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Jeanne Willis is an award-winning children's author and scriptwriter. She had her first picture book published by Andersen Press at the age of 21, and since then she has won the Silver Medal Smarties Prize (Tadpole's Promise), the Nasen Special Needs Award (Susan Laughs), the Sheffield Children's Book Award (Who’s in The Loo) and the Red House Children's Book Award (Bottoms Up). Jeanne has also worked on scripts for TV, including Polly Pocket and The Slow Norris, and a pilot TV series for Dr Xargle. She lives in North London with her husband.
Photo credit: Justine Stoddart
Good morning, class. Today we are going to learn about Earth Family. The latest in the Dr Xargle series! Learn all about Earth Families with Dr Xargle, our friendly alien teacher: brothers are Bothers, sisters are Sulkers, and the number of family members is always larger than the number of chairs at Christmas dinner...
Every young child will understand Oscar’s irritation with those constant adult questions, and his decision to stomp out: ‘Where are you going?’, ‘Nowhere’. When he discovers Nowhere at the bottom of his garden, at first this adult free zone seems like paradise – no-one to ask, ‘Where’s your coat?’ or ‘Should you be playing with that?’, but as time goes by Oscar realises that there are some questions he misses, ‘Would you like a cuddle?’, ‘What about a story?’. Like Sendak’s Max, Oscar turns to find his way home from the wild world of his imagination back to his loving family. Jeanne Willis is one of our cleverest and most skilful picture book authors and this is a typically perceptive and multi-layered story. Anastasia Suvorova’s illustrations and die-cut pages add a delicate air of magic, while Oscar, vivid in his oversized red jumper, always holds the eye. A lovely book for family sharing.
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2021 | Award-winning Jeanne Willis perfectly captures a little girl’s excitement and fear as she works up to taking her first solo bike ride. She knows the freedom and exhilaration it will bring but a part of her remains almost too scared to try. Her daddy is reassuring and encouraging and full of good advice about bumps in the road that goes far beyond just the difficulties of bike riding! At last, with daddy to keep her steady she is off! And she is flying! Now it is daddy who is worried…Will his little girl every come back now she’s got this taste of freedom? Tony Ross’s illustrations match the moments of exhilaration and anxiety perfectly making this a joyful celebration of the importance of letting go that will strike a chord for parents and children alike. Daddy, Don't Let Go was originally published in 2012.
March 2021 Book of the Month | Jeanne Willis is one of our funniest writers for children, but she can do poignancy and tenderness with equal skill. Hom is the story of a shipwreck. A young boy is washed up on a desert island and there discovers Hom, a peace-loving hairy little creature, the last of his kind. The two become best of friends, playing and laughing together; after all, as the boy says, ‘We’re much more alike than different.’ When the chance of escape from the island comes, the boy decides not to take it, in case the arrival of bigger people puts Hom into danger. It’s a touching story of friendship, family and the importance of kindness, to others but to our planet too. Adults will realise that Hom is short for Hominid, his presence a reminder of our past, our connections to the natural world, and its fragility. Illustrator Paddy Donnelly creates a wonderfully lush and vibrant desert island, and his characters are equally warm and alive.
February 2021 Book of the Month | Old Macdonald had a phone, e-i-e-i-o. Very useful it is too, helping him get organised and run the farm. But then he drops it in the lake, and when ordering a replacement, accidentally buys 100. The animals all take one, and chaos ensues. They are all so busy on their phones – here a tweet, there a chat – that nothing gets done and Old Macdonald has no milk, or eggs to sell. Fortunately, he finds a solution, and everyone lives happily – a chat-chat here, and a selfie there, but not all day – that seems fair! It’s another clever, very funny cautionary tale for our online times from the brilliant duo of Willis and Ross. The rhymes make it bliss to read aloud, and the illustrations are a spritely delight. Funny, clever and we can all learn from it – what more could you ask? Smiley face. Look out too for the other books in this fabulous series, Chicken Clicking, Troll Stinks and #Goldilocks.
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | | Jeanne Willis is a latter-day Hilaire Belloc creating cautionary tales for modern youth that are both hilarious and full of sensible advice. Desperate to win more ‘likes’ for her posts, Goldilocks is driven to find ever more daring activities to share, which is why she takes a selfie breaking in to the bears’ cottage, and - #pipinghot! – one of her eating their porridge. It all ends in tears of course, and community service, but what’s worse for Goldilocks is that her posts are there forever, depicting her as a horrid porridge thief and leading to the moral: ‘So please, think twice before you send!’ Tony Ross’s illustrations, sharp and full of life and wit, are the perfect complement to the rhyme. Brilliance all round!
