Tag: ALPHONSE THAT IS NOT OK TO DO!

Coming soon(ish): ALPHONSE, THERE’S MUD ON THE CEILING!

Alphonse, there's mud on the ceiling!Even if I get to keep making books for years and years and years, I can’t imagine that receiving advance copies of a new book will ever stop being REALLY EXCITING. This is my third Natalie and Alphonse story: it’s about mud and sticks, living in a flat in the city and being wild. The best place to hear more about the book is probably on my Instagram.

ALPHONSE, THERE’S MUD ON THE CEILING! will be published by Walker Books UK on the 6th of June. Links to editions in other languages will be on the Books page.

Natalie and Alphonse on TV!

On Saturday 30th June, Matt Berry read my second book, ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! on CBeebies Bedtime Stories and it was dead exciting and also FUNNY. You can find it on BBC iPlayer for a few weeks, and here’s a little teaser that CBeebies tweeted:


So that clears up one of the questions raised by the endpapers of my new Natalie and Alphonse book, I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE!
Detail of endpapers

But still, where ARE all the peas? And also, what is it with peas and telly in these books? They always seem to come together – this is from ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO!
Page from Alphonse that is not ok to do!

I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE!

I made these two gifs to celebrate the publication of my fourth picture book, I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! This is Natalie and Alphonse’s second adventure, following ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! and is all about what happens when Natalie starts learning to read, and how she and Alphonse manage to carry on enjoying books and stories in their own way.

I only started making gifs again a couple of months ago – you can find a few others on my Instagram. Alphonse in his fairy costume comes from a part of the book where he and Natalie dress up to play “stories they remembered or made up.”

If you’d like to know more about the book and how I made it, have a look at Walker Books’ Instagram which I took over for publication week. I also have a couple of events coming up soon, and am busy making window displays – this one was at Jaffe and Neale, a bookshop-cafe in Chipping Norton, and it will be moving to their Stow shop in a few weeks too.
Window dispaly

World Illustration Awards

I was amazed, and very happy, to hear that I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! is shortlisted for the Association of Illustrators’ World Illustration Awards. Just being included in the exhibition at Somerset House is a bit too exciting.
Photo of I Do Not Like Books Anymore!It’s especially exciting as the book isn’t even out yet: Walker will publish I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! on May 3rd and there’ll be a book launch at Gosh! on the 10th. This is Natalie and Alphonse’s second adventure, following ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! and I’ve just finished the artwork for their third escapade – so I’ve got to know these monsters very well.

I DO NOT LIKE BOOKS ANYMORE! is about what happens when Natalie struggles with learning to read – and how she and Alphonse find their own solution (involving an ambitious elephant and a caterpillar driving a truck). I’ll be sharing more about the book, especially on Instagram, in the run-up to publication.

Natalie and Alphonse at Greenwich Book Festival

Photo by Andrew Porter PhotographyOn May 27th I caught the boat to Greenwich Book Festival where I read ALPHONSE, THAT IS NOT OK TO DO! to the excellent people pictured (and excellent others) and then let them loose on the googly eyes and double-sided tape, leading to Most Excellent Fantastic monster finger puppets. There was much innovation in the areas of spots and extending grab-hands. Thanks to Andrew Porter Photography for the brilliant photos, to Greenwich Book Festival and everyone who came.
Photo by Andrew Porter PhotographyPhoto by Andrew Porter PhotographyPhoto by Andrew Porter PhotographyPhoto by Andrew Porter PhotographyPhoto by Andrew Porter PhotographyAll photos © Andrew Porter 2017