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CATALOGUE 2026

BOARD BOOKS + PICTURE BOOKS + ACTIVITY BOOKS + NON-FICTION

Welcome to Messy Press.

We’re an award-winning, international children's publishing studio based in New Zealand. We create vibrant and captivating, illustrated children’s books that will inspire and entertain young creative minds around the world. The messy rat logo represents our restless ambition to create mischief and joy. Our first Messy Press catalogue includes original, eye-catching non-fiction, gift, and activity books – designed to delight little storytellers, guide intrepid wanderers, and educate curious ponderers... The First Works series introduces some of the greatest storytellers of all time, starting with Shakespeare. Where Do They Sleep? reveals the different places that animals like to sleep. The 1 2 3 Tree helps children to count and unwind before bed. Mog & Morris think about shapes and pizza in their playful learner series. Tiny Tours Travel Guides provide the ultimate travel companion for young explorers, and The Boring Drawing Book is bursting with activities designed to make boredom fun. We hope you enjoy our books as much as we have enjoyed creating them.

Best wishes, The Messy Press team

messy-press.com

The FIRST WORKS of

Shakespeare

Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison

BOARD BOOKS A very first introduction to the great works of William Shakespeare – one of the greatest storytellers of all time. The first in this playful First Works bio series for babies and young readers – this stylish cased board book provides a fun introduction to the timeless stories of Shakespeare.

ISBN: 9781067098506 Publishing 11th June 2026 RRP: £9.99 • 1-5 yrs Cased board book - 18pp 205mm x 205mm

Meet the Bard at work and discover six of his most well-known plays, from Romeo and Juliet to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, brought to life in their simplest form. Short child-friendly story descriptions, eye-catching illustrations of scenes and characters, and first words from the world of Shakespeare – will inspire young wordsmiths and little storytellers.

The FIRST WORKS of

Dickens

Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison

BOARD BOOKS

A very first introduction to the captivating stories of Charles Dickens – one of the greatest storytellers of all time. Number two in this charming First Works bio series – this stylish cased board book provides a fun introduction to the classic stories of Charles Dickens. Meet the novelist at work and discover six of his famous stories, from Great Expectations to A Christmas Carol, brought to life in their simplest form. Short, childfriendly story descriptions, eye-catching illustrations of scenes and characters, and first words from the world of Dickens – will inspire and entertain young wordsmiths and little storytellers.

ISBN: 9781067098513 Publishing 15th October 2026 RRP: £9.99 • 1-5 yrs Cased board book - 18pp 205mm x 205mm

Also coming in 2027:

The 1 2 3 Tree Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison

BOARD BOOKS

ISBN: 9781067098544 Publishing 15th Oct 2026 RRP: £8.99 • 0-4 yrs Cased board book - 16pp 230mm x 170mm

Count all the sleepy residents of the 1 2 3 Tree before bedtime. The sun is setting over the forest and the moon is starting to shine on The 1 2 3 Tree. It’s time to meet the residents as they go about their different bedtime routines – the mice are brushing their teeth, the bears are having a bath, and the squirrels are reading a bedtime story. Discover and count all the cute creatures living in The 1 2 3 Tree, as the painterly skies turn from day to night. Reading aloud the fun rhyming words will lull your little ones to sleep as part of their own relaxing bedtime routine.

Where Do They Sleep? Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison

BOARD BOOKS

Mice snuggle in nests.

Lizards doze in disguise.

And you drift off in your cozy bed.

When it’s time to snuggle into our beds, we may sometimes wonder, where does everyone else go to sleep? Did you know that flamingos sleep on one leg in lakes? Or mice huddle in nests like birds? Or cats nap in lots of different places?

ISBN: 9781067098537 Publishing 11th June 2026 RRP: £7.99 • 0-3 yrs Board book - 24pp 170mm x 170mm

As the clock strikes bedtime around the world, we meet lots of cute creatures and discover where they like to go to sleep. With bright colours and sleepy illustrations this fun book of nature facts is designed to read with babies and toddlers as part of their own bedtime routine.

Tiny Tours Travel Guides

TIME TRAVEL EDITION

Ancient Egypt Written by Adam Thompson • with Dr Jennifer Hellum

TRAVEL GUIDES

Discover the magic of ancient Egypt by actually going there. In this fun and informative, illustrated travel guide for young explorers, travel back to ancient Egypt with intrepid tour guide, Tiny. Experience the everyday magic of Kemet (as it was known locally) at the time of Pharaoh Ramesses II and discover all the exciting things to see and do whilst you’re there. Visit the great cities and famous monuments, find out where to stay, what to eat, and how to barter for souvenirs. Includes fun facts, vibrant illustrations, and a handy fold-out map. This is the perfect travel companion for all young time travellers.

ISBN: 9781067098575 Publishing 3rd Sept 2026 RRP: £9.99 • 6-11 yrs Paperback - 80pp with fold-out cover 225mm x 188mm

Coming soon:

The Boring Drawing Book By Erica Harrison This meal really needs spicing up.

ACTIVITY BOOKS

Fill the bowls with rice grains and tasty pickles.

Refill the soya sauce to here.

