My Top Ten Panda Videos
To celebrate the US and UK launch of 'Please, Mr Panda' here are some of my favourite panda videos!
10. Gangnam Style Panda
9. Pandas on Tour
8. Cute pandas playing on the slide
7. Baby panda loves ball
6. Toronto Zoo Giant Panda Enjoys Epic Snow Fall
5. Panda cub meets mother in emotional first encounter since birth
4. The first 100 Days of Mei Lun and Mei Haun
3. Clingy pandas don't want to take their medicine
2. WWF Together - Giant Pandas
1. The Sneezing Baby Panda
Please, Mr, Panda across AMERICA & a visit to NYC!
On the 10th of January, Barnes & Noble will be holding a 'Please, Mr. Panda' story time event in all of their stores, and it's their very first Picture Book of the Month! It's incredible to think that lots of people will be introduced to Mr Panda at the same time!
I'll be flying over from the UK to hold a Mr Panda event at the Barnes & Noble store located at 97 Warren Street (Tribeca) in New York City on the 10th of January.
To read the full press release, go HERE.
'Please, Mr. Panda' publishes in the USA on the 30th of December. It will publish in the UK (by Hodder Children's) on New Years Day.
Betty published in the USA TODAY!
'Betty Goes Bananas' is published today in the States by Schwartz & Wade (Random House)!
To celebrate, here's a contest (accompanied by a Q&A about Betty) at the brilliant blog, Raising a Literate Human. Follow the link below to see how you can win a copy of 'Betty Goes Bananas'!
And I just have to share this tweet.
@RandomHouseKids We love this new book because it's funny! #harbinses #bettygoesbananas pic.twitter.com/KirX00slwU
— Poffy's Kinders (@mrsptigers) December 11, 2014
Please Mr Panda Trailer
Here is the trailer for the US edition of Please Mr Panda, published by the wonderful folks at Scholastic USA!
The Times Picture Book of the Week is Please Mr Panda!
Alex O'Connell has written a smashing review of 'Please Mr Panda' in The Times!
Please Mr Panda in Buzzfeed's 25 to read in '15
Yesterday, I was thrilled to discover that 'Please Mr Panda' is listed in Mallory McInnis's 25 Ridiculously Wonderful Books To Read With Kids In 2015. Thanks, Mallory!
The book is already out Down Under, and it's publishing by Hodder Children's in the UK on Jan 1st and Scholistic, for it's Stateside release, in a couple of weeks.
Check out the full list HERE!
Mr Schu's interview with me about Betty
The brilliant US kid lit blogger, tweeter, viner (you name it, he does it), has posted an interview with me about 'Betty Goes Bananas', which is soon to be published in the States by Schwartz & Wade. To read the article, press HERE.
Please Mr Panda Reviews
Reviews for my third picture book, Please Mr Panda, are coming through from the UK & the USA. It was only just reviewed by Publishers Weekly. Here are the reviews so far.
"The Queen's Hat highlighted Antony as a hot new talent, and this, his third book, will win him more fans." The Bookseller
"...defies the friendly panda stereotype...Smart design...novel perspectives..." Publishers Weekly
"A fun story time selection and a solid option for parents or teachers..." School Library Journal
"Households with toddlers may find a new family catchphrase as Mr. Panda demonstrates one approach to eliciting those elusive 'magic words'. Simple yet funny enough for multiple readings." Kirkus
I was given these by Scholastic, Panda's US publisher, yesterday.
Interview with POP - People of Publishing
I was interviewed by Fiz Osborne for the brilliant POP (People of Publishing) blog about my past year. You can read the interview by pressing HERE.
Betty Goes Bananas in The New York Times
Betty has arrived in the USA! Thanks, Maria Russo, for this review.
"...speaks to the foot-stamping, banana-gobbling toddler in all of us." Maria Russo, NY Times
You can also read the full review at NYTimes.com.
Octavia's BookShop
Today I spent several hours in the wonderful Octavia's Bookshop drawing, reading, signing, chatting and buying books! Here are a few photos from the day.
Drawing pandas with Skye.
In Cirencester.
Drawing.
The Queen, Betty and Moomins!
With me books.
A Special Visit to Picture Book Winners at Harby Primary
About to go in.