A funny story told in gentle rhyme from multi-award winner Jeanne Willis about a little girl who finds a baby Martian – and her hilarious struggles to get him to go to the loo in the right place! Almost every receptacle you can imagine is explored – kitchen bin, cowboy hat, bird bath to name but a few – with varying degrees of success and failure, but a great deal of fun! There’s even a Toilet Song to help get things in the right order. With some laughter causing disasters before final success this is a lovely way to underscore the message about Toilet Training for Reception children who may be struggling. Hrefna Bragadottir was longlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize – and you can really appreciate why with her softly coloured action-packed illustrations. This is a fun read for all very young children on an important life lesson!
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | | Jeanne Willis is a latter-day Hilaire Belloc creating cautionary tales for modern youth that are both hilarious and full of sensible advice. Desperate to win more ‘likes’ for her posts, Goldilocks is driven to find ever more daring activities to share, which is why she takes a selfie breaking in to the bears’ cottage, and - #pipinghot! – one of her eating their porridge. It all ends in tears of course, and community service, but what’s worse for Goldilocks is that her posts are there forever, depicting her as a horrid porridge thief and leading to the moral: ‘So please, think twice before you send!’ Tony Ross’s illustrations, sharp and full of life and wit, are the perfect complement to the rhyme. Brilliance all round!
Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2019 | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2019 | Finding out that everyone is individual.
How many uses can there be for a book? Humour and wit in every page make this a fun read with an important message.
There’s an important life lesson tucked into the pages of this action-packed and very funny picture book. Blue Monster’s parents give him pretty much everything he wants, but nothing makes him happy, at least not for long. He gets bored so quickly that what is entertaining in the morning just makes him bored and grumpy by the afternoon. As his search for satisfaction leads him into bigger adventures and more absurd situations he ends up on a tropical island but in the pitch dark because he’s swallowed the sun. Children will understand how he feels and recognise just what he needs to be happy. Author and illustrator have equal fun with this story and it’s very entertaining with lots for parent and child to point out and discuss. ~ Andrea Reece
It’s hard to know what will make children laugh most in this tale of a short-sighted T-Rex – will it be the description of him going out in his sister’s knickers and his granny’s vest, or the bit where he accidentally washes his face in the toilet? Jeanne Willis’s rhyming text is typically boisterous, and Tony Ross manages to make the hapless T-Rex both ridiculous and imposing. It finishes with the kind of shock-ending that is this pair’s speciality, one which after a moment’s stunned silence will have children roaring with laughter again. ~ Andrea Reece
A spin off from Paul and Henrietta Stickland’s much-loved Dinosaur Roar, this is a real treat for young palaeontologists. A simple story about a diplodocus called Dinosaur Munch, and how much he likes to eat, slips in all sorts of information about dinosaurs and their world. The pictures, while they portray the dinosaurs almost as cartoon characters, are accurate and also full of information. In the course of his browsing Dinosaur Munch meets fellow dinosaurs including a stegosaurus Dinosaur Whack, and a Parasaurolophus called Dinosaur Honk. The story is written by the inimitable Jeanne Willis, who else could incorporate the word parasaurolophus into a picture book rhyme without missing a beat? There’s a nice punchline to make children laugh, and it finishes with a page of interesting Diplodocus facts. ~ Andrea Reece
‘Deep in the rainforest, far from the swamp, lived a grumpy Triceratops, Dinosaur Stomp’. So begins this immensely appealing bit of dinosaur faction (a mix of fact and fiction). Dinosaur Stomp is very grumpy indeed so when he gets a chip of stone in his eye from a rock that Ankylosaurus, Dinosaur Bash, is reducing to rubble, he has no-one to turn to. Fortunately, Dinosaur Squeak, a brave little Composygnathus, comes to his rescue. It’s a funny, entertaining story but is also packed with information about dinosaurs and their world. The illustrations, while TV cartoon in feel, still give a very realistic impression of what dinosaurs looked like with their scaly, brightly coloured skin. It concludes with a page of interesting Triceratops facts. ~ Andrea Reece The World of Dinosaur Roar! is a brand new collectable series of books created by Peter Curtis and produced in association with the Natural History Museum in London.
