Happy Birthday Laura Wake!
Laura Wake is an interesting person. Godmother to one of our cats, keen surfer, ex-lodger, collector of robots, actress, botophobic, skier, writer, many more things, not to mention a very good friend.
She wrote a novel not so long ago called 'A Monster By Violet', which I had the pleasure of reading, but is, as yet maddeningly unpublished. Reading it was like talking to the woman herself, darkly funny, slightly terrifying and utterly compelling.
It's also her birthday tomorrow, so I've drawn her this.

Happy Birthday Laura, from Jon, Charlie and Ivy, Edward and Ava. x.
Merry Christmas!
A Merry Christmas to everyone!
Read MoreBrian Blessed!
Guess who's doing the narration for our new picture book App 'Where Will I Go?'? Brian Blessed, that's who!
Read MoreFinger Morris.
In preparation for a series of readings I'll be doing around the country over the next couple of months, I've doodled a quick Finger Puppet Morris for you to cut out and make.
If anyone wants to make them and bring them to the readings that'd be lovely, We'll be able to have a Morris party.
Also, my printer is out of ink and as you can see from the photo, I've only managed to make one in black and white so if any of you would like to tweet or email me colour photos of your completed mice, then I'll add them here and tweet them out to the world! Hurray!
Oh, Edward.
This isn't the first time I've had to issue a wanted poster for the cat.
Books Books Books!
Bampton library is tiny. Perched between two roads in the very heart of the town it can't be more than twenty feet square. As with any library though, inside it contains whole worlds.
As an author and illustrator, seeing the child jump gleefully into the printed realm is a joyful experience and our frequent trips to discover new books has become something that we both look forwards to.
The librarians have made the place a welcoming and vital social hub for the town. In these times of austerity it's important that people don't have to make a long and costly trip to the libraries in Tiverton or Dulverton. This little library makes books convenient and accessible. It provides a place where people can get help to use the internet to reach the wider world. It encourages our children to read and more importantly to enjoy reading.
Bampton is richer for it.