Last Tuesday I went on a cross country journey to the tiny village of Harby, in Leicstershire, along with Hachette picture book publicist, Becky, for a special visit to the winners of Reading Zone's nationwide picture book competition at Harby C of E Primary School.
Upon our arrival at the school, Becky and I were given a warm welcome by Mrs Bye, the head teacher, and Mrs Jordan, the teacher of the winning class. Two pupils from the winning class took me and Becky on a really thorough tour of the 19th century school (later on, Becky and I still managed to get lost while hunting for the staff room). It's a tiny building, but it's a bit like the Tardis. It feels so spacious on the inside!
Before assembly, I had a good read of the winning class's picture book, 'How the Zebra got its Stripes', in all its fully printed picture book glory. The school had only just received their prize stack of printed books a couple of days earlier.
'How the Zebra Got its Stripes' is a magical picture book filled with bright splashes of life. It's rather innovative too. The story turns upside down halfway through. I love when books surprise you like that. I was really impressed. There are vibrant, Pollock-esque paint splats, striking black and white collages, hand prints, paper cut-outs and even photography. I have to say that I especially liked the clever ways in which the text was used on each page. You can tell that the children had lots of fun making this. Oh, and the dedications are the icing on the cake.
I asked all of the pupils and teachers of the winning class to sign the book. They signed theirs, while I signed mine!
Stunning.
Amazing.
For their morning assembly, I read 'The Queen's Hat'. The time flew by (no pun intended). We could have easily spent more time spotting things in the book.
Where's that butler?
Showing pupils what didn't make it into 'The Queen's Hat'.
Becky and I joined Reception for school lunch. While I was sat there eating, one of the pupils told me about a monkey story. For some reason I thought she was talking about a story she had made up. I said, "That's a great story.", and she looked at me with a screwed up you're-not-listening-to-me-properly face and said, "YOU wrote it!" At which point she pulled 'Betty Goes Bananas' out from somewhere.
In the afternoon, I taught the younger ones how to draw a corgi and Big Ben and whirlwinds and hurricanes. The whirlwinds and hurricanes were their idea. The corgi fying with a cape was my idea. For the older children I gave a presentation about how I became a picture book maker, and I answered lots of questions.
To end the day, we all drew Mr Panda from my next book, 'Please Mr Panda'.
Concentration.
It was great seeing all of their artwork, and I don't just mean corgis, bananas and pandas. I mean all THEIR artwork on the walls. All of the pictures of things they've been learning about. All of the letters, numbers, words, animals, models, mobiles, storyboards, paintings. It was inspirational. The whole day was inspirational.
I'll wrap this blog post up by saying a huge thank you to the Harby teachers. Both Becky and I really enjoyed our day there. It's not every day you get to visit a winning school. You're all superstars!
The crew.
You can download 'How the Zebra Got its Stripes' HERE!
Riverbarn House Arts Centre
A few days ago I took the train to Walton-on-Thames to hold an event at Riverbarn House Arts Club. There was a great turn-out, which included many children eager to spot the butler in 'The Queen's Hat'. The event began with a bit of crown making. By the time I started reading the book, the audience was filled with royalty. I felt a bit scraggy in such company. In fact, now that I'm posting all of these photos of events, I realise maybe I need to buy a few more new shirts.
The Arts Centre is a wonderful space and it's architecture is full of character. It's often the case that I don't get to take that many photos of events, so I'm really grateful to Hachette for taking some of these pics.
Thanks, Emily from the Centre, Jo, and Pat from Regency Bookstore for all of your help on the day! It was also good to see Zehra Hicks there too!
Signing on the floor, as you do.
Inside the events magazine.
I took this photo just before everyone filled the room.
Enter.
Someone left their corgi behind!
Tales on Moon Lane
Just like its name, Tales on Moon Lane is magical. Chances are that you've already heard of or been to this enchanting independent London children's book shop. I had the pleasure of holding an event there last week, and it was everything I expected it to be. Here are just a few photos of my event in which I read 'The Queen's Hat' and taught the audience how to draw a panda: Mr Panda, the grumpy star of my upcoming picture book about the 'magic word'. Here are some photos of the event and of the store, including some close-ups of their doodle wall. I also drew on their doodle wall, but you'll have to go there to see it because I forgot to photograph it. Thanks, Tales on Moon Lane, Hachette Children's and Kat and everyone that came. It was an enjoyable time.
