'The Queen's Hat', my debut picture book published by Hodder Children's Book, has a French edition (published by Gautier Languereau) and here it is! THANKS a million to the Hachette Rights Team. And a special thank you to the book's translator, Sophie Koechlin, for such a wonderful adaptation.
C'est magnifique!
On Saturday, I held a 'The Queen's Hat' event at Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge. It was my first one in a book store, and what a great shop to start with!
For the event, I decided to do what I did at Hoo's Kids Book Fest and Hay Festival, which was to read the book, play 'spot the butler', draw corgis and make crowns.
Little did I know, while making 'The Queen's Hat', that the hidden butler would go down a storm at events. 'Spot the Butler' is always fun, and there were some eagle-eyed children at Heffers that spotted him on each spread in no time at all.
What was nice about this event was that people could drop in and out at their own leisure. Some listened to my reading, some stayed on the crown-making station, and some curiously looked over, while shopping for books.
It was a nice surprise to see some friendly faces from the Children's Book Illustration MA at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge.
Thanks for all you came for making it fun, and thanks to Heffers for having me!
Signed 'The Queen's Hat' books are now available at Heffers Bookshop.
If you are interested in holding a 'The Queen's Hat' event, please get in touch HERE.
Betty Goes Bananas will be published by Oxford University Press in 50 days!
Who's Betty? Just press HERE to see all blog posts tagged with Betty Goes Bananas to find out more about the tempestuous toddler gorilla that's about to burst everyone's eardrums.
Press HERE to read the very first review of the book, which is by the one and only Book Sniffer, along with an interview with me about the book.
Nearer the publication date I'll be holding a fun Betty contest, so watch this space!
'Betty Goes Bananas' can be pre-ordered online at several online book stores.
Here's a little bit of Q&A I did for The Bookseller about 'The Queen's Hat'. I did this a short while ago, but forgot to post it here (below).
Also, 'The Queen's Hat' has received more brilliant reviews. The Illustrated Forest said it is 'a confident debut' and, the Down Under radio station, ABC Central Victoria, aired a review of 'The Queen's Hat' by their children's literature expert, Sarah Mayor Cox, who said that it's a 'very appealing book'. Also, the book received a mention on a recent airing of Down the Rabbit Hole's radio show about what books to look out for.
POP (People of Publishing) also featured a great review by Charlotte Eyre.
Thanks all!
It was just like sitting at home, drawing and minding my own business. The only difference was that I was in front of a giant window, a busy road, smart phone photographers, window tapping children and double-decker buses.
Oh, and I only had one hour (and a bit) to draw something London-inspired and related to my picture book, 'The Queen's Hat', that somehow included Foyles (the store in which I was drawing).
And another thing - Malorie Blackman officially opened the children's book department of Foyles's brand-spanking new flagship London store, while I sketched.
So, what did I choose to draw? A 'The Queen's Hat' A-Z of London!
The night before I had a nightmare that my mind would go blank on the day, so I made sure that I was prepared by doing a practice run on the floor of the train that morning. The trickier letters were Y, J and I. V was tricky too, but I saved a photograph of the V&A on my phone just in case I forgot what it looked like.
When I arrived at Foyles I went up to a room on the 6th floor. Here's a pic of me nervously waiting. Note The Union Jack tee. I thought it would be good to dress appropriately.
The 'waiting room' had crisps, drinks, food... and Malorie Blackman and Michael Rosen! There, I met with Lucy, from my publisher, and her husband, along with Becky, Gavin and Tom, from Foyles. We talked for a bit and got things ready. Then I went back downstairs to do some drawing in the window.
Lots of people stopped and watched.
Me sharpening up.
Adjusting my easel.
Drawing 'B'.
Me drawing 'K' for Kew Gardens.
Working on 'T' to 'W'.
Done!
Here they all are.
The time whizzed by!! It was so fun doing that.
Once finished, I went to a nearby coffee shop with Jo, from Foyles, Lucy and Lucy's husband (I'm terrible at remembering names) and had a Glazed and Confused doughnut, which somehow seemed weirdly appropriate because my next book with Hodder, Please Mr Panda, features doughnuts. Apologies for not remembering the name of this homely, yet quirky, little nook (like I said: names, terrible).