Add more chilli flakes for extra spice.

The sushi chef has gone home early. Finish these fillings and toppings.

This caterpillar needs help tying the laces on his new shoes. Add bows to keep them on his feet.

Add some funky decorations.

Welcome to the revolutionary book designed to make boredom fun. This boredom-busting book is a unique drawing, doodling, and colouring book filled with engaging activities that will keep even the most fidgety minds focused. Each page tackles boredom head on with humorously mundane tasks, like adding grains of rice to a rice bowl, tying a caterpillar’s shoelaces, or loading a cargo ship. Each activity is designed to turn boredom into hours of creative joy. Perfect for children or anyone that doesn’t like being bored.

ISBN: 9781067098582 Publishing 11th June 2026 RRP: £9.99 • 6-12 yrs Paperback - 96pp 285mm x 226mm

The Pizza Shape Book Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison 2

This fruit bowl is a circle.

Rectangles have four sides. 1

Circles are round.

This table is a rectangle.

Like my book!

Like a pizza.

Our house is made of shapes.

Bricks are rectangles. Windows are squares. A roof is a triangle.

Shapes are all around us.

So many shapes. They’re everywhere.

Mog! It’s a square!

Piza It has four equal sides...

...with a circle inside.

The world is full of shapes. Big ones. Small ones. And pizza ones. In this playful, comic-style series about friendship and discovery, we meet Mog and Morris, two furry friends who love to ponder about the big questions. In The Pizza Shape Book, Mog and Morris are thinking all about shapes; like, what is a shape? How many shapes are there? Is ham a shape? They discover that everything has a shape, including pizza.

ISBN: 9781067098520 Publishing 6th August 2026 RRP: £11.99 • 3-5 yrs Hardback - 32pp 240mm x 200mm

MOG & MORRIS

Two are long. Two are short.

Tiny Tours Travel Guides

London

Written by Adam Thompson

COMING 2027

TINY TOURS TRAVEL GUIDES

LONDON

Discover the historic wonders and everyday delights of London with Tiny the tour guide. This modern and informative travel guide for young explorers is filled with essential travel tips, fun descriptions, colourful illustrations, and a handy fold-out map of the big city.

A YOUNG EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO THE BEST THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN LONDON

ISBN: 9781067098568 RRP: £9.99 • 6-11 yrs Paperback - 80pp with fold-out cover 225mm x 188mm

Coming soon:

WITH FOLD-OU T MAP

Meet the ghosts at the Tower of London and the artists at the Tate Modern. Check out the parks and palaces, take a riverboat and ride the Tube. Discover all the must-sees and must-dos, find out where to stay and what to eat, and experience all the very best that this famous city has to offer young visitors. This is the perfect companion for children to help plan their trip to London.

1 2 3 Let's Go

Around the World

Written by Adam Thompson • Illustrated by Erica Harrison

COMING 2027

Go on a counting journey around the world in this vibrant first language book. This unique interactive picture book is a fun introduction to some of the many different countries and languages of the world – from Spanish to Italian, Arabic to Japanese. With its playful illustrations, children can learn to count to ten in a ten new languages, discover some facts about each country, whilst also picking up some local first words along the way.

ISBN: 9781067098551 RRP: £12.99 • 4-7 yrs Hardback - 32pp 260mm x 240mm

WHO WE ARE

Messy Creators Erica Harrison - Art director & Illustrator Erica began her career at Usborne Publishing in London. She has over 20 years experience working in children’s publishing – designing and illustrating over 100 titles, and creating best-selling activity books, baby books, and children’s non-fiction for some of the world’s leading children’s publishers. Her work can be found in bookshops, museums, schools, and galleries around the world.

Adam Thompson - Editorial director & Writer Adam has always had a thing for stories. Captivated by the Greek and Roman myths, he went on to study a degree in archaeology. He started his career as a creative writer and art director in advertising. As an award-winning creative director, he worked at some of the top ad agencies around the world and at the BBC in London, looking after their youth brands.

Sales + Distribution

International Rights

UK and Europe Abrams & Chronicle Books 1st Floor, 22-24 Ely Place, London, EC1N 6TE info@abramsandchronicle.co.uk abramsandchronicle.co.uk

Marco Rodino Rights Agency For all rights please contact: marco@marcorodino.com

US and Canada Publishers Group West 819 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94710 ips@ingramcontent.com pgw.com Australia and NZ Walker Books Australia 5 Wilson Street, Newtown, NSW 2042 Australia: saleswba@walkerbooks.com.au NZ: matthew.simpson@harpercollins.co.nz walkerbooks.com.au

Messy Press is owned and operated by Adam Thompson and Erica Harrison. All artwork and words in this catalogue © Messy Press 2026. Messy Press HQ is located in Auckland, New Zealand. For more information please contact: adam@messy-press.com erica@messy-press.com messy-press.com Follow us: @messy_press

These hungry cats are at the HAPPY CAT sushi restaurant, but the chefs can’t prepare the plates quick enough. Draw dishes full of fishes on the conveyor belt.

SUSHI

URI DONPURI

i sh su s. ore late m Ad d h e p to t

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