I am supposed to be tidying my room but it looks ok to me.

However Mummy bear recently got the Nice Bear Naughty Bear App on her iphone and every time I do something helpful I get a Nice Bear point!  Then if I get enough points I get a certificate.

So maybe I might go and tidy my room…Mummy bear says if I reach 10 points she will take me to see the latest alien movie!

Better go and get started….

The book has already come in for critical acclaim and is shortlisted for the Rotherham Children’s Book Award as well as being nominated for THE PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE.

Taking part in the Beastie Book Marathon is Seaford Primary School where Giles will read at an assembly to 200 children, then it’s a mad dash to Annecy School, also in Seaford to read to the whole school.

At Cradle Hill School, Seaford, Giles will read to 419 children at 11.00, then it’s off to schools in Lewes & Eastbourne where Giles is confident of breaking the 1,000 children barrier!

Story: 9
Presentation: 9
Total: 18

“I don’t get many children’s book to review but when I do I jump all over them. This was one that not only appealed to me but also to my kiddos, as well it should. A tale of loss and coping with change, Sparkle finds joy in the world again after the loss of her parents. A wonderful story with pictures that drive the imagination to new heights. A winner for my kids. Therefore a winner for me.”  (full review) – Review by Sweetly Reviewed

——

“I haven’t read a picture book that’s made me cry in ages, until yesterday evening when I read Sparkle’s Song by American author, Samantha Hale. This truly is a beautiful book which deals with loss, love and the magic of music…
Sparkle’s Song is an enchanting tale and one that will make grown ups (like me) shed a tear. The author, Samantha Hale is a film maker who directed Map the Music - a film about the power music has over people. I delighted over the fantastic element of the musical instruments being “alive”. Just think about it for a second – a piano, guitar, tuba, banjo, whatever does come to life when played and can trigger the most overwhelming emotions and surface the most treasured memories. 
The beautiful illustrations by Mariana Ruiz Johnson makes the book a wonderful gift to give to any child and one that will be cherished for years. I can’t wait to see copies on bookshop shelves and window displays.” (Full review) – Reviewed by Nina Koo-Seen-Lin, who works for the publisher of Vogue Magazine.

To preorder Sparkle’s Song, click here

“Our Grandma isn’t like any other Grandma…”

Find out more about this new Maverick character soon!  Grandma Bendy will be published in May 2012.

I went to live with my Aunt Millicent not that long ago.  At first it was difficult because we had nothing in common and the music I loved was banned from the house.  But one amazing day when I got lost in the wood…Everything changed.

But you’ll have to read the book ‘Sparkle’s Song‘ to find out what I found out!

It has just been announced that the Fearsome Beastie has been shortlisted for the Rotherham Children’s Book Awards with only two others in the picture book catagory!

‘It is the 12th year for the Rotherham Children’s Book Awards. It began in 2000 as a Carnegie Shadowing Project. Since then the award has become bigger and better, with more children and schools participating and sharing their love of reading every year. In 2011 over 40 schools attended the awards ceremony, from children’s centres to comprehensives, along with many others working with the books within schools.’

The schools then work with the shortlisted books and then at the Award Giving Ceremony the children can display their work related to the books.

This is a fantastic award that helps promote reading and interaction with books.

We wish Giles all the best and we will be keeping our fingers crossed until the winner is announced in June!

For more information about this award, click here!

11.02.12 - Waterstone’s Oxford 14.00 – 16.00
25.02.12 – Waterstone’s Solihull 11.00 – 13.00

And future events…
3.03.12  – Waterstone’s Redditch 11.00 – 13.00

We especially love the reviews when they are like the following one for the Fearsome Beastie:

“It’s been a while since I read such an engaging kid’s picture book. It came to my attention as a nomination for The People’s Book Prize. Giles Paley-Phillips put a modern twist on the old Red Riding Hood tale and throws in a bit of stranger danger, something we want to teach our kids: caution. The Fearsome Beastie is an engaging story from the very first line–the story is written in a pleasing rhyme meter, iambic pentameter, I think, a la Dr. Seuss. The illustrations are gorgeous and will hold the interest of the child reader, as well as an adult. The monster is well-drawn and reminiscent of several scary images from my childhood; it’s a cross between several monsters in my 60s pop culture upbringing. Though the story is very suspenseful, it is, after all, a kid’s story, so the happy ending is satisfying and delightful, with Grandma as the heroine. The book is beautiful and brilliant. Recommended! Five stars!”

– Eve Paludan

Where I live there is a big forest near us.  It is dark and scary with tall, tall trees.  You have to really crane your neck to see the top branches.

I don’t like going in there – it makes me feel like I was little red riding hood and somewhere behind one of the trees is a wolf.

However in the story The Goblin and the Girl (about me),  I get lost in the woods but thankfully someone comes along and finds me.  You’ll have to read it though to find out more.

The Girl

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In 2012,  I (the Fearsome Beastie) must… 

1)  Stop eating children – adults have much more meat and less troublesome (except grannies). Eat more children.

2) Avoid Grannies.

3) Avoid stew pots.

4) Be more Fearsome (must be getting soft to let one kid escape).

5) Eat less veg.

6) Get more exercise

7) …?