Author/illustrator of Grimwood, Bumblebear, Barbara Throws A Wobbler, Geoffrey Gets the Jitters. Island of Brilliant pod. Tired potato. Agent:
@JodieHodges31
Fans of Barbara Throws a Wobbler will love our final £1/€1.50 book for beginner readers!
Barbara’s Very Useful Guide to Moods by Nadia Shireen takes us through a day full of big emotions in this hilarious guide to what we feel.
➡️
@NadiaShireen
I worked in HMV and Virgin Megastore in the 90s. Loved it. Those jobs were in demand. I got the job because I name-dropped Nick Drake to try and impress the manager. Everyone loved & talked about music all the time. Not all provincial towns had a branch of Rough Trade nearby.
This is v embarrassing, but I was asked to draw a Patronus and while all these other illustrators did beautifully crafted lyrical works of art, I drew a gormless elephant in a hat? I am mortified. Still, please bid on the others for an excellent cause!
I keep thinking of a beautiful moment in the song Out Of Time by Blur, when Damon sings, “Feel the sunshine... on your face.” It made me want to draw this.
#illustration
Hey! I’ve opened up a little print shop on Etsy. Limited edition 70s horror classics to start off with... hopefully more stuff later. Signed, numbered, nice paper.
#illustration
#movieposters
One evening I doodled this cat and this book title in my sketchbook. Now she’s up for the Kate Greenaway medal! Absolutely pinching myself. Huge congratulations to all the nominees, it’s a fantastic list.
Fantasy: I write 3000 words by mid-afternoon. My desk faces the sea, a cashmere blanket rests upon my knees. I make corrections with my favourite Mont Blanc pen.
Reality: 70 words shat out on laptop balanced on head of child during six episodes of Justin’s House so help me god
Bought this for one of my tiddler pals who (all being well) I’ll be seeing soon. It’s absolutely gorgeous, really smart and very funny.
We are all Barbara!
#BarbaraThrowsAWobbler
@i_am_mill_i_am
Preston station was a nightmare and I left it relatively early. Immensely stressy. The staff I spoke to were all calm and lovely, but they had no information to go on whatsoever. Frustrating for them as well.
So chuffed that the excellent
@alex_brooker
will be reading Barbara Throws A Wobbler as the
@CBeebiesHQ
bedtime story next Monday! The best tv channel bar none. Honoured!
@spectator
This article is mean-spirited, snobby and factually inaccurate. Shock horror, a voice on Radio 4 is northern! You should be embarrassed you’ve even published this. And the writer is the very definition of ‘lightweight and uncerebral.’
I put my heart and soul into making picture books, but if they don’t sell enough, I’ll need to find a new job. Which would break my heart. You want diversity in publishing? Sort it out from the top down. The big guns need to invest.
Shamima Begum should not be allowed to return to the UK to pursue an appeal against the removal of her British citizenship, the Supreme Court has ruled
Yesterday my kid asked if he could have a creme egg. I said no. A little girl behind us overheard, and sneakily PUT ONE IN MY BASKET, before giving my kid a sneaky smile. Children are like velociraptors.
I am hearing reports from real-life humans that Barbara Throws A Wobbler is helping to stop *actual* wobblers in their tracks, and this makes me very happy! 🙏🏾
Remembering the heady days of illustrating the M&S Christmas range a few years ago. Told my kid today and he didn’t believe me. “But why did they let you?” I don’t know, kid, but I’m glad they did.
God I cannot *bear* her attempting to chummily tell me what I want. What I want is her to fuck off back to being the much-hated Deputy Head of a rural girls school.
In a personal context I have been told that ‘We’re absolutely saturated by brown faces in this country.’ And in a professional context, someone very senior in kids books told me (in sotto voice) ‘Yes, but black children just don’t read.’ This problem isn’t going anywhere, sadly.
I have never been number 1 for anything ever, so I am going to celebrate being the number 1 ‘Hot New Release’ in ‘Children’s Books about Emotions and Feelings’. What do you mean it’s an extremely niche category? How dare you!
Exciting news! I am delighted to announce that the audiobook of Grimwood will be read by none other than... ADAM BUXTON! He has done lots of silly voices, and some of them have made me cry laughing. Wahoo! Pre-order the book if you want to read along:
@caitlinmoran
Baloo the bear, Atticus Finch, the dad from Johnny Briggs, Hazel from Watership Down, Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec, basically someone hairy who could build me a table
If you’re feeling a little blue or unsettled for whatever reason, I can recommend listening to Bernard Cribbins reading Winnie The Pooh and Derek Jacobi reading The Wind in the Willows. Comfort blankets.
Anybody else feel like screaming? My new picture book Barbara Throws A Wobbler is out tomorrow and my 8 year old has made this mildly disturbing trailer! I am very proud of him.
#ThrowAWobbler
Fuming at the *ridiculous* casting in the new Famous Five adaptation. Everyone knows that Timmy is a Welsh border collie, not a bearded collie cross. More senseless wokery from the PC brigade
Cute animals in terrifying films alert! Shipping the first batch of prints next week. Take a look at my shop if you fancy one or know a movie nut who might...
Seeing as Barbara Throws A Wobbler has been included in the
@EmpathyLabUK
reading list, I thought it might be a good time to revisit the last page…
#EmpathyDay
I haven’t been a sub-editor for 10 years, but I still can’t help but feel a bit tribally defensive when writers slag off ‘the subs.’ Generally we are a breed of quiet, attentive word-crafters and turd-polishers. Our best work is invisible.
Please ensure you put your Easter eggs in the fridge so you can enjoy snappy shards. I’m upset at the thought of warm, squashy chocolate eggs, messily torn. Thank you.
I actually won something! Thank you so much all at
@The_UKLA
. Delighted that Babs has resonated in classrooms around the country, also v honoured to share the award with the amazing
@TomPercivalsays
.
Last evening saw the announcement of the UKLA Book Awards!
“For the first time in the history of the awards the judges felt
compelled to award joint winners In the 3-6+ age category.”
Congratulations to these two wonderful,powerful books!
@The_UKLA
@TomPercivalsays
@NadiaShireen
So
@SmritiPH
,
@SwapnaHaddow
and I are forming a band called “Three middle-aged middle-class brown children’s book authors who will at least visibly improve your diversity quotas even though systemically nothing may change.”
📣 My next picture book, Geoffrey Gets The Jitters, is out with
@PuffinBooks
on August 3rd. It’s about a little dog with some big worries… and here’s the cover! Also, here is an extremely official and useful Guide To Worries. Feel free to tag yourself. Thank you x
Absolutely *cursing* the author who has casually demanded I illustrate “a deer riding a bike, with a Victoria sponge cake in the basket, also balancing pot of tea and two china cups.” (Yes, the author is also me 😞)
I am well chuffed!
Btw, if you think you know someone small who fancies reading it, give it a go - or your money back!* (*please note: no money will ever be returned. But it’s only about a fiver.)
Did a Grimwood event at a school today, and a pigeon flew into the assembly hall. The kids went utterly bananas. The pigeon shat on a light fitting and had to be lured outside with biscuits.