I'm in Charge! delivers a useful life lesson with humour and style. He may be only little, but this baby rhino knows just how to throw his weight around, bossing all the other animals in ways that may be horribly familiar to parents of toddlers. It takes a stampede of beefy wildebeest to teach him that he’s not really in charge. The story is told with typical wit and insight by the incomparable Jeanne Willis in a rhyming text that is sheer pleasure to read aloud, while Jarvis creates glorious scenes depicting little rhino’s encounters with his fellow wild animals in the glowing, richly saturated colours of his illustrations. ~ Andrea Reece The Editor at Nosy Crow says “A laugh-out-loud book about a catastrophically cantankerous toddler rhino – what’s not to love? It may be set in the savannah, but this is brilliantly-observed preschool behaviour.”
The latest in in a wonderful series of cautionary tales for modern children from this super-talented duo, Troll Stinks is very funny and also delivers an important message on how not to behave. Two young billy goats have great fun with a mobile phone, taking silly selfies and leaving daft messages for friends. Then they decide to teach the troll under the bridge a lesson and send it some nasty texts. When they go to the troll’s cave though, instead of a big bad troll, they find a tiny one, frightened by their cyberbullying. It’s as witty as Belloc and as much fun to read aloud, and children will absolutely understand the moral of the story too. Brilliant! ~ Andrea Reece
Special 10th Anniversary Edition Quirky and great fun. We’ve all experienced the problem of wanting the loo at the same time first thing in the morning. Well here, Jeanne Willis’ talent with words comes up trumps and will bring a smile to every face, both young and old alike. This special 10th anniverary edition has a downloadable audio book plus tabbed pages (each is a part of the animal on each page) throughout so children can help each animal go to the loo.
The inimitable Jeanne Willis turns her attention to sibling rivalry in this witty and original picture book. Little Brother wants to play but Big Brother is determined to keep the treehouse all to himself so sends Little Brother off on a series of increasingly difficult tasks, only to be amazed and frustrated when Little Brother – cheerful and resourceful – brings him everything he’s asked for, from unicorn to Triceratops! But even Little Brother is stumped when Big Brother asks for a Snappenpoop. The fairytale set up builds to a surprising and satisfying conclusion that cleverly delivers a message for brothers (and sisters) everywhere, big and small. Matt Saunders’s illustrations are a delight too, bold, confident and he rises magnificently to the challenge of illustrating a Snappenpoop! ~ Andrea Reece
Best-selling picture book author/ illustrator duo capture the pitfalls of presents and the joy of them too! Boa’s really looking forward to his birthday and especially to all the presents his friends will bring. But every gift turns out to be completely wrong! Orang-utan brings him a piano but Boa has no fingers! Monkey brings him a pair of sunglasses but Boa has no ears or nose so they keep slipping off. Just when Boa is despairing of getting a single present he likes he gets an amazing surprise. ~ Julia Eccleshare You can rely on this picture book team for surprises and laughter, whether they’re exploring human failings or some innocuous aspect of everyday life. Here the giving and receiving of presents comes under the Willis Ross spotlight. The animals are bringing birthday presents for Boa but none of them seem to have given any thought at all as to what Boa might actually like. As he unwraps a series of presents totally unsuitable for snakes, including a piano, a hairbrush and a football, his disappointment seems funnier and funnier, until dung beetle tops it all with a present of … you can probably guess. A final clever twist leaves everyone smiling on the last page. ~ Andrea Reece
Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award In Chicken Clicking this gifted duo created a marvellous cautionary tale for our time. Now they deliver another important lesson for today’s impressionable youth. Appearance is everything to Lucinda Belinda Melinda McCool , the most beautiful girl in the whole of the school. It’s her aim to make the world a more beautiful place and no-one she meets escapes her censure, or her instructions on ways to improve their appearance. Until sadly she meets a monster and learns to her cost … well, you can probably guess! This is a brilliant piece of comic verse, wonderfully illustrated by Tony Ross, and should be recited to and by children up and down the country for their delight and edification. Superb! ~ Andrea Reece
