Tuesday, 2 October 2018

ALMOST PUBLICATION DAY: TALES ON MOON LANE WINDOW...



A HOUSE for MOUSE window goes up in Tails - err - Tales on Moon Lane children's bookshop!

Alex Barrow has done the most magical drawings - I did some colouring-in, cut out lots of tissue paper to create the background (and cut-out the title...)

A House for Mouse background decoupage

TOMORROW IS "HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!"

#AHouseforMouse
#ThamesandHudson
#AlexBarrow
#newbook
#childrensbook
#rhymingbook
#childrensillustrations
#literacymatters



















Thursday, 20 September 2018

'My New Bike' poem...

Then there was this...

My New Bike poem for OKIDO 64 illustrated by Lesley Barnes
#okidomagazine
#LesleyBarnes
#childrensillustration
#poem
#drseussinfluence
#messygoestookido

It's been too long...busy summer and lots happening this autumn...


There are the bumper August/September issues of Okido magazine (all about CYCLING) and Eco Kids Planet (all about our MILKY WAY) with loads of stuff to read, make, do, cook, collect, spot and learn...

                           


There are the bumper August/September issues of Okido magazine (all about CYCLING) and Eco Kids Planet (all about our MILKY WAY) with loads of stuff to read, make, do, cook, collect, spot and learn...

Check out the fantastic new OKIDO website, while you're at it. Loads of super-exciting sciency stuff going on! AND the NEW SERIES of MESSY GOES TO OKIDO coming to your small screens very sooooon... (mid-October 2018).

I've been doing The House of Illustration 1" x 1" Daily Drawing Challenge, inspired by #JohnVernonLord. (See sheet below)

You can follow my daily posts of creepy-crawlies here: INSTAGRAM

And sticking with bugs and mini-beasts, the next awesome issue of Eco Kids Planet magazine is all about invertebrate critters of the creepy-crawly kind - it's another cracker, and did I enjoy writing for it? I most certainly did! There are even a few cartoons and rhyming riddles by me in this one, as well as 'serious fact-packed articles'...

THE GROWING SHEET OF INSECTS for the House of Illustration daily inch drawing challenge, September 2018
#bugs #creepycrawlies #minibeasts #houseofillustration #instagram #twitter #oneinchsquarechallenge #minidrawings #thirtydrawingsinspetember #ecokidsplanetmagazine #okidomagazine #childrensmagazines #messygoestookido #cycling #oursolarsystem #theuniverse #sun #moon
#planets #milkyway
.....

FINALLY.... Alex Barrow Illustrator and I had the most fantastic school visit to Dundonald Primary, in Wimbledon last week. Not only were the kids absolutely brilliant, but we met legendary children and YA poet and playwrite Joseph Coelho Not only did Joseph make the kids roar with laughter and engage with poetry like I've never seen before, but he totally entertained the adults, too. (What a great guy!) Still got to pick up my signed copy of his book: How to Write Poems 

Here we are! Lucky me, framed by Alex Barrow and Joseph Coelho. 
#josephcoelho #poetry #YApoetry


And as we're on poetry and spoken word, finally finally, this:
Kate Tempest brings the house down with her awesomeness
In the intimate, sticky, sweaty interior of famous music venue the Windmill Pub , Brixton, Kate Tempest the beautiful, fragile, powerful, political, enlightened, child-like, wise and awesome force of nature and spoken word performer that she is, blew the roof off with material for her new album(ending with the tear-inducing 'People's Faces') An absolutely stunning (literally) set with music by collaborator Dan. One woman reduced to a sobbing wreck at the end... Beautiful, vulnerable, breathless.

#KateTempest #windmillpub #livemusic #spokenword #livepoetry #runninguponthewires #peoplesfaces





Tuesday, 3 July 2018

The Tiny Egg - new poem for Okido 62 DINOSUAR issue... And a visit to The Bradford Literature Festival!



"GIGANTIC-O-SAUR!
It just goes to show,
From one tiny egg
A giant can grow..."

Alex and I travelled to the Bradford Literature Festival last Sunday to do a dino-event in the most marvellous Waterstones bookstore in the Wool Exchange in Bradford, as part of the festival!

