Moreover, the author and illustrator will partner with Hewson Books with window installations at Kew and Sheen bookshops in south-west London, Luna cover art for their Christmas catalogue and a starring place in the Festive Sparkle event at Kew on 1st December. Simply Books in Bramhall, Greater Manchester, will have a bespoke Luna Loves Christmas installation from Lumbers as its festive window, with events also planned with Coelho for December. In addition, the pair will appear at Waterstones Piccadilly’s special Christmas shopping evening on 7th December. We are so excited that Arts Council are supporting the adaptation of this beautiful book into a musical for children and families. Audiences are in for a real treat as much loved Joseph and David work their magic together to create something really very special.” Little Seeds Music and Z-arts have secured Arts Council Funding to produce a new musical adapted from the children’s book Luna Loves Library Day, written by Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Fiona Lumbers. The book will be adapted by Joseph Coelho alongside family musician and composer David Gibb. Also confirmed for the creative team are director Dermot Daley, and designer Nomi Everall.

Coelho said: “I’m really excited to share Luna Loves Christmas far and wide in the run-up to the festivities. Everything we’re doing brings the book to as many people as possible, but I’m hugely excited to switch on Putney’s Christmas lights. I have many fond memories of winter rolling in when I was young and coming into Putney after school seeing the lights and decorations in the shop windows and counting the Christmas trees I could spy from the roadside.”

Illustrator

I fell in love with this beautiful book when it was first published in 2017, and knew at once that it would make a wonderful musical for children and families. I’m so excited to now have the chance to make that vision a reality, and to create a show that will be performed in the very spaces that it will also celebrate and promote.” Andersen Press has revealed a multi-faceted festive campaign for Luna Loves Christmas by Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and illustrator Fiona Lumbers (Andersen Press). The campaign will feature partnerships, collaborations and "special festive moments" in the run-up to Christmas. Celebrating creativity, stories and play, this delightful board book is a new edition of the World Book Day book from a few years ago. It’s a special addition to the Luna Loves… picture book series, which is beautifully illustrated by Fiona Lumbers and written with great warmth by the Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho. In this one, children will enjoy guessing the book that each child has dressed as, and parents will appreciate the suggestion of decorating potatoes as book characters. Books are about more than costumes – they bring families and friends together when shared. This one is perfect for sharing. Luna Loves Library Day was mine and Fiona Lumbers’ debut picture book so it is one very close to our hearts. I have long wanted to see it on stage and know that with Little Seeds Music and Z-arts at the helm, Luna is not only in very capable hands but also in incredibly talented hands. I cannot wait to share our new adaptation of Luna with families in theatres and, of course, libraries!” A story trail will be held in association with Positively Putney Business Development in shops in the town centre, ending with a "special window" in Waterstones Putney. Coelho, who grew up in the area, will also turn on Putney’s Christmas lights on 24th November in a public ceremony.

The production will be co-produced by Little Seeds Music and Z-arts, and supported by Big Imaginations, Wonder Arts, The Story Museum, and Manchester City of Literature. It will open in October 2023 at Z-arts in Manchester, before heading out on a UK tour. It will then enter a second phase of touring in February 2024, starting with a week-long residency at The Story Museum in Oxford. In this new adaptation for the stage, audiences will join Luna and her Dad for a musical adventure among the library shelves as they discover magic, mystery, laughter, sadness and, through the power of stories, even start to mend their own history.