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month, April 2016 Best-selling Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross have created many fabulous picture books together. Here, the weedy and whiny little slug is just longing for a hug! How can he make his mum give him one? All the animals he asks give him tips. A furrier and fluffier look, trotters and a tail, horns and a moustache, a pair of wings, and any number of noses. Will all of those tempt the slimy slug’s mum to give him a hug? Tony Ross’s hilarious illustrations of the misguided slug match Jeanne Willis’s ebullient rhyming text perfectly. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for April 2016 Eliza Rose by Lucy Worsley Tidy by Emily Gravett Freddie Mole, Lion Tamer by Alexander McCall Smith Slug Needs a Hug by Jeanne Willis There's a Moose on the Loose by Lucy Feather Nature's Day: Out and About by Kay Maguire
Don’t miss this delightful comedy about penguin travellers and an unexpected friendship. As everyone knows, penguins are always at the South Pole, never the North Pole. Out for a picnic though, the Pilchard-Browns take a wrong turn and end up 12,340 miles away from home. An easy mistake to make says Mr Pilchard-Brown, who was in charge of the map. Fortunately, Mr White a polar bear offers to guide them back, and what an adventure they have together journeying across continents. Jeanne Willis has an enormous gift for comedy and her penguin family are brilliant and original comic creations, happy travellers fully embracing local customs. Illustrator Jarvis gives them an insouciant charm and they are equally at home water-skiing in Sydney harbour and sight-seeing in New York. Gorgeous! ~ Andrea Reece
Age 7+. Twenty six fabulously funny modern cautionary tales are wittily illustrated by Tony Ross in this vivid and entertaining collection. The sticky ends of the title bring delightful surprises to verses about the truly disgusting nature of school dinners, the fate of Felicity Finch, a little girl who likes to pinch, or Icy Clare who delights in going everywhere in her underwear. Perfect for reading aloud, the richly imagined and brilliantly illustrated retribution that befalls such characters will delight all who hear these verses. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Shortlisted for Children’s Book Award 2016, Books for Younger Children category Everyone knows that elephants can’t jump – it’s something to do with their knees. The little elephant in this book is desperate to jump like his friends and not being able to makes him feel very small on the inside. Then something happens that makes him a hero and, though he keeps his feet firmly on the ground, his heart jumps for joy! From the creators of Who's in the Loo? this is a typically funny story with a lovely message about individuality. Adrian Reynold’s bouncy watercolour illustrations are full of warmth and you can always rely on Jeanne Willis to make the reader laugh. Lovely! ~ Andrea Reece
Shortlisted for the English Picture Book Award 2016 Jeanne Willis is an expert at pinpointing human weaknesses, particularly those common in the very young, and this is a very funny morality tale about the importance of sharing. The first Slodge emerges from the primordial slime and has a wonderful time, gambolling around trilling ‘Mine, all mine!’ until the arrival of a second Slodge, a male this time. Hostilities break out between the two until a sudden external threat unites them. A happy last spread shows them – and their offspring – along with the message that the world is everyone’s to share. Jenni Desmond’s illustrations capture all the humour while providing a suitably ‘first morning’ feel. ~ Andrea Reece
Shortlisted for the Laugh-Out-Loud Book Awards 2016 -Picture Book Category - April 2015 Book of the Month - Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Month Best-selling Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross have created many fabulous picture books together. Here, the weedy and whiny little slug is just longing for a hug! How can he make his mum give him one? All the animals he asks give him tips. A furrier and fluffier look, trotters and a tail, horns and a moustache, a pair of wings, and any number of noses. Will all of those tempt the slimy slug’s mum to give him a hug? Tony Ross’s hilarious illustrations of the misguided slug match Jeanne Willis’s ebullient rhyming text perfectly. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month April 15 Slug Needs a Hug by Jeanne Willis You Can't Take an Elephant on the Bus by Patricia Cleveland-Peck Where's the Elephant? by Barroux Migloo's Day by William Bee
Chosen as one of the Top Ten Best New Books for Children 2015 by Andrea Reece - One of our Books of the Year 2014 | Award-winning Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross go to the heart of a modern predicament in this cautionary tale about a young chick who hops into the farmer’s house and starts exploring the delights of the internet. There’s one-click shopping – a hive of bees, a motorbike, a diamond watch and 100 handbags. The farmer blames his wife – where has it all come from? And the chick didn’t stop. Soon, there are scooters for the sheep, skates for the pigs, a car for the cows and a boat for the hens. And, most exciting of all, there is meeting a new friend! But just who will that friend turn out to be?
Everybody's favourite all-action cat is back in the third instalment of the hilarious cat-superhero series, from award-winning author and queen of comedy, Jeanne Willis.
