They say “worse things happen at sea”. But what if you are at sea?
What if you’re at sea in a tiny boat with a big smelly bear? And the only food you have left is a sandwich that is so old and mouldy that it glows in the moonlight? And the bear says something about sea monsters but you just don’t know whether he’s joking or not?

Yes, what then? Well, one of the things that you might not expect to come out of such a predicament is wave after wave of laughter. But Dave Shelton has managed to do just that. A Boy and a Bear in a Boat is a book like no other; a story which, in its bare bones, could be utterly bleak: a young boy is lost at sea, with no compass, no food and (seemingly) no chance. But Shelton’s masterful prose transforms this premise into a brilliantly funny and tender tale of friendship. While some of life’s problems are beyond our control, others may seem less worrisome if only you have a cup of tea, a ukulele and a bit of wishful thinking.

This book is rather different from anything we have published before. It is over three hundred pages long and Dave has illustrated it throughout, with several pages of beautiful full colour.

The unique humour of the story also meant that it was tricky coming up with the right cover look. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Friday, to celebrate the launch of Neill Cameron’s DFC Library title, Mo-Bot High, Blackwell’s Children’s Dept played host to a GIANT MO-BOT PARTY!

….Needless to say, it was awesome.

Neill had prepared some fantastic mo-bot activity sheets and  a ‘card-bot’ that was collectivly decorated by his fans, friends and family. Bot-tastic! He even led a comic drawing session that involved lots of audience input, with some pretty hilarious results..

The MO-BOT HIGH dedication includes ‘anyone who’s ever daydreamed of having a giant robot to smash up their school.’  Enough said.

1. Buy your copy of MO-BOT HIGH here.

2. Investigate all the extras and juice on the MO-BOT HIGH website here!

3. Check out Neill’s post about the evening(and generally snoop around his blog – it’s always chocker full of sparkling ideas, insights and illustration..) here!!