The latest laugh-out-loud character from the over-the-top town of Hamilton Shady has his work cut out to keep the pirates’ quarters shipshape in this gorgeous new rhyming extravaganza in the addictive Ever So series. Julie Fulton and Elina Ellis’ magical mix of bright, bold pictures, entertaining rhymes and hilarious antics will have kids laughing from first page to last as Jonathan learns that lending a hand is far better than handing out orders!

www.lep.co.uk

A lovely story, written in rhyme, which fairly zips along as you wonder at Jonathan's dreadful behaviour and then savour his suffering, on board, of all places, a pirate ship with some people who have a very long list of jobs which have to be done immediately, if not sooner. No Jonathans are harmed in the making of this story, but please do try to remain dignified as you giggle at his discomfiture: the tears running down the face is so not a good look.

The illustrations by Elina Ellis perfectly complement Julie Fulton's story. It's a great, fun book which kids are going to enjoy and which is no problem to read again, and

again, and.....

www.thebookbag.co.uk

Daniel O'Dowd gains an award!

Today I received some lovely photos of two new fans of Miss Dorothy-Jane...

And a lovely quote accompanied the photos - 

ALERT--"Miss Dorothy Jane was ever so vain" may have a paradoxical effect on very young children- the message for my two was that one must immediately don hats and have a handbag slung over one's wrist whilst flapping said wrist in a silly and completely pretentious manner......a great read.

Best feed back ever!

Apparently Dad was late to work because of the Miss Dorothy-Jane drama. Oops... I'm really sorry!

Thank you so much for sending me the comments and pictures. They're wonderful.

Last week I ventured in to London for an evening at Stationer's Hall where the awards ceremony for The People's Book Prize was being held. What a beautiful place. Here's a photo of the dining hall before we all descended on it!

We were asked to arrive in plenty of time so that photos could be taken and interviews conducted. I did well with all questions but one - when asked to say what my book was about my brain seized up!

Whilst waiting to go in for dinner I met and chatted with lots of lovely people, all passionate about books and reading.

Christina Gabbitas is the author of children's book series 'Felicity Fly' and is also a publisher. She gave me several tips on marketing! I loved her books, especially the Book of Children's Poems, which was an initiative of hers to inspire the nation's children to write their own poems with the chance to see their work in print. It's hoped that this will encourage all primary age children to read and write.

Carol E Wyer is a writer whose book, 'How Not To Murder Your Grumpy', was a finalist in the non-fiction section of the awards. Another enthusiastic and supportive author - with a great sense of humour!

Then there was Danny Bent, who sat next to me at dinner. His book, 'You've Gone Too Far This Time, Sir', relates his adventures when he cycled 15,000 miles from the UK to India to raise money for ActionAid. An amazing man so full of energy!

I could mention so many more. Everyone was so friendly. Then came the announcement of the winners.

I didn't win.....but would like to thank all of you who voted for Tabitha Posy. I really do appreciate it. The competition was fierce. The winner in the children's section had sold 40,000 copies of his book. Some of us can only dream of that. Mind you, with the title 'I Think I Murdered Miss', Billy Bob Buttons was always on to a winner. I want a copy!

An amazing gift arrived from my fantastic illustrator Jona Jung last week. She's only gone and sent me six original drawings - two from each Ever So book to date - for me to take in to schools when I visit. Along with a couple of copies of early sketches and my first scribblings, it means the children can see part of the process that goes in to producing a completed story. Huge thanks, Jona!

Tammy kindly had me back on her show today to chat about Bewdley Book Week and my part in it.

If you'd like to find out more about the Book Week please visit -

www.bewdleybookweek.org.uk

As always I managed to include the great work Booktrust do to get children (and adults) reading for pleasure -

www.booktrust.org.uk

We even managed to cover what's happening in the Ever So series....and then there was the small matter of 'The Day Tammy Gooding Ate Far Too Much Pudding'.

Have a listen to hear all about it!

Mrs MacCready was spotted in Cardiff today, supporting the staff at Soho Coffee Co stores around the country who are raising money for the leukaemia charity LINC.

Fantastic!

This lovely letter was passed on to me today. It's great to hear about young children enjoying books and stories - hopefully a love that will continue on into their adulthood.

                                      Thank you Isabella - and her Mum!

I was lucky enough to be invited back on to BBC Hereford & Worcester today to chat with Tammy about my new picture book 'Tabitha Posy Was Ever So Nosy'.

She's a great interviewer, really put me at my ease, and we had a fantastic talk about books and writing in general.

You will hear that Tammy also allowed me to talk about a charity I'm pleased to support, and have blogged about before, BOOKTRUST and their programme for pre-school children, BOOKSTART.

BOOKTRUST are currently running an online scheme for schools with year 5/6 pupils called 'Read For My School', where children are encouraged to read for pleasure. This is such an invaluable thing to do. Long term studies have shown that children who read for pleasure are significantly more likely as adults to :

remain in continuous employment

own their own home

be IT literate

trust other people in their community

vote

To find out more about BOOKTRUST and their fantastic work go to :

www.booktrust.org.uk

Thank you.

I was sent another lovely picture of someone enjoying reading Mrs MacCready's tale.

Apparently it's great! Thank you very much.

Thank you to one fan who sent me this photo - it's great to know who's reading and enjoying my stories.

I'd love to hear from more of you.