We then went back to Foyles, I signed a stack of books and headed off to ELCAF - the annual comics and arts festival that's never to be missed!
I got a bit lost on the way, but managed to sneak in at 6:30PM. Unfortunately, my phone was dead at this point in the day, so I've no photos of ELCAF. There, I met my good friends, Brolly Lolly, a very talented bunch of fellow MA graduates. They had a table and lots of stunning art on it. I also saw some people I hadn't seen for ages, like Alexis Deacon, Stephen Chan and Emma Carlisle. I also met Viviane Schwarz for the first time, which was great. I bought lots of things. I had to, because I had a £50 note in my wallet (which, by the way, is highly unusual) that my dad had given me as a birthday gift a short while ago.
Somewhere between dumping my things under Brolly Lolly's table and shopping, I lost my A2 pad filled with my A-Z train journey sketches. So someone somewhere has them. Oh well. But because of this unfortunate fact, I don't have any close-up sketches of my A-Z to show you. Instead, here is a list. You'll have to use your imagination to visualise the artwork. (The actual drawings done in the window are safely stashed away in Foyles.)
A - Art Galleries
B - Big Ben
C - Cab
D - Double-decker
E - Eye
F - Foyles
G - Guard
H - Harrods
I - 'I Heart London' tee
J - Jam (traffic)
K - Kew Gardens
L - London Underground
M - Made in Chelsea
N - Number 10
O - Olympics (The Queen parachuting)
P - Phone box
Q - Queen
R - Rain
S - Shard
T - Tower Bridge
U - Union Jack umbrella
V - V&A
W - Wimbledon
X - X-mas shopping
Y - Yum (fish & chips)
Z - Zoo
Right, now I'm off to read these books (below).
If you want to read a WAY BETTER blog about ELCAF, which has lots of photos, check out Sarah McIntyre's blog HERE!
I'd like to say a special thanks to all at Foyles for having me, Lucy for taking photos of me, and Elena, for the pencil sharpener.
One last thing - go to Foyles! Their new flagship store is beyond words, and their Grand Opening Festival is still happening (until July 5th)! There are more details on that HERE.
The Book Sniffer is the first to review Betty Goes Bananas, publishing by Oxford University Press this August 30th. To celebrate, I drew this: the literary world's most famous book sniffing pug going bananas! You can read the review and an interview with me HERE. Thanks, Book Sniffer!
My publisher for 'The Queen's Hat' very kindly sent me this collection of photos of the book on display in book stores, including Waterstones, Foyles, British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Britain, HMP Children's Bookshop and Daunt Books. Thanks, Lucy, for all of these, and thank you to the shops for stocking and displaying my book! It's a real honour to be sat amongst such great titles.
Waterstones Chelsea
Waterstones Brighton
Daunts Books
British Museum
Foyles
Foyles
Foyles
Foyles Stratford
Foyles Waterloo
HMP Children's Bookshop
National Gallery
Tate Britian
Waterstones Bluewater
Waterstones Chelsea
Waterstones Chelsea
Waterstones Chelsea
Waterstones Finchley
Waterstones Trafalgar Square
Waterstones Wandsworth
Waterstones Orpington
Last week I held a 'The Queen's Hat' event at the Hay Festival.
One of my favourite illustration portal's, Thunder Chunky featured my day at Hay on their website, which is made up of a series of Instagram snapshots.
Below are a few of the photos, but you can see all 30, along with captions that walk you through my day, on Thunder Chunky, HERE.
Thanks to Stephen Chan for posting the article!
A happy Hay Festival rose!
Me, just before going in.
The BBC were next to my tent.
Inside the signing tent.
Trying hard to spell correctly.
Me and Mary Byrne, the festival coordinator.
Me, drawing in the window in Foyles as part of their Grand Opening Festival.
Foyles, the world renowned, award-winning independent London bookstore, is moving, and to celebrate they're having a HUGE Grand Opening Festival! It will run from June 11th to July 5th.