This welcome reissue of a favourite tale from A-list picture book creators Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross takes a typically sideways and comic look at family life and pet ownership. Little Rex the dog is desperate to get a pet person for his birthday, but his parents and relations are dead against it: ‘it’ll ruin the furniture’ says mum, draped on an elegant chaise longue; ‘they are impossible to train’ barks Auntie Sheba, resplendent in tweed suit and feathered trilby. Indeed, when Rex finds a little ginger person in the park, he quickly realises there’s a lot of truth in the grown-ups’ warnings! As ever author and artist interact to great effect, Tony Ross’s visual jokes the perfect complement to Jeanne Willis’s witty text. ~ Andrea Reece
The film of Paddington ™ brings new stories about the favourite bear from Peru. In this book version Jeanne Willis brilliantly captures the exciting new adventures that Paddington is drawn into. On arrival in London Paddington is found and taken home by the Brown family. But, at the same time, he is noticed by Millicent who has a much more sinister motive for taking an interest in the small, lonely bear. Millicent is a taxidermist at the Natural History Museum and she is sure Paddington would make a great addition to her stuffed animal collection. Can Paddington avoid such a bleak future? ~ Julia Eccleshare
A delicious joke which sees all kinds of babies ending up with all kinds of parents who are not their own! When the world tips…the grass-chewing cow gets a meat-eating lion cub, the super-fast cheetah gets a sloth for a babe while the owl who only closes her eyes at dawn gets a noisy rooster chick with quite a different view of the world. Luckily there is a happy ending – mostly!
Supercat, or Tiger the cat as he once was known, is back for a spectacularly witty new adventure. Ever since the day he licked a toxic sock Tiger has had special powers – but they don’t always manage to make things go exactly according to plan! His deadly enemy is Count Backwards who has been so outrageously bold as to kidnap the Queen at her own birthday party! Can Supercat save the day with the help of an extra- special party bag?
One of our Books of the Year 2014 - June 2014 Book of the Month | Award-winning Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross go to the heart of a modern predicament in this cautionary tale about a young chick who hops into the farmer’s house and starts exploring the delights of the internet. There’s one-click shopping – a hive of bees, a motorbike, a diamond watch and 100 handbags. The farmer blames his wife – where has it all come from? And the chick didn’t stop. Soon, there are scooters for the sheep, skates for the pigs, a car for the cows and a boat for the hens. And, most exciting of all, there is meeting a new friend! But just who will that friend turn out to be?
Best-selling picture book author/ illustrator duo capture the pitfalls of presents and the joy of them too! Boa’s really looking forward to his birthday and especially to all the presents his friends will bring. But every gift turns out to be completely wrong! Orang-utan brings him a piano but Boa has no fingers! Monkey brings him a pair of sunglasses but Boa has no ears or nose so they keep slipping off. Just when Boa is despairing of getting a single present he likes he gets an amazing surprise.
February 2014 Book of the Month Does your child want to be a super hero, does he or she crave excitement and laugh-out-loud an awful lot? if so, Supercat vs the Chip Thief is the first book in a super new series by bestselling author and queen of comedy, Jeanne Willis that will provide just that. Packed with action, adventure and a crime-fighting cat, this series is purr-fectly pitched for 6+ year olds to devour in a sitting. Why not tweet a superhero catchphrase using #supercat @Harpercollinsch.
December 2013 Book of the Month “Fat Faced, Jelly Bellied, Worm Tailed” – these are some of the insults that Little Green Monster selects to hurl at a newcomer to school. But Little Green Monster has made a very big mistake about who he is calling names! Lots of options of insults are possible in this mix and match title which will be sure to make young readers go away knowing that name calling is seriously not a good thing to do!
An engaging and amusing tale about overcoming fear from an award-winning team.
A side-splitting look at a topic every child knows and giggles about - noisy bottoms! - cheeky, quirky and outrageous humour from this bestselling team. Boys in particular will love this but beware parents they may decide to wallow around with the piggies too!
Winner of The English Association 2013 (Fiction 4-7) September 2012 Book of the Month. This best-selling author/illustrator team have come up with a cracker of a story told with flair and invention. Poor hippopotamus has a spotamus on her bottomus…How on earth can it be cured? Everyone has a view and many try to get rid of it but, the spot is stuck fast. What on earth can it be? Excellent jokes abound in both the words and the pictures of this delightful book.
An appealing story with memorable characters, which celebrates the importance of family and friendship. Even when times appear to be tough, the bonds of friendship endure. From the author of the 2007 Red House Award-winning Who's in the Loo? this story encourages children to take an interest in their own family history. The illustrations bring the story to life, perfectly capturing the weird but wonderful world of the Goffins.
