PUBLISHING DAY for Be Confident Be You - The Teenage Guide

Last week was publishing day for Be Confident Be You! I absolutely loved illustrating this book for Becky Goddard Hill, published by Harper Collins. 

The book is a sequel to Be Happy Be You, a book I also illustrated the spot illustrations for. It means a lot to me to work on wellbeing topics for children and young adults - the memorable tools and exercises in these books can make such a big difference and their effects can last a lifetime.

PUBLISHING DAY for Step Up: My Anti-Bullying Activity Book

It is 🎉PUBLISHING DAY🎉 for Step Up: My Anti-Bullying Activity Book!

This is the fourth in the series that I illustrated, by Upside Down Books at @welbeckpublish and on a topic that’s very close to my heart.

I was bullied in secondary school and I ended up moving schools because of it. Nowadays, children are learning from a younger age about things like feelings, kindness and friendships, leading to better awareness of mental health. I hope this means that they are less likely to bully or be bullied, but of course, it still happens and at any age - from young kids learning about how to treat others, to adults in workplaces or relationships. 

I hope books like this will plant little seeds for healthy friendships, communication and confidence, while being a lovely activity book that’s packed with fun things to do!

You can buy signed copies here on my Etsy shop now.

PUBLISHING DAY for Get Outdoors: My Nature Activity Book

Hooray! Today is the day that Get Outdoors: My Nature Activity Book gets published!

I'm delighted that following the success of the first two books on the theme of feelings and mindfulness, this wellbeing series has continued with a third title. Published by Welbeck Children's Books and aimed at children aged 5-8 years, the book is packed with puzzles, games and creative activities to encourage children to get outside and engage with the great outdoors.

Learning to appreciate and enjoy nature as a child can be so beneficial for mental well-being later in life. It’s been a delight to capture some of the wonder and fun to be found in nature, that brightened the days of so many who spent more time outdoors over the last year or so.

I will be selling signed copies on my Etsy shop soon, please keep an eye on my Instagram and sign up to my mailing list for updates!

COVER REVEAL for Get Outdoors: My Nature Activity Book

I’m SO EXCITED to share my next book that’s coming out SOON! 

Get Outdoors - My Nature Activity Book will be published on September 2nd. Published by Welbeck Kids and jam packed full of activities to encourage children to step outside and engage with the great outdoors.

I’ll be selling signed copies when they arrive at JDHQ so keep your eyes peeled for updates, can’t wait to share more! 🤩

NEW BOOK: Nice Things to Send to a Friend

New to my Etsy shop! Nice Things to Send to a Friend is a book of sweet things to colour, write, make and send - or send to a friend to do! 

Available to buy on my Etsy shop.

Activities include letter paper, colouring sheets, things to write, draw and make.

The snail mail goodies can be completed by yourself and sent to a friend, or you can send to a friend to do. Fill in a list to get to know each other better, pop a bookmark in with a birthday card, send a friend a colouring sheet for some mindful relaxation... or send the whole book as a gift, so someone else can spread the joy! Simple ways to brighten a day!

You can find Nice Things to Send to a Friend on my Etsy shop here.

Under the Sea Search and Find

Last year I worked on this lovely under the sea scene. It was a sample piece for a children's non-fiction publisher and in the end, they decided to use a more computer-generated look. It was shame it didn't go ahead, but I'm so glad I worked on it! I really enjoyed working with the photographic background and I'm so happy to be able to share it now.

...and here are some close ups of some of the fish!

My first book cover! The Mummy Lessons by Helen Wallen - Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Hello there! As you might remember from an earlier post, 2018 saw me get my first book cover commission - and I can finally share the artwork now that it is published (by Hodder & Stoughton, an imprint of Hachette). It was released on the 21st March, less than two weeks ago and has already been named a no.1 bestseller in the parenting chart and no.24 in the kindle chart! A massive well done to author Helen Wallen (aka. Just a Normal Mummy) - her writing style is hilarious and real. But y'know... I'd like to think the cover illustration enticed some of those happy shoppers too :)

I thought I'd share some of my progress drawings. I always love to see illustrators share this, as it shows the amount of work that goes into creating that final polished piece you only usually see. It shows that I sometimes draw things over and over again to get them just right. Letting go of wanting to get it right first time was one of my biggest lessons in the early days and made a huge difference to my work.

Sorry the previews are so small - please click on the image to enlarge.

It started with rough mum and baby drawings in my sketchbook...

...then the hand lettering...

...so that I could arrange the characters around the letters

The design team at Hodder & Stoughton already had the idea of the characters interracting around the letters. Whereas I would usually expect to brainstorm some different layout options, I didn't need to here. I could go straight into creating the rough. The publishers then gave me the go ahead to create the final design - so I then illustrated the characters and icons in ink.

Drawing in ink...

...using layout paper over the enlarged roughs

I'm really happy with how successful it has been so far and still buzzing that my first cover is out. I did some spot illustrations for another pregnancy related book earlier this year - which will be published in the summer - and I have another book commission to start soon! So watch this space - I look forward to sharing them!

Click here to view The Mummy Lessons on Amazon (other book stores are available!).