Judith Kerr, Micheal Rosen, Anthony Horowitz, Axel Scheffler, Jarvis Cocker, Lauren Child, Anthony Browne, and so many others will be there.
I'll be there too! I'll be in the window drawing London scenes (like in 'The Queen's Hat') between 1:30 and 2:30 on Saturday 14th June - just ahead of the formal opening of the children’s department at 2pm by Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman and storytelling by Malorie, Anthony Browne and Michael Rosen.
To see the full line-up, event times, etc., go HERE.
This is crazy! Thanks all, for the AMAZING reviews! Where do I even start?!
A full page review in Ireland's Echo
A review in The Times. 'The Queen's Hat' was one of four titles selected for age 2-5 in Alex O'Connell's 2014 summer round-up of children's books.
Rather than upload all the cut-outs, here are all the reviews so far. I'm so thankful to Hodder for believing in this book.
"...hard to beat for its sweet simplicity..." The Times
"...a timely picture-book treasure." Amanda Craig (The Oldie Magazine)
"A great introduction to London, royalty, and all that makes Britain great." The Sun
"Hats off to Steve Antony for creating a crazy royal caper." Ireland's Evening Echo
"A confident debut." The Illustrated Forest
"Chuckles aplenty with every turn of the page." Books for Keeps
"Deserves to become a classic." Parents in Touch
"...original, fresh, funny and beautiful." Magpie That
“...a really lovely picture book.” Waterstones buyer Melissa Cox (Down the Rabbit Hole, Resonance FM)
"A certain future classic, and without a doubt my absolute new favourite picture book!" Literary Loves
"Every British household needs a copy, whether or not you’re George’s, William’s or Charles’s generation." The Book Bag
"A truly wonderful, sometimes cheeky but absolutely essential children's book, a joyous thing indeed." Read it Daddy
"...a great addition to any book shelf, coffee table, book box, classroom…" The Bookworm Baby
"A riotous Royal romp." The Book Sniffer
"Top marks to Steve Antony who definitely deserves to be somewhat proud of his debut." Rhino Reads
"A book that grown ups (royals included) and children alike will enjoy." Emma Lee-Potter
"London in stylish simplicity." Book Witch
"In a word: Brilliant! In another: Priceless!" Red Reading Hub
"The Queen's Hat is an especially jazzy picture book that will brighten up any bookshelf." The Looking Glass
"The story is gorgeous." Charlotte Eyre POP (People of Publishing)
"The most stylish & worthwhile souvenir of London you can buy." Picture This Book
"...bears all the hallmarks of a classic." The Little Book Collector
"A beautifully illustrated book that will put smiles on many faces. Her Majesty would probably like a copy too!" School Librarian
Look what arrived in the post this morning. An advance copy of 'Betty Goes Bananas' via Oxford University Press!
I'm so happy with the book! You really have to hold this book to fully appreciate it. It's a neat package of reds, yellows and pinks. The vignettes of Betty's mood swings sit perfectly on each page, as she takes us on an emotional roller-coaster. If you follow my work, you'll already know about this tempestuous toddler. But if you don't, here's a bit about Betty.
Betty is a gorilla. A toddler gorilla that wears a pretty pink bow and a pink and yellow dress. Betty has tantrums. Big tantrums. But luckily she's got a toucan companion to appease her anger. Poor guy. In her picture book debut, Betty finds a banana that just won't open. That's how the story starts.
So where did I get the idea? It came from one of my sketches: a gorilla in a dress about to slip up on a banana with the caption - Betty Goes Bananas - above it. Oxford University Press (OUP) loved the character (and the caption) and suggested that I explore temper tantrums as a theme for Betty's story.
I researched temper tantrums, developed Betty in a style that matched her bold personality, created a secondary 'parent/guardian' character (a long-suffering toucan), bought some banana paper, and then illustrated the story. I think it was about three weeks after my initial meet with OUP that I showed them my rough dummy for 'Betty Goes Bananas': a conceptual, brightly coloured and character-focused picture book aimed at 0+ that explores the seemingly illogical ups and downs of toddler tantrums that both parents/guardians and toddlers deal with.
