Be Prepared for Brilliant Picture Books

We are very excited to share our latest club project: 17 picture books written by children aged 8-12, illustrated professionally, and published by Penguin Random House UK.

All the book covers from the project

In January 2017, our Saturday club launched their picture book exploration. They found their favourites in Shoreditch Library, and discovered which stories were most popular among families visiting Ivy Street Family Centre. Children’s author Steven Butler visited, along with Penguin Random House designers and editors, explaining how picture books are put together.

Brimming with inspiration, the children devised the characters they wanted to share in their stories. They created everything from a crime-fighting cat to a fruit-sized astronaut. With the support of volunteer illustrators and writing mentors, these ideas flourished into fourteen-page books.

Our young authors showed off their published picture books at launch events in Shoreditch Library and Penguin Random House’s office on the Strand. Melinda, aged 9 and author of ‘Tecnoglo and the Special Element’ said: “It feels amazing to have something published for real and it’s really good that children might be reading my book as a bedtime story.”

Our young writers show off their books

Now the picture books are available for you to read online or at Shoreditch Library. Have a look out for published copies coming to Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Shop in the next few weeks. Find out what happens when the evil Puppy Man kidnaps Georgie’s little sister, or when a dragon comes to London looking for friends….

Photo credit: @rugfoot photography