My books blog – my own books, and those by other authors.
My review of ‘The Chime Seekers’ by Ross Montgomery, a magical adventure story about a brave boy and his changeling sister.
Exclusive winter haikus. Explore winter in all its loveliness and harshness through the eyes of 8 of our finest authors, poets and songwriters.
Writing ghost stories: a look at the history of ghost stories, why we love them, the basic elements of how to write a ghost story, and some chilling examples.
My review of ‘The Song That Sings Us’, an epic environmental adventure story by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Greenaway award winner Jackie Morris.
Dr Thomas Barnardo meets Jim Jarvis – useful information for teachers presenting my novel Street Child as a KS2 book in schools.
My review of the 2021 Greenaway Medal winner, ‘Small in the City’ by Canadian author and illustrator Sydney Smith.
My review of the 2021 Carnegie Medal winner, ‘Look Both Ways’ by the American author Jason Reynolds.
Writing haikus: I show you the rules, explain their structure, give you useful tips for writing haikus and present Japanese examples.
My review of ‘Shadow Time Stories’ by Lilo Beil, a moving collection of 15 short stories for children, set in Germany during the time of the Nazi era.
A review of ‘The Swallows’ Flight’, the new children’s book by double Costa award-winner Hilary McKay, set at the time of the Second World War.