Daddy Bookworm looks ahead to the next few months of Welsh books
So we’ve already had a few corkers in 2017 – our favourites being The Bus Stop at the End of the World by Dan Anthony (Gomer Press) and Elias Martin by Nicola Davies (Graffeg). We thought we’d look ahead to what’s on offer in the coming months, with a few books from Welsh publishers getting us VERY excited…
Next week sees the publication of Gaslight by Eloise Williams (Firefly Press). From what we’ve heard, it’s comparable to Pullman’s Ruby in the Smoke and is a dark and rich Victorian thriller. Can’t wait for our copy.
The amazing Nicola Davies has so many books out this year; I bet even she is struggling to keep pace. There will be two more supernatural tales in the Shadows and Light series published in September and another release through Graffeg in May. The Pond is a second collaboration with Cathy Fisher (see Perfect) exploring a difficult topic – the death of a father. Graffeg do a brilliant job in making hardback editions to treasure – we’re sure this will be no exception.
Nicola Davies works with other publishers too and has two books coming out with Walker. King of the Sky will be published in May, but our most anticipated Nicola Davies book is Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth. This will be out in June and is a collaboration with Emily Sutton – the team that brought you Tiny, The Invisible World of Microbes. From what we’ve seen (only snippets of pages on Twitter!) the illustrations look absolutely gorgeous and completely captivating.
Nine year old Noah’s most anticipated book is Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds by Horatio Clare (Firefly Press). The first Aubrey book won the Branford Boase Award and was also longlisted for this year’s Carnegie – scandalous that it didn’t make the shortlist! This is the book we are most excited about!
I guess Noah should also be quite excited about Jackie Morris’ Mrs Noah’s Pockets (Otter Barry Books). This is a collaboration between Jackie and James Mayhew; text by Jackie, illustrations by James. We have to wait for September for this one, but it’s such a brilliant idea and definitely one I’ll be taking in to school to share.
Jackie Morris also has two books being republished in large hardback versions by Graffeg – The Ice Bear and Snow Leopard will be published in September. These formats show off Jackie Morris’ illustrations magnificently well.
Claire Fayers’ Accidental Pirates are currently doing battle with Michael Morpurgo and a Jam Doughnut in the Younger Readers’ Book Award from FCBG (Federation of Children’s Book Groups). The second instalment is due in the middle of May and is called Journey to Dragon Island (MacMillan Kids).
Other bookish highlights include Through The Eyes of Me, written from the perspective of a child with autism (by Jon Roberts, Graffeg) and the reveal of the Tir Na n-Og winner in May. The three books battling it out are:
Alien Rain by Ruth Morgan (Firefly Press)
Sweet Pizza by Giancarlo Gemin (Nosy Crow)
The Haunting of Jessop Rise by Danny Weston (Andersen Press)
So we’ll get those read and let you know which one we prefer. In the meantime, if we’ve missed any great releases by fabulous Welsh authors or publishers, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks.