Together you could pretend to be some of the people who saw the Grotlyn talking about what they saw or heard using words from the story or making up some of your own. Children could pretend to be a Grotlyn ( or monkey!) creeping through a house and stealing things for their escape plan. Create a dark den, for example with a blanket covering a table children can create a camp inside and play with a torch. Draw an escape plan

Intensely atmospheric, full of biting cold, tender detail and warm light, this is a book to cuddle up with - The Guardian Watch this trailer for the book. Could you make your own book trailer using Powerpoint or animation software?​

Fabulous Frogs

Dapo Adeola, Tracy Darnton, Joseph Coelho and Chitra Soundar are among the 19 authors and illustrators longlisted for the Inclusive Books for Child... The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c... A beautifully presented picture book with dark, brooding pictures reflecting the night-time fear children often experience. The illustrations need concentration and time to appreciate their stylised detail. Shadows, creaks, unknown noises and unexplained events lead to an ending which leaves the reader feeling hopeful. A picture book for older children to share with a brave adult! Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Anita Milton, school librarian. Age 5-7 Since hearing an organ tune Rubi has a strange rhyme in her head about a Grotlyn visiting houses at night. Soon she and others in the town report hearing strange noises, sightings, objects disappearing. Rumours about a Grotlyn are spreading. But in the words of the story ‘..don’t be afraid to sleep – to dream! For things are not quite what they seem.’ A mysterious rhyming picture book to cuddle up and share, with just the right amount of spookiness, wonderfully rich illustrations and a surprise ending.

The story shows images of what may take place in the streets at dark, and throughout the story, small pictures of the Grotyln are shown, which can allow young readers to guess what the Grotyln may look like and what it animal it could be. In the story, the Grotyln takes objects, food and clothing from characters, and this can also give a clue to young readers on who the Grotyln could be. It can support the reader's memory of the different characters from the book and the items stolen from each character, such as the little boys' toolset. We then spent some time looking at all the things the grotlyn had stolen and how the monkey had used them to escape. Leila looked really hard and spotted the bike wheel in the hot air balloon. This led to a conversation about hot air balloons and how they work. When we go to the library, we will try to find some information about them. There were so many things to notice in the book and it really encouraged us to look closer at the images, make connections, look things up that we didn't fully understand. I find that inspiration is anywhere and everywhere, you just need to be looking out for it. Ideas for my stories strike when I'm least expecting, like when I'm not actually trying to work – on holiday, while walking, travelling... so you have to have your wits about you. How does a hot air balloon work? Describe the forces taking place when a hot air balloon is in flight.​A wonderful gripping read from cover to cover with just the right amount of “fright”, young readers will squeal with delight when they find out the secret of the Grotlyn in this deliciously dark, heroically heartfelt tale of the triumph of the underdog and the thrill of a great escape.” I think that I go into a kind of storytelling mode. I don’t have a big booming delivery, and I don’t see it as a performance. Hopefully the children get drawn into the imagery and I guide them through the story with the words. Is there a dream narrator you'd love to work with? After The Storm Whale books and Grandad’s Island, it’s my first rhyming picture book. It might feel quite spooky at the start but I urge the reader to carry on and see who The Grotlyn is. Because this book is about finding out that not everything is what we might first assume – that in the dark there is light. It was a lot of fun to write. Where did the idea for The Grotlyn come from? It's not a name we've heard before! His first, The Storm Whale, won the inaugural Oscar's Book Prize and was Dutch Picture Book of the Year 2017. His second, called Grandad's Island, won the children's book category of the AOI World Illustration Awards 2015 and was crowned Best Picture Book and overall Children's Book of the Year at the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2015. A gently magical story about bidding farewell to a grandparent, Davies’ vibrant palette infuses the story with a hopeful spirit” – Huffington Post

Use the title of this story as the starting point for your own story. What is a ‘Grotlyn’? What might happen to it? The illustrations in this story use very dark shades of colour. Can you create your own pictures using dark colours? Like the best picture books, The Storm Whale has an outsize emotional force that often comes from what the author-illustrator Benji Davies leaves out - New York Times Elena tells us about sharing The Grotlyn with her daughter Leila. She said the detailed illustrations in led to lots of talk, speculation and interest in finding out more. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...

Published

The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... No, never. Some people swear by that method but for me knowing what the children reading my books will respond to, I see that as my job to work out. I was a child once (you may or may not believe!) and so I'm hoping that when I make a new book I am reflecting my own experience of childhood and how I remember feeling and reacting to the world around me. The stories you write and illustrate are also available as animated trailers. Do you have any plans to further build on this, creating full-blown short films? I knew pretty much right from the bat who the Grotlyn was. There were a lot of hints available, not to mention that at times you could see most of the mysterious creatures. Still, I had a ton of fun seeing what the mysterious creature was up. Intensely atmospheric, full of biting cold, tender detail and warm light, this is a book to cuddle up with” – The Guardian Benji Davies, συνθέτει μια ακόμα υπέροχη ιστορία που θα καθηλώσει τους μικρούς, μα και μεγάλους με παιδική καρδιά ακροατές.