Two Hoots 2019

2019

Sometimes it’s hard to keep your feet on the ground with all the wonderful things going on! The Two Hoots gang of authors and illustrators have soared through another year of brilliant books, receiving plaudits and awards all over the world, from Scotland to Shanghai. I couldn’t be more proud, or feel more lucky, to work with such amazing talent.

The excitement of a new idea, a brilliant sketch or delicious piece of artwork never fades, nor the thrill of holding that first printed copy of a book in your hands.

Pictures of books can’t replicate that feeling, but these pages offer a glimpse of the glories to come during 2019.

The year begins with a broccoli-loving aardvark and ends with a meerkat in a Christmas jumper . . . in between you will find a bear operating a crane, a skateboarding granddad, a medieval monster hunt, a tense farmyard thriller, a sheep with suspiciously sharp teeth, and a hauntingly beautiful songbird.

Playful, surprising, beautiful books: I hope you enjoy them.

Suzanne Carnell, Publisher

Sharon King-Chai Starbird is an original folktale about freedom and love created by the illustrator of the amazing Animalphabet, written by Julia Donaldson.

Every page shimmers with silver foil, and Sharon King-Chai’s intricate illustrations of plants and animals are utterly beautiful. It is a heartfelt, lyrical story, and an exquisite gift for any child or adult.

Winner

September 2019

Ben Manley Emma Chichester Clark In The Misadventures of Frederick, new writer Ben Manley has created a future classic. Told through letters, an adventurous little girl attempts to coax a boy who’s scared of the world to go outside. Emma Chichester Clark’s stunning artwork weaves together the boy’s quiet inside world and the girl’s joyful outdoor adventures to remarkable effect.

Chen Bochui International Award 2018

September 2019

Winner Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition Shanghai

February 2019

Elina Ellis

Puck Koper

Elina’s characters are somehow instantly recognisable: you’ll feel you’ve known this family all your life. Her talent for capturing movement, humour and emotion in a few skilled strokes of the pen is exceptional.

Puck’s artwork has a feel of Parisian fashion illustrations, but packed with irreverent humour. Where Is Your Sister? takes the endlessly popular search-and-find genre to a new, stylish level. The pictures are full of funny little details and stories to spot, as you try to follow Harriet among all the other shoppers on each busy, vibrant page.

March 2019

Emily Gravett The enormously versatile, influential and hilarious Emily Gravett goes from strength to strength. Her latest is a gorgeous, festive follow-up to the modern classic Meerkat Mail, packed with shiny Christmas card flaps (and a surprise present to open at the end).

May 2019 (paper

back)

October 2019 From the Winner of two CILIP Kate Greenaway Medals

And coming in paperback, this brilliantly funny urban tale of a squirrel and a rat shows that difference only enriches a friendship.

Lane Smith

Winner CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2017

Lane’s artwork is full of texture, dappled forests, mysterious ocean depths, storytelling topiary and flying sharks. He is an illustrating legend, and the beautiful and poetic A House That Once Was was named one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Books 2018.

Kate Read One Fox is a brilliant debut, unlike anything we’ve seen before.

No ordinary 1,2,3, this counting book will have you on the edge of your seat. Page by page the tension builds as one famished fox with two sly eyes creeps towards three plump hens in the henhouse. But he doesn’t have it all his own way . . .

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July 2019 (paperba

August 2019

Morag Hood Morag’s distinctively bold, bright, colourful world of comic animal stories is growing fast. The sweetly funny aardvark love story Aalfred and Aalbert proves that the course of true love never did run smooth, while not a single sheep in the flock questions that sharp-toothed Brenda is one of them . . .

July 2019 March 2019 (paperback)

January 2019

Januar y 2019 (paperback) Winner UKLA Award 3-6 Category

Runner-up Scottish Booktrust Bookbug Award

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June 2019 (paperba

Polly Dunbar

Júlia Sardà

Polly Dunbar’s brilliant Something Fishy stars a grumpy cat whose jealousy at a new arrival mirrors new sibling anxiety. Polly was pregnant herself while creating this adorable book, and Shabs the cat was her inspiration. It’s a family story brimming with warmth – and comedy.

Following on from the non-fiction exploration of Lewis Carroll’s world, One Day in Wonderland, this complete and unabridged edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is also illustrated by the fantastic Júlia Sardà. It’s an exceptional gift edition of the classic: with full colour illustrations throughout, a gold foil and embossed cover, and exquisite attention to detail in the page design.

June 2019

Bethan Woollvin Few illustrators today are creating artwork as striking and original as Bethan’s. I Can Catch a Monster is an original story starring mythical creatures and a feisty little heroine exploring a magical medieval world.

Winner

World Illustration Awards 2017

October 2019

October 2019 (paperback)

Maisie Paradise Shearring

Daisy Hirst

Maisie’s writing and her artwork always ring true: she has a knack for finding the humour, beauty and pathos in the everyday situations of a child’s real life.

Like Anna and Otis, I’m Actually Really Grown Up Now is very funny and strikes a chord with adults and children alike – we could all do with learning to be a little less grown-up sometimes.

Hamish the bear takes the train from the country to the city in this incredibly evocative new story from Daisy Hirst.

Her writing ability is second to none: she has the enviable talent of conjuring up a strong emotional connection with only a few words, and her artwork is warm and full of character. With a little more text than standard picture books, this is perfect for new readers or as a bedtime story.

July 2019 (paperba

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August 2019

August 2019

Nadine Brun-Cosme Aurélie Guillerey Aurélie’s warm, quirky illustrations are a delight in this bright and touching celebration of the father/child relationship.

Longlisted CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2019

David Roberts A self-authored history of the women’s suffrage movement, this was a true passion project for David and like nothing else he had worked on before. It’s an absolute triumph and the perfect gift for adults and children alike.

Carol Ann Duffy Lydia Monks A story that captures the heart of all who read it, about the growing friendship between two very different women. Carol Ann Duffy’s prose is as delicious and evocative as her poetry, and Lydia’s accompanying artwork is a sheer joy to behold.

Axel Sheffler . Frantz Wittkamp . Roger McGough Uniquely idiosyncratic and funny four-line nonsense poems adapted by the legendary Roger McGough, with typically characterful artwork from the master Axel Scheffler.

Zehra Hicks

Peter Brown

There’s a looseness and fun to everything that Zehra Hicks does, and these fabulous picture books are no exception. Join stubborn giraffes, bouncy lemurs and clever frogs in Zehra’s world of silliness and warmth.

Peter Brown’s confidently graphic artwork and truly hilarious yet meaningful stories are not to be missed. These two are real classics with valuable lessons: be yourself and teachers are people too (except when they’re monsters).

Margaret Wise Brown Clement Hurd The bedtime classic keeps winning fans across the world for its hypnotic ability to send children off to sleep, as well as for the fascinating mid-century artwork from artist Clement Hurd. Margaret Wise Brown was a groundbreaking author when the book came out in 1947, and Goodnight Moon is her most enduring work.

Special thanks to all our amazing authors and illustrators and the whole Two Hoots team, as well as to all our partners and supporters worldwide. Here’s to another fabulous year!

Suzanne Carnell, Publisher

Communications: Alyx Price alyx.price@macmillan.com Home Enquiries & Trade Sales: Sarah Clarke sarah.clarke@macmillan.co.uk Rights: Michele Young michele.young@macmillan.com International Sales: internationalsales@macmillan.com @twohootsbooks