Join Billy and Fatcat on their quest to escape Captain Howl in their third thrilling adventure, filled with singing mermaids and sticky toffee eating sharks.
Ahoy there! It's time to sail the ocean blue with Billy and her trusty feline friend, as they embark on a noble seafaring adventure. Billy and Fatcat find a mysterious message in a bottle at sea. When suddenly something terrible happens: they bump into a pesky pirate and his smelly crew.
Oh no! Fortunately for our courageous twosome, they're no strangers to peril: they always have a trick (or treat) up their sleeves. Nadia Shireen is back with her third instalment from our favourite heroine and hangry cat.
Nadia Shireen enjoyed making homemade magazines and comics as a child, and during her time studying law at university and her subsequent career in journalism, she started to sketch again. Her debut book Good Little Wolf received a mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Opera Prima Award, and went on to win the UKLA Book Award. Nadia’s subsequent books have since been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, The Sainsbury’s Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.
Nadia now writes and draws full time, and dedicates her spare moments to tweeting about pop music and championing diversity and tolerance, values that are powerfully depicted in all her books. In 2017, she collaborated with Book Trust to promote their Time To Read campaign, sending 700,000 copies of The Bumblebear to school children all across the UK. Nadia joined forces with Book Trust once more, as their official Writer and Illustrator In Residence for 2018. In addition, Nadia is an official friend of the Ministry of Stories, and supports the Penguin’s Write Now initiative for discovering under-represented voices. She lives in London with her son. Billy and the Beast was recently shortlisted for the inaugural Booktrust Story Time Prize.
Nadia is an important voice in championing diversity: she is supporting Write Now, our pivotal inclusivity programme and recently supported the Great Get Together, in memory of MP Jo Cox. She visited Jo Cox's primary school on the anniversary of her death and spoke to students about diversity, tolerance and acceptance - values which are all powerfully depicted in her books.
