Walking Your Human in Korean!

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Korean translation of Walking Your Human

A big bookish highlight – my picture book Walking Your Human (illustrated by Gabriella Petruso, published by Larrikin House) has been translated into Korean, which means it’s now available in Korea!!

It’s been so exciting to hold a real life copy and pour over all the little details, discovering small differences from the original (language aside!). Things like spot gloss on the leashes on the cover, and the barcode on the back now being bone-shaped. Seriously cute! I hope lots of dog owners and lovers in Korea cross paths with this book, it’s been a fun ride seeing where it travels and lands!

Bookish bits and pieces

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A few exciting Walking Your Human bits and pieces of late:

  • Book subscription business Bubs and Books included Walking Your Human in their recent dog-themed book box! This is a monthly book box curated by a qualified Teacher Librarian (excellent for gifts) – you can check them out here.
  • Bibliotherapist and kids’ book author Dr Zewlan Moor of Byron Bibliotherapy compiled a 2021 Standout Picture Book list, with the help of a bunch of authorly friends (pictured above). I contributed an absolute favourite of mine – quirky friendship tale A Pair of Pears and an Orange by Anna McGregor (published by Scribble), and was then honoured to see Walking Your Human there too, nominated by author Carla Fitzgerald. Check out the list here for some excellent reads from the past year!
  • CBCA’s Reading Time newsletter also included Walking Your Human in a round-up of 2021’s best reads, as picked by their team of reviewers. On WYH: ‘full of humour, engagement and diversity in both people and dogs and there are many discussion points for younger readers’. Yay!
  • A Korean translation of WYH is on its way – stay tuned for news, and I cannot wait to hold a Korean version in my hands (and take it out for celebratory Korean fried chicken or bibimbap!).
  • Did you know WYH is available in paperback? It’s only $13.95 via Booktopia at the moment!
  • Auction alert! Amazing author Zanni Louise’s huge auction to support the town of Lismore, NSW in its recovery from the devastating floods has so much to offer. I have a 3-book Tulip and Brutus book pack (with some merch and bug fun included), as well as three spots on One More Page podcast for kids’ book promo. Check out the huge array of items on offer here!

Walking Your Human – in your earbuds

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This zany little picture book has been out in the world for two months already! Time sure does fly when you’re talking walking. Own podcast aside (where I interviewed publishers Larrikin House and held a book giveaway) I’ve popped up on a few other fab podcasts, too!

For bookish backstory, picture book chat and all things dogs, take a listen to the following podcast episodes …

Words and Nerds with Dani Vee:

Reading with a Chance of Tacos with Ken Williams:

Jack Russell Parents Podcast (US) with Becca and Gabe:

Own pod with Kate Simpson and Nat Amoore, One More Page:

And one more podcasterly pop up – the amazing Dani Vee talks Walking Your Human in an episode of The Weekend Booktopian podcast (around the 25 min mark):

Happy listening! I don’t know about you, but my podcast feed is ever-growing and it’s honestly hard to keep up! Not a bad problem to have though. I always look forward to the next ep of my favourites, the ones that feel like a friend in your ear. People say this to us about One More Page (which is ridiculously flattering, right?!) but I totally know the feeling!

Walking Your Human is here!

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My latest picture book Walking Your Human is finally here, and it’s so exciting to see the real-life book and hold it in my hands. Yay! It’s full of all-knowing advice from a cast of sassy dogs on the best things to do on a walk. Super happy with the fun illustrations by Gabriella Petruso, and it’s been great working with team Larrikin House, the book’s publisher!

To celebrate, there’s a virtual book launch happening soon on Twitter (Tuesday 9 Feb, 8.30pm Sydney time). Here are all the details:

I’m so excited for Archie the StoryHound to help host the launch, along with fabulous picture book author Debra Tidball (THE SCARED BOOK, WHEN I SEE GRANDMA). If you’ve ever joined in a Twitter chat, it will essentially run the same way, where you join the chat/answer qs, and follow and use a hashtag – this time, #walkingyourhuman – with each tweet.

Here are a couple of things you can pre-prepare, should you be so nerdily inclined (hehe – this is so what I do for bookish Twitter chats!):

  • Share your favourite dog gif! We all know gifs make the Twittersphere go round, and we want to see your cutest/weirdest/funniest dog gifs to share the puppy love.
  • Show us your favourite furry friend! We’d love to see pics of your own reading or writing mascot, canine or otherwise. Sure, it might actually be a cat, a ferret or even a stuffed toy. Or it might just be you in a onesie!
  • Let’s talk walks. What’s the strangest or most hilarious thing your dog (or your human) does on a walk?
  • And if you were being walked by a dog, where’s the *ultimate* place they could take you?
  • Also, you might want to BYO snacks. Soz, but as this is virtual there’ll be no book themey cupcakes this time! Show us what you’re snacking on, or share what you WISH was on offer!
  • Bring your burning qs! We’ll have an ‘ask the author’ segment where you can ask anything you like about the making of Walking Your Human, writing, picture books – anything! You may even have a q for Archie the StoryHound!
  • There’ll also be a giveaway, where a chat participant will win a hardcover copy of Walking Your Human, plus a bit of puppy merch.

