Small Blue Readings

Hi chaps,

Well, I've my two reading spots of my book 'Small Blue' now.One in a shop, as in my previous post, and one in a library.
The way I decided to play the events was to do the readings first, and then draw sketches of characters from it, (usually pirates or witches).
It was fun and went down well.
Kids do seem to be fascinated by seeing a drawing actually appear out of nothing in front of them.

The shop reading was more freeform, with people drifting in and out, which had its own charm.
I ended up doing lots of individual readings to families there, while at the library there was more of a formal start and finish, and the reading had to be more of a performance.

I've been asked back by the library for another spot closer to Christmas, so I'll see if I can do even better with my patter for that. Any suggestions from anyone for tips and tricks would be much appreciated :)

I'll maybe try and employ my badges a bit more, and incidentally, more on those later.

All my equipment is set up for readings now though -
A3 sketchpad - check
Sharpies - check
Badges to give away - check

All ready for the next reading :)

Author Event at Waterstones Carlisle

Hi Chaps,

Well, I had a great time at Waterstones in Carlisle last Saturday doing my author event for 'Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night'.
Lots of reading it to kids (and their parents) and doing drawings for them (the kids), usually of pirates. It fit in nicely on Halloween as it's sort of about scary things, and I ended up being there for about an hour and a half all in all.

It was excellently set up by the shop, especially thanks to Wendy in the children's department, with a window display, excellent chalkboard sign, and a lovely 'reading chair' and table.

I can recommend the children's section, if you want the good stuff, they've got it there :)

I'm looking forward to doing more readings, my next is at Twickenham Library at 3.45 on 10th November, in one of their regular story time slots.
There shall be reading, sketching, colouring sheets and copies of the book to sign and sell there too :)

Small Blue Badge

Hi chaps,

I've had a re-think about the 'Small Blue' badges and a bit of a look around, and I'm going to have a new and improved, better-value version available slightly differently soon, more info on it's way.
I'll post more once it's all organised and set up.
'Keep 'em peeled', as Shaw Taylor used to say.
They're rethought, resorted, reordered - and coming soon :)

Small Blue Readings

Dates for your Diary here Chaps :)
I have some readings of 'Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night' organised.
The first is in Carlisle Waterstones on 31st October.
And after that at Twickenham Library on 10th November at 3.45pm in one of their regular story time slots.
So do come along if you're about :)
If you already have a copy of 'Small Blue', bring it along and I will be happy to sign it for you, otherwise I'll have a few copies to sell and sign.
I'll also have some Small Blue and Big Brown colouring/drawing sheets to hand out.

I Spy - answer

Time's up!
Here's the answer to the 'Small Blue' quiz from last week.
(Actually, I think this is a question rather than a quiz, as the word quiz implies more than one question :)

But anyway, on to the answer. If you know it, give yourself a pat on the back. If not, it's something to look out for .
But on each double page spread with the lights on, you will find, somewhere inthe picture, a red toy car.
Two in Small's bedroom, and then a different style of red toy car in the the hall and kitchen, 
right to the end, everytime the lights are on. 
Four double spreads in all.
Here they are.

But more info on new work coming soon :)

I Spy

Hi Chaps,

Happy New Year everybody.
And as a celebration, I thought I'd do something a bit fun and participatory.

So, as it's been a few months since 'Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night' came out, I thought I might do a little 'I Spy' quiz.

This is a quiz for people who have a copy of 'Small Blue', or access to a copy, say at a library or something.
But if you look through the book, there is something that appears on every spread where the lights are on.
Bit of a clue, it's a certain coloured toy, but see if you can spot it.

It's a sort of sub-plot I put in, if you can call it a sub plot.
Just sort of something to spot and look out for as you're reading.

But have a careful look through, see what you can spot, and I'll do a post next week with the answer, with pictures.

New York Times Book Review

Hi Chaps,

Well, "Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night" has been reviewed again, and this time in a real life actual paper that you can hold in your hand, which is cool.
Yesterday, 19th October, it was reviewed in the Book Review Section of the Sunday edition of the New York Times.
They say "It's a winning approach to fear of the dark: lots of physical closeness, a few flights of imagination, and a gentle dash of cold, hard logic."
See a scan of the review below, it also featured a section of the goblins spread, further down the page.

Just a small spot, but I do feel chuffed :)

Small Blue review

Hi Chaps,

There have been a bunch of really nice reviews of Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night on various blogs.
I've put a couple of them up on my website, but I thought I'd gather a bunch of them here.

A lovely review, and there was a give-away too, at the Good Reads With Ronna Blog here

A very nice review indeed at Jen Robinson's Book Page Blog here.

Another very nice review at the Books For Kids Blog here
You'll have to scroll down for this one, it was posted on the 6th Sept.

