Interviews, yetis and Ponyo
by Alex on January 18th, 2010
If I’m not suffering from baby-induced sleep deprivation, I’m working or doing other such things, so I apologise for even fewer posts than normal. It’s another of those busy times, and the worst part of being so busy is that ideas always flood in when I’m up to my neck in it. Notebooks are filling up once more, but I have even less time to do anything about it now than ever.
So just a quick few things to bring you up to date! There’s a huge interview with me over at Tall Tales and Short Stories. I’ve also heard that the Mousehunter is now going to be published in Hungary, so I’m totally thrilled! That’s another country I need to visit - Budapest looks lovely!
Oh, and I’ve finally got round to watching Ponyo, the latest Miyazaki film.
I loved it, and all it’s done is make me even more excited for the new Studio Ghibli version of the Borrowers, which is released later in the year, I think.
Right then, life’s full of sea monsters at the minute, so I’d best get back to it.
Win real Mousehunter artwork!
by Alex on January 7th, 2010
Faber are running an ace competition to win copies of Mousebeard’s Revenge. The star prize is an illustration of a mouse from the book, which is not to be sniffed at if I do say so myself.
So spread the word and maybe even enter the competition. What have you got to lose? Closing date is 1 February, 2010, so you best get cracking!
Mousebeard’s Revenge, out now!
by Alex on January 4th, 2010
It’s official, Mousebeard’s Revenge, the concluding part of the Mousehunter trilogy is now available, and pretty cheap if you buy it through Amazon. So shout about it from the rafters and every rooftop going, and if you’re in a bookshop - even if you don’t want to buy it - go and ask the store assistant if they have Mousebeard’s Revenge in stock.
I’ll love you all forever.
The Diary of a Mousehunter: part 1
by Alex on December 11th, 2009
This is the first part of Guidolfo Jones’ diary, published here for the first time. His place in history as one of the most daring Mousehunters is assured. Read on to find out why…
DAY 1
And so dear diary, the time has come for me to set sail once more into the great unknown. For I have been commissioned by Lord Cumberling – yes, he of the famous Iserlis Mouse Collection – with the aim of finding a rare Stickleback Mouse. This peculiar mouse can be found on the Island of Mumbar, at the eastern edges of the Great Sea, but the International Mousing Federation has recently deemed the indigenous species off limits to Mousehunters due to concerns over population numbers. The Federation knows best, I’m sure. So our voyage is not going to be as simple a task as it could have been – such is the lot of a Mousehunter.
Thankfully, I’ve heard rumour of another island, some two-hundred miles further east, which may host another small population. It’s thought that they might even be a strain of White-nosed Sticklebacks, and if so, the riches of a successful hunt will be even greater.
Setting forth into uncharted lands always makes the hair prickle on my back with excitement and this time is no different. The maps of the lands to which we sail are scant and badly drawn, and the history books describe incidents of cannibals and man-eating mice in the region. So I am certain an adventure is ours to be had.
We leave tomorrow at dawn. Our fine vessel, the White Hart, is in fine shape: my crew is ready to sail, the stores are full and our spirits are high.
Let the hunt begin!
Mousebeard’s Revenge
by Alex on December 8th, 2009
Today brought with it copies of the new Mousehunter book, Mousebeard’s Revenge. The release date is January 7th, but as I have it in my hands, there’s a good chance it’ll creep into shops - especially Amazon - before then.
I think it feels like the best book of the three. The cover’s the best, the bronze lettering’s the best, and I think it’s also the perfect length. Unlike some series, The Mousehunter books get slimmer and more honed the later they get. I was determined not to let them suffer the same fate as the Harry Potter books or His Dark Materials trilogy, and include hundreds of pages where our heroes sit in a tent waiting for something to happen, or even have whole chapters where a character sits in a tree noting the lifecycle of a peculiar new species.
In Mousebeard’s Revenge, it’s action all the way, and that’s the way a climax should be.
I hope you like it.
Cecily arrives into a frosty world
by Alex on December 1st, 2009
After Katie’s marathon three-day labour, I finally met my daughter Cecily for the first time at 09.42 yesterday morning.
There’s no way to describe the emotions involved with witnessing a birth and being present throughout the whole of labour. Like some biblical epic that would have your bum sat on a cinema seat for well over three hours, Cecily’s arrival seemed to take every back road and country lane before reaching its apocalyptic finale.
And what’s so strange about it is that she looked so alien at first. Chalky skinned and oddly non-human, it was near-impossible to see her as our child. But then, I started to see her properly. I heard her cries and her gurgles, saw her eyes and felt her five fingers clench just one of mine, and eventually I started to appreciate exactly what she was.
She was beautiful.
Star Wars through the eyes of my brother
by Alex on November 10th, 2009
I’ve just come across my brother’s drawings of Star Wars. He must have been about 8 years old at the time, at a guess. He’s almost 35, so you can understand why they’ve browned a little.
They’re brilliant and hilarious, and to start with here’s the Wookie!