Can a scrawny caveman turn a giant woolly mammoth into delicious pie? Both sides gather their friends as they square up for a major confrontation. Who do you think will win? Jeanne Willis’s rhyming text charts the plotting and planning before the battle while Tony Ross’s illustrations brilliantly capture the greedy cave men and their formidable foes.
This is a magical picture book from what you could call the dream team of Jeanne Willis (who writes the words) and Tony Ross (who creates the illustrations). Caterpillar Dreams celebrates the life of two curly caterpillars who dream of all the things they will do when they become butterflies. Autumn comes, and they settle down to sleep, eager to wake up and have their dream realised. But Nature of course has a different dream, a different plan for them...
A thrilling zoo adventure takes place in this wittily written and illustrated first reader. Will the Penguins in the City Zoo be able to find the missing baby penguins? Who will help them? Young readers will love this fast-paced drama with its cast of zoo animals, some helpful and some not, as the delightful rescue mission unfolds.
September 2012 Book of the Month. Its message is one to treasure. Mayfly lives for only one day. Is she sad? No, everything about that one day is to be celebrated. Mayfly sees buds burst open, she sees babies being born; she feels breezes blowing and she dances to the music of the universe. When her one day comes to an end, Mayfly gives thanks for the wonder of it all. A book of celebration for all to share.
In the middle of a wood there is a chick who will not fly. Not I! she cries to Mother Owl and Father Owl. She flaps, she flips, she flops and hops back into the nest. Time passes and seasons change, but still she refuses to fly. Will she ever learn to let go and soar up into the open sky?
Daft dinosaurs create delightfully madcap fun in this hilarious family saga with a difference. When gang warfare between Darwin the stegosaurus and T Rex Flint Beastwood breaks out, the exuberant mayor Boris comes up with a great plan. Why not hold a dinosaur Olympic games as a way of bringing peace? Will Boris’s plan work? It certainly sparks some very lively action amongst the dinosaurs…
A beautifully illustrated and moving story about a blind mole who wonders what a sunset is like. This is a heart-warming tale about the shared experience of blind Mole and his friends.
Shortlisted for the Little Rebel Children's Book Award 2013.Meet Wild Child! She's spirited and curious. She's fearless and free. She lives alone in a mystical, prehistoric world - the last child in a dramatic landscape, where anything could happen. Follow her through her day as she explores her world from the foot of the mountain to the heart of the wood; while she runs with the rabbits and swims with the fish - but beware of the grown-ups and sensible shoes! Join the magic and unleash the wild child in you.
Packed full of pop-up surprises this is a hilarious lift-the-flap book with an excellent joke at the end. Wonderful transformations of a host of animals are uncovered under every flap. But, someone isn’t in disguise. Who can be? Young readers will enjoy the joke and the scale of the pop-up.
Age 7+. Twenty six fabulously funny modern cautionary tales are wittily illustrated by Tony Ross in this vivid and entertaining collection. The sticky ends of the title bring delightful surprises to verses about the truly disgusting nature of school dinners, the fate of Felicity Finch, a little girl who likes to pinch, or Icy Clare who delights in going everywhere in her underwear. Perfect for reading aloud, the richly imagined and brilliantly illustrated retribution that befalls such characters will delight all who hear these verses.
In this laugh-out-loud funny book, Dr Xargle is instructing his class of small fellow aliens on the nature and habits of the earth creatures known to us as cats. It's brilliant with parents and children enjoying it in equal measure.
A beautifully illustrated and moving story about a blind mole who wonders what a sunset is like. This is a heart-warming tale about the shared experience of blind Mole and his friends. You're in the right place if you want a gorgeous activity sheet pack for this title (click here to download) or to celebrate your own Picture Book Picnic with friends and family.
A prize winning title, this introduces Susan who loves to swing, dance, swim, ride do all the things other children do. In fact, she’s no different from any other little girl except that, as the final spread shows, she gets about in a wheel chair. The vigour and active text is perfectly supported by Tony Ross’s warm hearted illustrations.
Highly entertaining, this is a touching story about an unlikely friendship between two cats. Stuck up Sir Cecil aspires to the higher way of life – such as the one his master leads; Cubby is a scruffy down to earth cat who relishes Sir Cecil’s luxurious lifestyle. How the two become firm friends after a number of serious mishaps is delightfully told in the easy-to-read chapters of this book. This is just one of a number of Pocket Money Puffins. To view others click here.