'Betty Goes Bananas' is to be published by Oxford University Press on August 7th (UK). You can pre-order it from lots of online shops - just Google Betty Goes Bananas.
Check out this masterpiece of 'The Queen's Hat' by Monet, age 6. And look at the corgi too! Brilliant. I wonder of this creative streak runs in the family - yes, it does! Just check out mum's amazing character illustrations over at www.jobyattchildrensillustrator.co.uk.
Thanks for tweeting me this, Jo! It's great to see!
If anyone else would like to share a 'Queen's Hat' drawing, feel free to tweet me @MrSteveAntony.
'The Queen's Hat' will be riding the wind all the way to the Hay Festival on Thurs 29th May at precisely 2:30PM.
The Hay Festival is HUGE. Have you seen the star-studded line-up? Brian May, Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Miranda Hart, Julia Donaldson, Jennifer Saunders . . . the list goes on and on and on. Many of my all-time favourite author-illustrators will be there too.
And there will be extensive media coverage. Check out the blurb from Hay Festival website below.
'There will be unprecedented BBC coverage of Hay Festival on TV, radio and online under a single banner, making the festival more accessible than ever before. The One Show will be live from Hay Festival for the first time; Martha Kearney will be broadcasting from the site; Talking Bookswill be on the road at Hay Festival for five special episodes dedicated to the festival. Presented by Razia Iqbal, the series will feature exclusive interviews with world renowned authors. Razia will also present two special editions of Best of Hay Festival that will look back at the highlights from the festival. BBC Four will also make a one-hour documentary about the festival and the book-loving town of Hay-on-Wye.'
Some of my illustrator friends will be holding events there too (like Alex T Smith and Steven Lenton) so it'll be great to see some familiar faces!
For my event, which is for 3+, we'll be going on a windy adventure with the Queen, her Royal Guards and her little pet corgi as they chase after her hat all around London. Children (and adults) will have fun trying to spot the hidden characters in the chaotic London scenes from 'The Queen's Hat'. We'll be drawing too, and (if you like) you can leave the event as a King or a Queen (courtesy of a little bit of crafty crown making). We had loads of fun with this at the Hoo's Kids Book Fest only a few days ago.
For event details and prices, go HERE or visit the Hay Festival's 'Hay Fever' site HERE for details on events for children and families. Or visit the whole site HERE. The festival will be running from May 22nd to June 1st. Come along!
...was awesome.
I met lots of really cool people. Twitter buddies, authors and illustrators, the friendly bunch behind the Hoo's Festival, the talented bunch that came to my 'The Queen's Hat' event and those that came to the book tent for signings, and Miffy. And it was great to catch up with Team Hodder and friends.
Upon arrival, I heard someone holler "Steve!" as I was heading off in the completely wrong direction. It was Steven Lenton. It was nice to see a familiar face so soon in the day. We headed straight towards Clara Vulliamy's event. In the Green Room I met with some of the friendly festival organisers and chatted with Zoom Rockman and his family. Then Alex T Smith and Hannah Marks arrived with the Carl Hart (and a bunch of other friendly book folk) which led to more chatting. All of this chit-chatter was a much needed distraction from my nerves. After all, it was my very first event at a festival.
There were so many fun things going on at the event! I noticed a bunny taking children on some sort of magical adventure, a monster stomping about, lots of face painting, and loads of books (of course).
The setting was magical, and everyone looked as though they were having such a good time. I really wish I had taken more photos, but lucky for me, my publisher was at hand to take some photos of my event.
I really enjoyed my event. The audience were fantastic, and it was great to see (and HEAR) the children respond to my book. I think my favourite bits were when the children shouted out "BUTLER!" whenever they spotted the Queen's loyal friend who's hidden on almost every page of the book. The crown making seemed to go down well to Lots of very creative crowns were made. My corgi drawing was a little dodgy, and one of the children rightly pointed out that it looked more like a pig.
I had a wonderful time. Thanks Hoo's Kids Book Fest, and thanks to those who came. I only wish I allowed myself more time to see some of the other events.
The Hoo's Kids Book Fest is THIS Sunday at the historic Luton Hoo Estate. There is a fantastic line-up of authors and illustrators, loads of exciting things to do, and lots of fun areas to explore.
