this sort. A minute is no better, for minutes fly by! They're gone in a moment like a sweet butterfly. Moving through the day, the seasons and then the years, this ode to everlasting love will reassure children and bring a lump to the throat of parents. Moving and heartfelt, this is the perfect gift for new parents, experienced parents - and even sweethearts. For fans of Guess How Much I Love You, from the bestselling author and illustrator Mark Sperring and Alison Brown.
Lots of laughs as Fred, Sid, Belle and Bill, the four silly skeletons who love to dance, get themselves in all kinds of predicaments as they cavort about – especially at night. Luckily, their resourceful Auntie June is on hand to help them when they need to be put back together again! ~ Julia Eccleshare
A fun and feisty picture book retelling of a classic fairytale by bestselling author Mark Sperring and illustrator Barbara Bongini. Once upon a time there was a girl called Cinderella who lived with her two VERY bossy sisters. When she was not cooking or cleaning, Cinderella could be found mending her sisters' shoes, or even fixing the car! One day, an invitation arrives to a ballat the palace. But Cinderella is kept so busy helping her bossy sisters get ready - squeezing their pimples and finding their spotty bloomers - that she has no time to get ready herself, until a visit from a fairy godmother changes her luck forever! BOOKS BY MARK SPERRING & BARBARA BONGINI Beauty and the Very Beastly Beast Cinderella and Her Very Bossy Sisters
You’ll be hard pressed to find a more dastardly set of villains than the naughty, naughty baddies and the criminal plan they hatch is outrageously wicked and daring! They actually break into the queen’s palace to steal the spots off her little dog Woof-Woof. In a wonderful twist they are caught out by their evil laugh, though they all escape to commit more crimes another day. Children will squeal with delight at the sheer naughtiness of this book (particularly the picture of the king reading the newspaper in the loo), and in David Tazzyman’s brilliant drawings the four baddies fizz with a gleeful, chaotic boldness. Bad behaviour has never been so appealing! ~ Andrea Reece
June 2015 Book of the Month Daddy Lion has decided it’s the perfect day for a tea party – a quiet little tea party, just him and his cubs. The cubs want to invite the other animals but Daddy Lion says no: the chimps are always monkeying about; the pot-bellied pigs hog the cream buns; the rhinos never stop charging about. But word gets out about the party, and all the animals turn up anyway. They try to behave, and it’s all very civilised, at least until an audience arrives, and the animals start to express themselves naturally. It’s lovely to see a daddy so dainty with a teapot while the illustrations are full of witty details! ~ Andrea Reece
It's not easy being a Dino-Daddy, but it's definitely a lot of fun! And whether it's a trip to the park or playing games at home, Dino-Daddy always has time for his two roaring dinos . . . The park would never be such fun without him standing by. No one can spin you faster - weeeeeeee! - or swing you quite so high! And though he has a list of jobs he has to dino-do, He always seems to have the time to play a game . . . or two! Morning, noon and night, Dino-Daddy is the best, and life in the dino family is just as fun (and chaotic) as ever. The perfect present for Father's Day!
The message in this book is that we all need someone to watch over us. Through beautiful watercolour paintings that flood the pages with colour and atmosphere we follow a little boy, his mother, and grandfather on a boat trip and their return to the safety of the harbour and home. The pictures are so evocative that they transport us onto the deck of the little fishing boat on the ocean, they let us taste the salty spray of the waves, hear the rumble of the storm, and see the guiding brightness of a star that shines as darkness falls. But the book is more than the depiction of a journey, it's a lyrical exploration of what it means for us to be loved and nurtured and how each of us wants to feel safe and secure, even at those times when we crave adventure and independence. This is an unashamedly lyrical book. With powerful words and beautiful illustrations, it is bound to become a favourite at bedtime.
A follow-up to the gorgeous How Many Sleeps till My Birthday and How Many Sleeps till Christmas. Today is a very special day - if only Little Pip could remember why! With Daddy Grizzle's gentle help, Little Pip works out exactly why today is a day to be celebrated - it's Father's Day! - and they spend a glorious day doing all their favourite things. And the best thing? That's easy - spending time together! A heart-warming story celebrating the relationship between fathers and their children - with a wonderful message.
One day an invitation Came to number 24. It was from a next-door neighbour Who they'd never met before. The children can't wait - a birthday party? What fun! But their next-door neighbour is not all he seems. For starters, there's his large snout and very sharp teeth. Not to mention his scaly skin . . . Yes, there's no two ways about it, he's definitely a CROCODILE. Erm, crocodiles don't eat children, do they? A riotous romp of a picture book, superbly written by Mark Sperring and brilliantly illustrated by Laura Anderson. Snappy Birthday is the perfect present for any child - whether it's their birthday, or not!
When the day is done and sleep draws near, When the moon's aglow and stars appear. I'll whisper something crystal clear - Words meant just for you to hear. As nighttime falls and the moon starts to shine, parents and children across the world snuggle up together. So cuddle close, because it's time for a bedtime story. With a gentle message and beautifully tender illustrations, My Little Star is the perfect way to end the day with your own little star.
A fabulously funny extravaganza conjured up by dynamic duo Mark Sperring and Sarah Warburton. Perfect for bedtime! Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Roll up, roll up, for Max the Magnificent and his world famous show: putting off bedtime for as long as possible! Cheer as he makes a cookie disappear (very slo-o-o-wly)! Gasp as he asks for ten bedtime stories (yes, ten)! Will the show go on all night, or will Max finally go to sleep?