Nominated for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. A wonderfully funny and touching story of friendship from the comic wordsmith Jeanne Willis and brilliantly brought to life with wacky and laugh-out-loud illustrations from Tony Ross.
This is a magical picture book from what you could call the dream team of Jeanne Willis (who writes the words) and Tony Ross (who creates the illustrations). Caterpillar Dreams celebrates the life of two curly caterpillars who dream of all the things they will do when they become butterflies. Autumn comes, and they settle down to sleep, eager to wake up and have their dream realised. But Nature of course has a different dream, a different plan for them...
Quirky and great fun. We’ve all experienced the problem of wanting the loo at the same time first thing in the morning. Well here, Jeanne Willis’ talent with words comes up trumps and will bring a smile to every face, both young and old alike. Enjoy this title even more with the accompanying audio cd.
A brilliantly light hearted celebration of the bare bottie! Human toddlers protest against the wearing of nappies, knickers, pants, boxers, bloomers or briefs. After all, the human babies protest in the jaunty rhyming text whilst the entertaining illustrations which illustrate the dottiness of the concept, animals definitely do not wear smalls!
A tender story with a big message. Two sisters playing by the pond find a magical tiny being complete with wings. It’s a bog baby and the two girls decide to take the best care of it that they can. But, when the bog baby becomes ill, they realize that they’ll have to let it go back to the wild. A beautiful story about the joy of caring but not shying away from the hardest part of it – letting go when the time comes. Winner of the 2008 Booktrust Early Years 'Pre-School Award'. The Lovereading comment: A wonderful new story from Jeanne Willis, the author that brought you Who's in the Loo? Ever heard if a Bog Baby before? Well it’s undersized and blue and has wings similar to that of a dragon. When two girls find it in a magical pond they wonder what to do with it. This book is hilarious, touchingly illustrated and there’s a good moral lesson at the end.
An hilarious hairy adventure at the time of the woolly mammoth. Can the very thin, very hungry caveman ever get the fat mammoth and turn him into a delicious – and filling – pie? Mammoth Pie is hard to get but following the caveman’s attempts to do is fun for all.
Quirky and great fun. We’ve all experienced the problem of wanting the loo at the same time first thing in the morning. Well here, Jeanne Willis’ talent with words comes up trumps and will bring a smile to every face, both young and old alike. Jeanne Willis will be at The Cheltenham Book Festival in October. For more details click here. Also click here to see an interview with Jeanne on www.meettheauthor.co.uk
Quirky and great fun. We’ve all experienced the problem of wanting the loo at the same time first thing in the morning. Well here, Jeanne Willis’ talent with words comes up trumps and will bring a smile to every face, both young and old alike. Jeanne Willis will be at The Cheltenham Book Festival in October. For more details click here. Also click here to see an interview with Jeanne on www.meettheauthor.co.uk
The little shrew has a very big message but a very small voice. He wants to make a plea for peace but he just cannot get his voice heard above all the other noises in the world. Luckily, he never gives up and little by little he begins to make some headway. A warm story with a wise and important point to make.
Little Rhino is rude to everyone, and has been since the day he was born. He sticks his tongue out, makes rude noises, and waves his bottom at anyone in front of him. Until, that is, he meets his match with someone who is prepared to treat him the same way!
Dozy mare is a lazy horse. She won’t go backwards, she won’t go forwards, she won’t trot, she won’t jump and she won’t perform tricks. Carrots, sugar lumps, ice cream – nothing will tempt Dozy Mare to do anything that is asked of her. But when she hears that her next sale will be to the butcher, Dozy Mare picks up her heels and runs and jumps and performs every trick imaginable. She’s not so dozy after all. It’s worth is to have freedom! Tony Ross’s capering Dozy Mare is a delight.
Handsomely produced in a beautiful binding, this is a gift book to treasure. Its message is one to treasure, too. Mayfly lives for only one day. Is she sad? No, everything about that one day is to be celebrated. Mayfly sees buds burst open, she sees babies being born; she feels breezes blowing and she dances to the music of the universe. When her one day comes to an end, Mayfly gives thanks for the wonder of it all. A book of celebration for all to share.
An early collaboration from one of the country’s best-loved author/illustrator teams, this best-selling picture book shows an alien’s view of Earth babies.