My little event buddie got his own seat on the tube to Brixton Station.
Butler!
Drawing Mr Panda. Start with an oval. Or a squashed circle. Or a potatoe.
Doodles!
More doodles!
Books highlighted are by authors that held events during half-term.
More books!
Spoilt for choice.
Yet more amazing books.
Every spare bit of space is filled.
A London display.
The Queen's Hat at Wimbledon Books
On Saturday I visited Wimbledon Books for a 'The Queen's Hat' event. Wimbledon Books is a fantastic independent bookstore located in a charmingly quaint, little street in Wimbledon only a short walk from the Wimbledon Station. It's a lovely store with a wide and varied selection of books. Plus, they've got a perfect space for events in the back. Here are some photos of my day there.
The locals are lucky to live near such a store!
Thank you, Kathlyn and Ros.
Wimbledon Books
Bunting!
Books ready for signing.
More guards, and Betty too!
Mr Panda!
A great space for drawing!
An awesome footballer by Serkan.
An awesome footballer by Sinan.
The Queen's Hat flies to Medway Libraries!
I had the pleasure of visiting Medway Libraries in Kent last Friday. It was a fun day of reading and meeting lots of new people. St. John's Infant School came to Chatham Library to hear about the Queen's windy adventure and so did St. Nicholas Primary School, at Strood Library. I also visited Gillingham Library for a look around.
Each of the libraries provide a wonderful space not just for reading, but for doing other things too, like playing chess, building Lego blocks and admiring artwork. But what I found most inspiring was the passion and drive of the library staff.
It was great fun talking to such an engaged audience of children and teachers. A memorable day it was.
Below are some photos of the day. Thank you, Richard, Jan and Sandra!
A cool clock in Gillingham's Community Hub.
All set to go at Chatham Library.
All ready in the main hall at Strood Library.
An amazing creation as you enter the library.
Art on display in Strood Library.
Chess, anyone?
One of many books in the 'dyslexia friendly' section.
Lego!
And here is a twit pic of some children at the event. Thanks for tweeting this, Jan!
@MrSteveAntony so many children looking for the butler! Had such fun outside of my day job, thank you so much :) pic.twitter.com/cIjUP2qPji
— Jan St. John-Knight (@JanStJohnKnight) October 17, 2014Early Please Mr Panda Reviews by The Bookseller and School Library Journal
The Bookseller
"A fun story time selection and a solid option for parents or teachers..." Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal
The Creation of my Stars on Canvas Piece
The creation of my Stars on Canvas piece.
Step 1. I looked at the canvas for a whiles and hoped for divine inspiration.
Step 2. I figured that a 1st class stamp featuring The Queen from 'The Queen's Hat' would be cool, especially as the canvas is a perfect square. Out come the acrylics. I used a roller pin to apply the white paint all over the canvas. I used electrical tape for the blue border. Masking tape is fine, but all I could find was electrical tape (and a pot noodle mug for the water).
Step 3. I finished the border and painted the sides blue. Then I had a problem: I realised that the best way to create a stamp effect on the edges (and to get the desired effect) was to use little round stickers. I could have painted the border over the stickers and then peeled the stickers off. So...
Step 4. ...I painted white over the border several times. Then I stuck on the round stickers and painted the border again. I then removed the stickers, once the paint had dried.
Here are the aforementioned stickers.
Step 5. The was face lightly drawn in pencil and then I very carefully painted over the lines.
Step 6. I coloured it all in.
Step 7. Final details were added, and I cleaned up the sides with more blue.
Step 8. Signing on thick, textured, dry paint is nothing like signing on smooth paper (which I'm used to). And that's it. All done!
Be sure to check out all of the canvases on the Stars on Canvas website. I want them all!
The exhibition will take place from the 20th to the 23rd of November. The online auction will take place from the 13th to the 23rd of November. The auction is in aid of Willow Foundation, the only national charity working with seriously ill young adults aged 16 to 40 to fulfil uplifting and unforgettable Special Days.
For more information on the exhibition, please visit Stars on Canvas.