Best Children’s Books of 2009
by Alex on November 9th, 2009
I’ve seen a lot of books this year, and made many new friends in the book world. The more friends you get, the more you books and writers you learn of, and the larger your brain needs to grow to remember them all.
But I’m going to do my best. So here are some of the highlights of the year, in no particular order.
Dinkin Dings and the Frightening Things. I love this book. Guy Bass came and did a great spot at the Crystal Palace Children’s Book Festival and this story is just so much fun. Get your Zombalien masks on now!
Morris the Mankiest Monster. I really don’t need to say anything about this, just look at how brilliant it is. I love Sarah McIntyre’s work. She’s got possibly the best line work out there and she’s also incredibly capable of making pictures full of hilarious, manky creatures. And the story’s by the Purple Ronnie guy, so it’s pretty darn perfect too.
The Rainbow Orchid. If you like Tintin books, this is the one for you. Garen Ewing manages to cram so much detail into the panels that you get totally wrapped up in his world. It’s awesome, and a fabulous achievement. We’re lucky to have someone so talented making work like this these days.
The Enemy. Zombies are everywhere, and this book doesn’t need any more free marketing, but it is a goodie. It’s nasty and exciting, and it’s by Charlie Higson, so a win all around. I’d have loved this as a teenage boy. This is exactly what books for teenage boys should be like.
Furnace. Keeping on the horror theme, these three Furnace books by Alexander Gordon Smith are awesome. If you like the idea of being trapped in an underground prison, more closely resembling hell than Alcatraz, you’ll like these books.
Revolver. As close to an adult’s book as a children’s book can be, the latest story by Marcus Sedgwick is cold, steely and desperately bleak. But he writes so well that you’re just happy to be back in one of his worlds.
And I want to add a few more, but I have a Yeti book to finish. Roll out, hairy soldiers!
Saar, the buddhist yeti
by Alex on November 5th, 2009
I’ve been so busy of late, finishing off the Mythical 9th Division. This is my first really large scale illustrated novel, so I’m poring over every detail, making sure it looks right. It’s way harder than editing words, I don’t care what anyone says. It’s more time consuming, relies on something much more intuitive and indescribable than mere thought. Gah. It’s tough, but I’m getting there.
The second book will be much easier.
And so onto Saar. This yeti is a true mystic, and you can see him holding his Staff of Ages, the magical staff that’s passed down through generations of yetis.
If you want someone intelligent, who follows the Way of the Yeti, Saar’s your man.
Why many children don’t like reading
by Alex on October 30th, 2009
The children’s book is an interesting beast: part learning tool for schools, part entertainment medium. In the eyes of many children I’m sure it too often struggles to break free of the label of ‘work’, and the more time I spend in the world of children’s books and the more hours I spend in schools, the clearer this becomes. As far as I can see, the main barrier to young children reading books for entertainment is simply because it is so associated with education.
Watching my young niece pick up and love picture books even before she can read (and before she’s at school), it’s easy to see it doesn’t start out that way. A good picture book is a lot of fun, and also provides a great opportunity for parents and children to spend worthwhile time together. A picture book is a visual feast, much better plotted and executed than most cartoons or films.
But then, as soon as you go to school, words become synonymous with work and pictures fade slowly into non-existence. Books eventually become pages and pages of, dare I say it, words. The fun of words surely disappears as you realise they’re a barrier to you going out to play. Reading and writing are key elements of learning and growth, and rightly form the bedrock of schooling, but it’s a shame so many young folk will grow up associating words with pain and boredom.
For pictures, it’s a different matter entirely. They retain their excitement, and are never linked with work. After a certain age, pictures in school books are relegated to less important beings than words, and anything not related to words is seen as a breath of fresh air, a break from work. This loss for schooling is a win win win situation for pictures and visual media. After looking at words all day in school, I used to love coming home to watch cartoons or play on my computer.
This continued enjoyment and excitement of picture-based media rears its head when I visit schools. I regularly talk to children who are wowed by my (slim) drawing abilities. Interestingly, I never meet a child who says ‘wow you can write’. Why is this? Do children think anyone can write but not anyone can draw? My conclusion to this is that children don’t care much for words and the art of language.
So how do you get children to read when they care little for building blocks of books? Rather obviously, I can’t help feeling that it’s the stories that count. When words are so commonplace and so associated with work, the story is the main draw for a child. That’s why no-one comments on the quality of writing, and that’s why quality of writing so often doesn’t matter when it comes to a bestseller. Words are, possibly, unimportant. (Sure, as I writer I know that excitement and fun is linked to the quality of writing, but children don’t see that.)
Books for children should be everything TV and computer games are. They have to compete, and to do that they need to break free of the classroom and the rule of words. Children’s books should focus on sparking a lifelong love of stories, because a love and understanding of words and writing will come later.
So here’s what we should do. Let’s focus on making books for the children, not for adults. They don’t want our boring adult-leaning political polemics, or essays on history or religion, they want fun and enjoyment. Let’s add more illustrations, more excitement, more jokes and silliness. Let’s remember that, ultimately, children’s books are a form of entertainment.