Hom is the last of his kind. I don't know what kind of creature he is, and nobody knows he exists... apart from me. When a boy washes up on a desert island after a shipwreck, he is sure he's all alone in the world. But he soon discovers there's someone else living there: Hom, a peace-loving creature who has lost his family, too. Alone on the island together, they learn from each other and become the best of friends. So when a rescue ship appears on the horizon, the boy has a big decision to make...
Sing along to the tune of Old Macdonald had a Farm, and learn to put down your phone in this hilarious cautionary tale for a new generation of phone-users. Old Macdonald loves his phone: it helps him organise his farm. But when the animals each get one of their own, they are soon on their phones all day - Here a tweet, there a chat, WhatsApping the farm cat - and before they know it, no work is getting done! What can Old Macdonald do? From the award-winning partnership of Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross, the fourth in the series of picturebooks exploring online issues.
Mr Mildew has lots of unusual pets, but the Duke decides to make some new rules ... Using the world's largest known database of writing for and by children, our experts have defined 300 ambitious words to help children succeed at school. We've combined these with fully-decodable books that help you match your phonics teaching and practice, while inspiring and engaging your young readers. Specially developed to enhance children's vocabulary alongside their decoding skills, these books are perfect for sharing.
Once upon a golden day, beside a silver brook Alice and her older sister sat and read a book... But when a talking rabbit runs past, Alice follows him down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, where she meet iconic characters of children's literature such as the grinning Cheshire Cat, the Hatter and the Queen of Hearts. From joining in with the Hatter's tea party to painting the white roses red, the familiar scenes from Lewis Carroll's beloved original story are reimagined in this charming introduction to Alice and her adventures in Wonderland suitable for younger readers. Jeanne Willis' re-telling of Carroll's beloved story in bouncy rhyming verse is a fresh venture into Wonderland, brought to life by Ross Collins' vibrant illustrations.
Every young child will understand Oscar’s irritation with those constant adult questions, and his decision to stomp out: ‘Where are you going?’, ‘Nowhere’. When he discovers Nowhere at the bottom of his garden, at first this adult free zone seems like paradise – no-one to ask, ‘Where’s your coat?’ or ‘Should you be playing with that?’, but as time goes by Oscar realises that there are some questions he misses, ‘Would you like a cuddle?’, ‘What about a story?’. Like Sendak’s Max, Oscar turns to find his way home from the wild world of his imagination back to his loving family. Jeanne Willis is one of our cleverest and most skilful picture book authors and this is a typically perceptive and multi-layered story. Anastasia Suvorova’s illustrations and die-cut pages add a delicate air of magic, while Oscar, vivid in his oversized red jumper, always holds the eye. A lovely book for family sharing.
Good morning, class. Today we are going to learn about Earth Family. The latest in the Dr Xargle series! Learn all about Earth Families with Dr Xargle, our friendly alien teacher: brothers are Bothers, sisters are Sulkers, and the number of family members is always larger than the number of chairs at Christmas dinner...
March 2021 Book of the Month | Jeanne Willis is one of our funniest writers for children, but she can do poignancy and tenderness with equal skill. Hom is the story of a shipwreck. A young boy is washed up on a desert island and there discovers Hom, a peace-loving hairy little creature, the last of his kind. The two become best of friends, playing and laughing together; after all, as the boy says, ‘We’re much more alike than different.’ When the chance of escape from the island comes, the boy decides not to take it, in case the arrival of bigger people puts Hom into danger. It’s a touching story of friendship, family and the importance of kindness, to others but to our planet too. Adults will realise that Hom is short for Hominid, his presence a reminder of our past, our connections to the natural world, and its fragility. Illustrator Paddy Donnelly creates a wonderfully lush and vibrant desert island, and his characters are equally warm and alive.
February 2021 Book of the Month | Old Macdonald had a phone, e-i-e-i-o. Very useful it is too, helping him get organised and run the farm. But then he drops it in the lake, and when ordering a replacement, accidentally buys 100. The animals all take one, and chaos ensues. They are all so busy on their phones – here a tweet, there a chat – that nothing gets done and Old Macdonald has no milk, or eggs to sell. Fortunately, he finds a solution, and everyone lives happily – a chat-chat here, and a selfie there, but not all day – that seems fair! It’s another clever, very funny cautionary tale for our online times from the brilliant duo of Willis and Ross. The rhymes make it bliss to read aloud, and the illustrations are a spritely delight. Funny, clever and we can all learn from it – what more could you ask? Smiley face. Look out too for the other books in this fabulous series, Chicken Clicking, Troll Stinks and #Goldilocks.
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