We didn't have long in Bradford, but what a sparkling, wonderful place it is - so much going on - and this Literature festival looks set to go from strength to strength! It was packed with happenings, readings, workshops and events...still on next weekend, so if you live nearby, pay it a visit. https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/events/

#ifihadadinosaur
#thamesandhudson
#dinosaurs
#BradfordLiteratureFestival
#literacymatters
#rhymingbooks
#childrensillustration

Sunday, 17 June 2018

Oh happy happy joy joy - PREVIEW COPIES OF A HOUSE FOR MOUSE!!

Oh happy happy joy joy! Preview copies of our new book just arrived! 

They look absolutely GORGEOUS. Such beautiful colours, paper, design - hey, I’d buy this book 😂 Illustrated by brilliant Mr Alex Barrow  




Thank you thank you to the team at awesome Thames & Hudson 
✨🙏✨particularly our wonderful, talented, creative and kind editor Anna Ridley

#thamesandhudson 
#alexbarrow
#childrensbooks 
#ahouseformouse
#illustration 
#fairytales 
#rhymingbooks
#imagination 
#literacymatters

EPIC INSECT MIGRATOR - the globe-skimmer dragonfly...


GLOBE-SKIMMER DRAGONFLY

Globe-skimmer dragonfly
Have finally finished this mighty mini-beast! Smallest, bravest, long-distance globe-trotter, the globe-skimmer dragonfly - 18,000 km every year, from southern India to Africa and back again! It takes 4 generations to complete this epic migration...

#ink #watercolour #pencil 
#longestinsectmigration #migration#epicmigration #globeskimmer#globeskimmerdragonfly #ecokids#ecokidsplanet #ecokidsplanetmagazine 

@ecokidsplanetmag

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Ruby-throated hummingbird...

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD

Ruby-throated hummingbird
This pint-sized migrator weighs slightly less than a 5 pence piece.


Ruby-throated hummingbirds travel 5,600 km between the eastern US and Central America. Some cross the Gulf of Mexico - that’s over 800 km in just a few hours…!


These exquisite little birds are constantly on the edge of starvation because they have such a fast metabolism. During migration, their hearts beat 1,260 times a minute and wings flap 15 - 80 times a second. They need to eat every 15 minutes to survive.


So they seriously bulk-up before making their gigantic journey and gain 25-40% of their body weight.


#ecokidsplanetmagazine
#rubythroatedhummingbird




BACKGROUND information...

My first picture book - called A Possum's Tail - is a collaboration with brilliant illustrator Alex Barrow and came out 6th February 2014. A second book called London Calls! is a whistle-stop tour of London, led by a Pearly grandma and her granddaughter. London Calls! came out on 4th September 2014 and is my second book with Alex Barrow. A Possum's Tail was nominated for the 2015 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.
Both books are by Tate Publishing.

Please see my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE or CURRICULUM VITAE for more details & updates.

As well as writing children's books, for children's television and two award-winning children's magazines, I do both private and commercial art commissions, a selection of which you can see here.

The children's shoes are part of an ongoing series of "first shoes", including several cards commissioned by the Almanac Gallery.

Hand-drawn, bespoke invitations, announcements, portraits and menus, such as the examples here are also available upon request..

Any enquiries please email: gabbydawnay@gmail.com

OKIDO MAGAZINE AND TV

I've been a regular contributor to children's art and science magazine OKIDO since 2007. HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY (WOW) beautiful Okido!

An Okido animated kids tv show, based on characters from the magazine is currently in production with Doodle/Squintopera http://www.doodle-productions.com. The original adaptation of the show (co-created/adapted by myself, producer Ceri Barnes and Doodle Productions) was acquired by CBeebies. 52 x 11 minute episodes will be coming to a screen near you soon in 2015.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................
MESSY GOES TO OKIDO Series ONE & TWO is now available to stream on Netflix & most episodes are available to watch on YouTube. Series THREE is currently in production.

CBeebies

CBeebies
OKIDO

Cartoon Forum 2011 Okido booklet

Cartoon Forum 2011 Okido booklet
Okido Cartoon Forum 2011

Happy Birthday OKIDO!

Happy Birthday OKIDO!
Okido was 5 years old this issue...the wonderful art and science magazine for kids I've been lucky enough to have worked on for the past - 8 - years now