It's not easy being a Dino-Mummy - especially when you have two roaring little dinos to take care of. But somehow Dino-Mummy makes everything look so easy . . . Do you know a secret? I'm sure you dino-do! It's something rather special about a certain 'you know who'! From the moment that you wake up, she's a sing-song superstar, Singing out Good morning! with a dino Tra la la! Dino-Mummy is AMAZING, and whether it's morning, noon or night, she's always on hand. After all, life in the dino family is just as fun (and chaotic) as ever.
In a land filled with fire and smoke and endless fighting, where knights fight dragons, there lives a little knight who wants to be big like the others, and fight like the others, and have a sword like the others. But his mother won't let him. Instead of a sword, she gives him a sunflower, which, as it turns out, can be mightier than a sword.
Mabel and Me are an unlikely couple of friends to outsiders but that doesn’t matter because they just are each other’s very bestest, bestest of friends. It is hard to define exactly why but, when they meet first a Famous French Photographer and then a Prima Ballerina, they know that they will stand up for each other through thick and thin!
How Many Sleeps till my Birthday is the perfect birthday countdown book! It's hard to be patient when you're only a very little bear, and Little Pip cannot wait until his birthday. And he's driving Papa Grizzle nuts! Every day he wakes up and asks the same question. Poor Daddy Grizzle . . . and poor Pip! How will he be able to wait until the big day? Luckily, Pip has his big Daddy Grizzle there to help. An hilarious and endearing story that every parent will recognise! Mark worked in printing and as a bookseller before turning his hand to writing. He has now written a number of picture books including the fabulously funny Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step and Father Christmas on the Naughty Step. From quirky to lyrical, Mark has a real talent for capturing the familiar moments in children's everyday lives with warmth and humour. Mark lives in Bristol. Sebastien is French and studied fine and applied arts at Strasbourg University before becoming a freelance illustrator. He moved to London in 2000 and has since worked exclusively on children's picture books.
The naughty step is the place Sam has to sit when he has done something he knows he REALLY shouldn't have. And Sam isn't alone. Captain Buckleboots is sitting on the naughty step too and so is Father Christmas - uh-oh, oh no! What's going to happen on Christmas Eve now?!
Perfect for naughty pre-schoolers, it's time for Captain Buckleboots and Sam to show Big Bad Bill how to say sorry . . . The naughty step is the place Sam has to sit when he has done something he knows he REALLY shouldn't have. And Sam isn't alone. Captain Buckleboots is on the naughty step too, and this time so is Big Bad Bill, the naughtiest cowboy in the Wild, Wild West... Another warm and witty take on learning to say sorry, from the creators of Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step.
The little knight wants a sword to whoosh and swoosh in the air. His mother gives him a sunflower instead. The sunflower sword whooshes and swooshes very well. But, says the little knight, it won't be any good for fighting dragons. Or will it?
Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step is all about learning to say sorry. The naughty step is the place where Sam has to go when he has done something he knows he really shouldn't have. There is nothing to do there except think, and normally he has the step all to himself. Then one day someone else sits down bedside him. It's Captain Buckleboots - a pirate who has been very very naughty indeed and needs some help to work out how to say sorry. After studying illustration at Falmouth College of Arts Tom McLaughlin worked as a full-time political cartoonist before he stumbled into the world of animation when he won a bursary to direct his short animated film, The Girl With The Pink Shoes, as part of the Animated Exeter festival. Since then he has gone on to design and create a number of animated TV concepts with Honeycomb Animation, including the Molly Little Mysteries, which has just been picked up by CBeebies and is due to be aired in 2010. Tom lives in Devon with his wife, two sons and a scruffy cat. Mark Sperring is a former Waterstone's bookseller and brings all his considerable experience and knowledge to this, his first picture book. Mark lives in Bristol. Look out for the other books in the series: Big Bad Bill on the Naughty Step; Father Christmas on the Naughty Step
It's Wanda's first day at school. She has no idea what it will be like. So imagine her surprise when she realises all the other pupils are fairies - especially as Wanda is a little witch! Wanda wonders if she's in the wrong place. Which school should she be at? But by the end of the day, she's enjoyed herself so much that Wanda realises that it doesn't matter that she's different - and that she does things a little wildly!
How Many Sleeps till Christmas? is the perfect festive countdown! This wonderful story by Mark Sperring, and illustrated by Sebastien Braun, is a follow-up to the adorable How Many Sleeps till my Birthday? It's hard to be patient when you're only a very little bear, and Little Pip cannot wait until Christmas! Every day he wakes up and thinks the day has finally come - it's driving Daddy Grizzle nuts! Poor Daddy Grizzle... and poor Pip! How will he be able to carry on waiting - there are still so many sleeps to go! This is a hilarious and endearing story about patience that every parent will recognise! Mark worked in printing and as a bookseller before turning his hand to writing. He has now written a number of picture books including the fabulously funny Captain Buckleboots on the Naughty Step and Father Christmas on the Naughty Step. From quirky to lyrical, Mark has a real talent for capturing the familiar moments in children's everyday lives with warmth and humour. Mark lives in Bristol. Sebastien is French and studied fine and applied arts at Strasbourg University before becoming a freelance illustrator. He moved to London in 2000 and has since worked exclusively on children's picture books.
Where does a birthday cake really come from? It comes from a fairytale place! And everybody has a hand in making, baking and sending it on its way from the King and Queen of Hearts to Humpty Dumpty and the little Gingerbread Man! The Fairytale Cake combines a sweet and light-hearted storyline with hundreds and thousands of colourful touches. See how many favourite characters you can spot along the way!
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