I'll be there too, so if you fancy taking an impromptu tour of London with clambering guards, swinging monkeys and one determined, daredevil Queen, then pop in to the Awesome Action Tent at 3PM where I'll be holding an event based on my picture book, 'The Queen's Hat'.
We'll follow the Queen, her Royal Guards and her excitable corgi on an epic London adventure in hot pursuit of the Queen's windswept hat. I'll also talk a bit about how the book came to be, draw a bit too, and to top it off (quite literally) we'll be designing our own crowns - that way everyone can leave as a king or a queen (or a crown wearing pirate, or a princess mermaid, or a lizard king or a . . . ).
And if you like, you can take away some colouring-in pages that I made especially for the event.
There are lots of cool authors and illustrators going to the festival. Just check out awesome the line-up HERE, and find out how to get your tickets HERE.
A peek at one of the more chaotic scenes from 'The Queen's Hat'. Can you spot the chameleon?
Who doesn't love a bit of colouring-in?
Salute.
Here's a little something I did for Magpie That, a fantastic website that has lots of cool book trailers, reviews, videos, interviews, picture book blogs and all things related. It's also been voted a Top 100 UK Educational Bog by UK Ed Chat, and it's not hard to see why.
A brilliant site, and if (like me) you like picture book awesomeness, then you need to go check it out: magpiethat.com.
You can also follow the magpie on Twitter.
It turns out that this blog post is by far THE most visited page on my site, so here's all you need to know about Mr Panda, including links to activities and lesson tips.
'Please Mr Panda' (or 'Please, Mr. Panda' in some territories) was published at the end of 2014. The response has been incredible! It was Barnes & Nobles' Children's Book of the Month and read in over 640 of their branches at the same time across the States for their first Story Time event in January 2015.
The Times
Mr Panda's big reveal at Bologna Children's Book Fair in 2014. Photo courtesy of Martin Salisbury
The Times chose it as their Children's Book of the Week in December 2014. It's had fantastic reviews by The New York Times, School Library Journal, The Bookseller, Kirkus, and lots of blogs have featured it, including Buzzfeed and Huffington Post.
But what I've loved the most is when people have that lightbulb moment and 'get' the story, especially at events - which can be really fun. The responses have ranged from complete befuddlement to laugh-out-loud hysteria. But one thing is for sure, Mr Panda always gets his point across - which is, if you want one of his doughnuts, you had better say PLEASE!
The hashtag #pleasemrpanda is being used on both Twitter and instagram. Some of the photos have been hilarious and very sweet, too. Below are just a few.
I've had some lovely emails and tweets about the book. One parent contacted me to say that 'Please Mr Panda' was the first book her son was able to read and understand all by himself, despite his learning difficulties.
Some children even dressed up as Mr Panda for World Book Day (below).
But it seems as though Mr Panda is not just for the kids. 'Please Mr Panda' was voted 'book of the year' by a high school in the States.
And the bookstore displays I've seen (below) have just blown me away.
I've written a blog about Lesson Tips here.
I've got activity sheets here.
Here's an interview where I talk about how being red-green colour-deficient has heavily influenced the way in which I approach colour for all of my books, including 'Please Mr Panda'.
Scroll down for the 'Please Mr Panda' video trailer, or press here.
'Please Mr Panda' (or 'Please, Mr. Panda') is available in the States, Canada, UK, Australia and lots of other countries. It'll be translated into several languages, including French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Korean.
The book's available in most bookstores, I think. It's recently been made available in Target in the States. Or you could just buy it online or borrow it from your local library.
Thank you for visiting my site! Please feel free to have a look around. Below are a bunch of Mr Panda photos and tweets. Speaking of tweets, you are welcome to tweet Mr Panda photos to @MrSteveAntony. I'll be sure to retweet. I'm on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr, too.
Mabel's Fables book store in Toronto
Tales on Moon Lane's doughnut-y bookshop window in London.
Peters Booksellers in Birmingham, UK. Amazing!
At Barnes & Noble in New York. An unforgettable experience.