And a nice short review at the Feed A Reader Blog here.
This blog seems to be run by Kirkwood Public Library.
I checked the catalogue, and Small Blue is checked out at the moment :)

Small Blue Published

Hi Chaps,

Well, 'Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night' has been published in the UK, so now it's all out there and available both in the US and the UK.
Get 'em while they're hot, I love a nice warm book, fresh out of the press :)

Apparently it's in actual book stores in the US, and is available on-line at Amazon and Barbes & Noble, and in the UK it's available on-line at Waterstones, Amazon, Books etc and Foyles.
And, I know my local libraries are getting a few copies in, so I'm looking forward to spotting a copy there.

And another way to get yourself a copy -
 I do know there's one up for grabs in a competition which is currently running at the 'Good Reads With Ronna' blog here.
There are three books to win, including 'Small Blue' and there's a lovely review of it as well, at the bottom of the post.

And, if you're after a few more reviews, there's one on Jen Robinson's Book page' blog, here, and another two, from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly on my website here.

I've got a 'Small Blue' quiz in the works, so keep your eyes open for that in the near future here, too.

Look What's Arrived...

Hi Chaps,

Look what just arrived in the post. Whole stack of Small Blue from the lovely people at Harcourt.

It's just over a month till it's out now, 26th Aug in the US and 1st Sept in the UK.
So mark the appropriate day on your calendar, depending on your continental location, or, indeed, your preference of international shipping or local post.
But in the meantime, here's Small Blue from the cover.

More to come soon :)

Another review for Small Blue

Hi Chaps,

There's been another review for my new book 'Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night' out soon with the lovely chaps at Harcourt in New York.
This one is on Publisher's Weekly here
And I've got the text below, and a screenshot too, just to make there's no way you can miss it :)
But it's a nice review, I like the way they describe the book, I feel like they've got the hang of it and they explain it well.

In his first outing as both author and illustrator, Davis (Stuck with the Blooz) uses gnomish pen-and-ink drawings to conjure up the “Gremlins and goblins, with empty, rumbling bellies, licking their lips, waiting for me in the dark” that Small Blue, a rabbit, feels sure are lurking in her bedroom. Davis resists the urge to draw creatures as scary as Small Blue’s thoughts: the imaginary goblins are small, blobby creatures with mild expressions, clearly anxious to please. Big Brown—who’s precisely the kind of towering, furry bear one longs to take one’s nighttime fears to—doesn’t deny Small Blue’s worries (“There could be...”), but suggests another way to look at things: “How do you know it wasn’t a delightful doggies’ Saturday-night unicycle convention?” A visit to the kitchen for warm milk develops the idea: “I can imagine the kitchen playing host to a retired- pirates’ annual sock-knitting jamboree.” Soon, Small Blue gets the hang of this kind of thinking, too. A winsome, even poetic introduction to the idea of reasoning one’s way through fearfulness. Ages 4–8

But here are some sketches from the book, as a bit of a teaser, of the things mentioned in the review, Small Blue, Big Brown and a couple of Goblins.

Small Blue review

Hi Chaps,

Well, I've got a picture book coming out in August which I have written as well as illustrated.
Which is a tad exciting.
The book is called Small Blue and The Deep Dark Night, and is published by the lovely chaps at Harcourt in the US.
But, the reviews have started, and there's a nice on Kirkus here
I'll put the text below, and a screenshot too.

I'll post some sketches from it soon, and any other reviews too.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Small Blue (a little bunny) gets a bad case of the middle-of-the-night willies, imagining what spooky creatures might lurk in the dark corners of her home.

“Big Brown, Big Brown!” she wails, in a shrill pitch familiar to all parents. Small Blue’s caregiver, a lumpy, burly bear, offers reassuringly ridiculous counterarguments to assuage the bunny’s fears. Big Brown wonders whether those “[g]remlins and goblins, with empty, rumbling bellies,” weren’t there at all, and instead there was ”a delightful doggies’ Saturday-night unicycle convention” underway. It is dark, after all. Who can tell? Children will get the hang of Big Brown’s loopy logic quickly. The dark could harbor “giant hairy spiders and flappy bats” or, just as likely, host “a smiley spacemen’s zero-gravity birthday party.” Jittery readers come to see it’s probably neither; the dark is just that, dark, and nothing more. Big Brown’s enveloping brawn and fantastically implausible nighttime scenarios turn quivering fears into giggles. Mildly cartoonish artwork, in purply-blues (lights off) and cozy yellows (lights on), offers thick linework and lots of rounded edges, eyes, noses and mouths, softening Blue’s scary fantasies and rendering Brown’s imaginings all the more comical. 

Add this original, illuminating book to any stack of in-the-dark, nighty-night anxiety tales right next to the bed, alongside that last glass of water—but leave the door open a crack!