My first books

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In 1990 I wrote my first two children's books - Ethel The Chicken and A Giant Called Norman Mary. They were both published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1991 as small hardbacks with about thirty black and white illustrations. They are now out of print, though Ethel the Chicken is now one of the stories in my book Sid the Mosquito and Other Wild Stories.

When it was first published, Sid the Mosquito had a different cover. It was changed when the book was re-printed because some people thought it was too dark. I liked the first cover because it had a picture of Wallace, my bulldog, on it.

This cover was done by Barry Jones. The second cover, and the covers for Attila The Bluebottle and Venus The Caterpillar were done by Charles Fuge.

Hodder thought that my illustration for the cover was "too old fashioned" although I did all the inside illustrations.

AND NOW one of my American publishers - Kane Miller - are going to publish all the books in one volume.

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