Finally, don’t forget to use #walkingyourhuman in each tweet, so anyone following the chat will see it. Hope to see you there!

P.S. Here’s the WALKING YOUR HUMAN book trailer, to put you in the mood!

Podcast press, pranks and people

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Our podcast One More Page features in the latest issue of Newswrite magazine, the member mag for Writing NSW. Hooray! It was exciting to be approached by the centre for this, especially since it’s our podcast HQ, plus we’re often there for writing critique groups in non-Corona times. I definitely have a soft spot for this place (the late night haunted feeling just adds to the charm). Here’s the piece:

Also on the podcast front, we’ve pulled together the last few episodes of One More Page via recording everything online (as is the way right now). Actually missing that kooky little Harry Potter room under the stairs at Writing NSW! I interviewed author Mick Elliot for our ‘Gross is Good’ episode, and we’ve also had agent Danielle Binks, Real Pigeons author Andrew McDonald and Laura Harris from Penguin Random House on the show (plus Adrian Beck in Ep 48’s Kids Capers, despite him being completely unaware – cue lawsuit). You can check them out here:

And another super exciting happening of late – the launch of my podcast co-host Nat’s latest middle grade book, The Power of Positive Pranking, complete with socially-distanced book launch at Berkelouw Leichhardt. Nat also celebrated the launch online via an *epic* reading of the first couple of chapters of the book by an array of kidlit creators, from Matt Cosgrove to Sally Rippin. Superstar UK author Katherine Rundell is even there! I was so thrilled to be included – see my little cameo between Zanni Louise and James Foley:

 

And here’s team OMP on launch day – excitement! Rachel at Berkelouw (who also hosted my picture book launch!) did an amazing job at setting up the store, from a prank hunt for the kids to installing Nat in the window, sneeze guard and all. Brilliant!

Coming up, I’ve just interviewed author Julianne Negri. It was so amazing hearing more about her debut middle grade novel, The Secret Library of Hummingbird House. Definite perks of the podcast – not only getting access to exciting new books before they hit the shelves, but delving deeper into the inspirations behind the stories. Looking forward to sharing this one, the book is simply magical. It features family problems as protagonist Hattie Maxwell deals with her parents divorce, melded with a timeslip adventure in an old house with a hidden library, a tree that grows lollies and so much more. It’s the kind of book I would’ve absolutely devoured and loved as a late-primary school aged reader.

Tulip and Brutus in puzzle!

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In the time of Corona it’s allll about the simple things in life. Enter puzzles. And books. And books as puzzles. I discovered this awesome book puzzle site via Tania McCartney’s highly devourable blog. And hey presto, here’s the cover of Tulip and Brutus in puzzle form.

See if you can beat my completion time. It took me 9 minutes and 42 seconds (which in hindsight sounds kind of long!).

Tulip and Brutus activities for kids

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Did I mention T&B has endpapers? It has endpapers!

 

In this cooped up time of Corona, there’s a bigger need than ever for ways to keep kids entertained, educated, or ideally a sneaky combo of both. Enter – bookish activity sheets!

I’ve put together some downloadable activities for kids themed around my bug and friendship picture book, Tulip and Brutus. They’re suitable for preschoolers through to primary schoolers, though the younger kids might need a bit of help! I’ve also included a doc containing a list of bug-related activities to try, for when there’s no printer handy.

The activity sheets can be downloaded from the Tulip and Brutus page under Books, OR here:

Tulip and Brutus Maze

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAZE – get the bugs to the playground!

 

Tulip and Brutus - Fill in the Missing Letters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FILL IN THE MISSING LETTERS – T&B need a little help (hint: each word can be found within the pages of Tulip and Brutus)

 

Tulip and Brutus Find-A-Word

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIND-A-WORD

 

Tulip and Brutus Printer-Free Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRINTER-FREE ACTIVITIES – some bug fun to keep the kids busy, no printing out required!

Recent reads in kidlit land

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Over the last few months I’ve discovered and read a bunch of truly extraordinary kids’ books – some are by favourite creators, others by first-timers. They include:

THE BRILLIANT IDEAS OF LILY GREEN by Lisa Siberry

This is a debut middle grade novel which also happened to win Hardie Grant Egmont’s Ampersand Prize. It was a standout read for me this year – fresh, intriguing, full of feeling and tinged with suspense and magic.

NOP by Caroline Magerl

This is absolutely gorgeous – an abandoned stuffed bear at the Dumporium gets a new chance, in the most unexpected of ways. Dreamy illustrations, a work of art.