"Would you like a doughnut?" Please, Mr Panda off to school on #WBD2015 @MrSteveAntony pic.twitter.com/RxIQpnPkBS
— Non Pratt (@NonPratt) March 5, 2015Sometimes I wish I taught elementary. Mostly because of books like this. https://t.co/k9sYKDjZ4Q #pleasemrpanda #scholastic
— K.Vann (@Kris10Vann) February 22, 2015"That's the CUTEST panda I've ever seen!" -1st grader after seeing Please Mr. Panda for the first time @MrSteveAntony pic.twitter.com/eJHpYnmffi
— Teresa Dolan (@dolanreads) February 5, 2015PLEASE, MR PANDA by @mrsteveantony is an instant favorite. Out now from @scholastic. #tlchat #kidlit https://t.co/1mig5dowDV
— Matthew C. Winner (@MatthewWinner) February 2, 2015RT @hodderchildrens: .@MrSteveAntony's Please Mr Panda is in good company on the @Waterstones bestseller list here! pic.twitter.com/bh2kLa0bE7
— Rebecca Logan (@bookshop_becky) January 30, 2015Think #pleasemrpanda might be my little girls new favourite book! @MrSteveAntony @PetersBooks @hodderchildrens pic.twitter.com/9O9Dy7lXqK
— Marketing Mummy (@marketingmummy1) January 28, 2015This panda has stolen my heart.
#NationalReadathonDay #PleaseMrPanda #SteveAntony @Scholastic pic.twitter.com/62tGfOUmNB
— Samantha Berger (@BergerBooks) January 25, 2015@MrSteveAntony @HodderBooks Would Joe like a doughnut? He's a boy after your own heart (+ donut) #PleaseMrPanda pic.twitter.com/rbOHPQe51K
— Catherine O'Dolan (@lillondonlife) January 23, 2015My cat could star in #pleasemrpanda pic.twitter.com/GKzBvJhXzn
— emily smith (@emilystickmen) January 22, 2015So excited about our Please Mr Panda window! Yes, those are real doughnuts! @MrSteveAntony @hodderchildrens pic.twitter.com/v6VPCFQdF4
— Tales on Moon Lane (@talesonmoonlane) January 9, 2015#PleaseMrPanda We love pandas, donuts, making hats, and stickers...perfect storytime today at B&N. pic.twitter.com/oOIswrptfC
— Janine Eng (@JanineEB532) January 10, 2015Picked up the little gem at the bookstore today... @MrSteveAntony PLEASE MR. PANDA. #B&NPictureBookoftheMonth pic.twitter.com/amlIzWsyYc
— Kim Lynn Price (@KimLynn_Writes) January 21, 2015The Picture Book of the Day pick is Please, Mr. Panda! @Scholastic #pbotd #kidlitchat pic.twitter.com/qAJtkLockL
— GrowingBookbyBook (@growingbbb) February 25, 2015@MrSteveAntony @hodderchildrens @jk_rowling @BloomsburyBooks Mr Panda meets Hermione Granger #WorldBookDay pic.twitter.com/yoGKmBklMm
— Jo Byatt (@JoanneByatt1) March 5, 2015@MrSteveAntony the staff enjoyed them, gone in 2 seconds. Here is student work, the prek kids loved your book. pic.twitter.com/LFcDrYRpu0
— Mrs. Gargula (@BetancesLMC) February 20, 2015
Photograph courtesy of the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard
The location was prime, the weather was typically British, and I remembered my pen.
Last Thursday, I had a top secret meeting with Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard at Octavia's Bookshop in Cirencester - The Bookseller Best Independent Children’s Bookseller 2013 - to talk about my picture book debut with Hodder Children's Books, 'The Queen's Hat', and to plot a HAT-TASTIC contest to win one of TEN signed copies.
Photograph courtesy of the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard
Love Cirencester. It was my home for years and I studied at Cirencester College for a year, so it was so cool that the Standard contacted me about a feature & contest. The contest idea was theirs and I knew it was a perfect because The Book Sniffer held a similar contest last Thursday, which was a LOT of fun.
To find out exactly what I'm talking about go read the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard!