There are two terrific books for the price of one in this hugely attractive volume. In both, the jaunty story written as a diary brings the past to life through the freshly written accounts by Tobias Burgess, a young boy sent off to be a page at Standborough castle in Castle Diary and by Jake Carpenter who describes his first adventures at sea on board the Sally Anne in Pirate Diary. Both are filled with action, danger, difficulties and success – all recorded in the accompanying illustrations.
What was it really like to live in a castle during the Middle Ages? What kind of life did a pirate lead in the 1700s? This book has the answers. Two young boys keep journals of their day-to-day lives in a castle, and on board a pirate ship. Based on research, this title is for children and includes two books.
As an artist I've written about 60 books, mostly factual books for children. My first children's book was Incredible Cross Sections, which had fantastic illustrations by Stephen Biesty. One of the things I enjoy most about writing is that it gives me the chance to work with wonderful illustrators. When Chris Riddell drew the pictures for Castle Diary and Pirate Diary he managed to capture the characters of all the people in the stories exactly as I'd imagined them. I also love writing because people pay me to find out all this fascinating stuff about strange, wacky and obscure subjects. I spend far more time than I should trying to find amazing facts that bring a subject to life. I trawl through books at home (I've got 2500) and in dusty libraries.