TILLY by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker

I was always going to love this. It’s Jane and Anna! The heartwarming story of a girl’s buried treasures under a staircase, and the bittersweet passing of time.

THE SECRETS OF MAGNOLIA MOON by Edwina Wyatt

This is Edwina Wyatt’s junior fiction debut, starring a lyrical, literary, whimsical character who looks at the world in her own unique way. Such beautiful writing. A stunning cover too, with illustrations by Katherine Quinn.

MISS KRAKEN by Nicki Greenberg

Fun, wry and quirky, Miss Kraken (yes, an actual Kraken) is the fed up teacher of a rowdy, cheeky bunch of kids. Everything comes to a head on an excursion to the aquarium. Hilarious details in the illustrations!


A HOME FOR LUNA by Stef Gemmill and Mel Armstrong

A debut PB about a lost cat, penguins and a search for home. I loved this gorgeous story and the illustrations are totally my kind of style. Lovely language throughout.

MONTY AND THE POODLES by Katie Harnett

An unlikely friendship story (hooray!) about some posh poodles and a street dog, by the creator of Franklin’s Flying Bookshop, Ivy and Lonely Raincloud and more. A Parisian feel to the illustrations (hello, cover crush), and a super satisfying ending.

A buzzy, buggy book launch!

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Tulip and Brutus is officially launched! I was completely overwhelmed with the turnout and buzz at the Sydney launch – a weird and wonderful whirlwind of a morning.

Held upstairs at Berkelouw Books in Leichhardt, with the amazing Rachel Robson at the organising helm, it was such a fun time. Think an overloaded table of buggish treats like strawberry, oreo and cupcake ladybugs, and cookie stinkbugs (promptly demolished), plus a truly spectacular rendition of ‘I Got You Bug’ (think I Got You Babe, on … a lot of sugar) by my giant buggy launchers – One More Page podcast co-hosts and writers’ group buddies, Kate and Nat. Totes brought the house down.

After a book reading, I ran a game where kids could spin a game show-ish wheel to win either a chocolate bug or a real bug, a crunchy cricket. The uptake for the crickets was far more enthusiastic than I anticipated. Yay! How delicious are bugs?!

There were so many awesome people in the room, from old friends and family members to my kids’ school friends to writerly people from all the kidlit places, like SCBWI. I had an epic book sign-a-thon which was *surreal*, a gazillion photos were taken, and it all went by in a dreamlike blur. And I get to do it all again soon in Melbourne with the book’s publisher Ford Street and illustrator Andrew Plant too, hooray! If you’re Melbourne-based and around on Saturday 9 November, I’d love to see you there (find the details over on my FB Author page).

Huge thanks to everyone who shared their snaps with me – my mum, Steve, Mali, Amelia, Amanda and probably more – thanks all!

What else?

An author talk
Soon after the Sydney launch, I visited Shellharbour Library for an author talk with the most lovely writers and illustrators group. It was a really fun morning complete with another book reading, signing and sales, and an extensive q&a type book chat about the writing and publication journey. And we ate more bugs! Local writer Karen Hendriks was a fab host, taking me on a tour of the town including a stunning beach viewpoint.

Some longlistings
I randomly entered the Lane Cove Literary Awards and found myself longlisted in the Travel Story category, woo hoo! I didn’t progress beyond the longlist, but it was nevertheless a bit of a boost and a reminder of my pre-kidlit love for non-fiction travel writing (and of course, travelling). I also entered a pitching contest via Just Write for Kids, and just found out I’m on the picture book longlist. Fingers crossed! But regardless of the outcome, it was a great way to pin down a pitch for that particular story anyway!!

A podcast interview
Along with getting to interview (aka fangirl over) amazing people for my kids’ book podcast with Nat and Kate, One More Page, I am now on the show as an interviewee! In Episode 39, we have none other than Newbery Medal-winning, New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo on the show (!!!) which is surreal enough in itself. Then there’s a kid interviewer chatting with me about Tulip and Brutus and friendship in kids’ books in the same episode’s Kids Capers segment. Have I used the word surreal in this post already?! Yes. Yes, I have. You can listen to the episode here and subscribe to One More Page on whichever app you devour your podcasts.

A Twitter chat

I’ve found myself not only in a podcast interview but as the guest of a Twitter chat – happening next Thursday night! I’m a huge fan of Picture Book Book Club and love their monthly chats, so it’s pretty awesome to be a guest in one (vs usual groupie). Kidlit twitter peeps – feel free to find and join (#picbookbc).

Yet more book talk …

Find more Tulip and Brutus talk on Creative Kids Tales, Just Write for Kids, Kids Book Review (plus I popped up as one of their 12 Curly Questions posts), I wrote a piece on friendship and school libraries which is on the Ford Street blog, and if you subscribe to the Pass It On kidlit newsletter, you may have seen an interview with me there recently, too. Phew!

Ok, enough with all things me and my book. I will be back next time celebrating all the other books I’ve been reading and loving lately!