Happy Saint George's Day!

On St Georges Day we celebrate the thoroughly English knight Saint George who did the proper English thing & had a nice chat & an English cuppa & a Jammie Dodger™ with the dragon. (before biffing him when he wasn't looking & nicking his biscuits!)

* NB 'Biffing', for ALL of you home schooling right now is actual Old English for 'hitting a reptile with a blunt object' deriving from the Anglo Saxon 'byffinge'

(not to be confused with 'byffing ye worme' which is an Anglo Saxon euphemism for self-abuse!)

The Bookmark project

Here's this years offering for Sharon Hattersley's Bookmark Project which runs every year to raise as much money as possible for Katiyo Primary School in Zimbabwe! This year I thought 'Who doesn't LOVE an acrobatic farting dacshshund?'

National Tea Day

Of course on #National Tea Day the ONLY question being asked is which is the best dunking biscuit?*

*obviously a jammy dodger is a stupid choice but what do you expect from a cat?

(Anyway, what's a cat doing drinking a cup of tea you FREAKS?!?!) 

New Viking series with Francesca Simon!

I'm very excited to announce that I'll be teaming up with best-selling 'Horrid Henry' author Francesca Simon for a new series for Faber & Faber which "features a marauding band of terrible Vikings, led by terror twins Hack and Whack, who are adored by their parents for being the worst Vikings in the village" 

I'm very excited to be working with Francesca, I've already caught myself laughing out loud at the text which is ALWAYS the best sign and I'm relishing the chance of bringing Hack and Whack's terrible exploits to life. (Getting to draw a baby wolf called Bitey Bitey is also a magnificent bonus too!)

Here's a link the the article at The Bookseller

Pancake Day!

On #shrovetuesday do you EVER think about pancakes with vertigo? No - because it’s ALL about you isn’t it?!?

Publication Day for Anna Gain & The Same Sixty Seconds!

Anna Gain & The Same Sixty Seconds by Guy Bass & illustrated by me is our 4th collaboration for Barrington Stoke & is published today! 

There's time travel, chaos (& the occasional dog's bum - what MORE can you want?!?)

"Ever-punctual Anna Gain is never late, and she's certainly never late for the school bus. Every day she catches it in perfect time. But not today. After a series of absurd events cause Anna to miss the bus, she's transported one minute back in time - only to be stuck re-living the same sixty seconds again ... and again ... and again ... Is fate trying to teach Anna a lesson? And will she ever escape? A laugh-out-loud and punny take on 'Groundhog Day' from a top-notch author-illustrator pairing, particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+"

Krampus says...

Krampus is a mythological creature or demon, particular to parts of eastern and northern Europe, especially Austria and Hungary. It is believed that Krampus accompanies Saint Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children (in contrast to St. Nick, who gives gifts to good children). Due to German and Austrian influence, the myth of Krampus is also prevalent in Croatia, (Czecho)Slovakia, Slovenia and northern Italy.

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December (St Nicholas' Eve, known in German as 'Krampusnacht'), and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching - corporal punishment with a birch rod – by Krampus, especially of young girls.

Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell.