Since September 2008 I have composed the themes for a variety of best selling children's books including titles from Dr Seuss, Eric Carle, Judith Kerr, Mark Haddon and Rob Scotton. This has been an incredibly fulfilling task which has lead me to explore the arts of characterisation and dramatisation in detail. The briefs ranged from 30 second introduction melodies to complete musical scores.
A furry feline tale from the creator of Mog the Forgetful Cat and The Tiger Who Came to Tea!
I enjoyed writing this piece more than any commission I've ever had. Mark Haddon's wonderful tale of infinity and beyond.. a deeply moving account of the authors childhood memories of the 1969 moon landing, republished with audio for this years 40th anniversary. Sea Of Tranquility is described by the Independent Newspaper as "the best, most peaceful and inspiring bedtime story of the year" (2009).
Years ago there was a little boy who dreamed of rocketing to the moon, of landing on the crumbly rock and walking across the Sea of Tranquility.He borrowed library books and read how astronauts had orbited the earth and walked in space. And every night he hoped that they would find a way to land on the moon and walk where he had dreamed of walking. And eventually, one cloudless night, they did…
Mog loves her garden, but somehow it seems to have completely disappeared over night. What Mog doesn’t realise is that the flappy floppy thing that has replaced her garden is in fact a marquee put up for a cat show. Mog hides in the house and is oblivious to the cats of various sizes and colours who parade themselves hoping to be winners. Then curiosity takes over and Mog makes a spectacular entrance in true prize-winning form!
It’s Splat the Cat’s first day of school and he’s worried. What if he doesn’t make any new friends? Just in case, Splat decides to bring along his pet mouse, Seymour, and hides him in his lunch box. The teacher, Mrs Wimpydimple, introduces Splat to the class and he soon starts learning all his important cat lessons. But when Seymour escapes and the cats do what cats do (they chase mice!), Splat’s worried again. Maybe now he’ll lose all his friends, old and new! Just in time, wise Mrs Wimpydimple takes charge and teaches everyone an important new lesson... Maybe Cat School is going to be ok after all!
Melrose and Croc are the best of friends. They love all the things about each other that make them who they are. So when Melrose or Croc feels that nothing they do is good enough, they always know how to cheer each other up – it’s easy: they remind one another of ALL the different things that make them special – unique and totally loveable! The universal theme of friendship and understanding is sure to touch every heart, as Melrose and Croc show how to love others and also yourself.
One day Lily is very bad indeed, and Blue Kangaroo is taken away from her and placed on a shelf downstairs until he learns to behave… But will he? In the middle of the night Blue Kangaroo hops down from the shelf, draws a special picture saying ‘sorry’ and slips it under Lily’s mum’s door. Lily’s Mum wants to know who drew the lovely picture. And Lily whispers, ‘It was you, Blue Kangaroo!’
Chuckedy-chuckedy-chuck goes the rubber duck machine. Out pop little yellow rubber ducks one after the other… A brand-new batch of rubber ducks is loaded on to a ship and sent off to be delivered to children everywhere. But when a storm strikes, 10 little ducks are tossed into the sea and swept away in 10 different directions – with some wonderfully unexpected adventures along the way. Come ride the waves as legendary children's book author and illustrator, Eric Carle, explores numbers, directions, opposites, geography, animals and more in an extraordinary interactive picture book, beautifully illustrated with his unique collage-style art. And for a final surprise, the last page contains a duck with a sound chip. SQUEAK!
Moo moo! Hoo hoo! Cock-a-doodle-doo! Oh, the wonderful sounds Mr. Brown can do. Now see if you can do them too! This fabulous book is ideal for teaching young children all about noises! Available for the first time as a picture book and CD
Melrose and Croc are the best of friends. They love all the things about each other that make them who they are. So when Melrose or Croc feels that nothing they do is good enough, they always know how to cheer each other up – it’s easy: they remind one another of ALL the different things that make them special – unique and totally loveable! The universal theme of friendship and understanding is sure to touch every heart, as Melrose and Croc show how to love others and also yourself.
One day Lily is very bad indeed, and Blue Kangaroo is taken away from her and placed on a shelf downstairs until he learns to behave… But will he? In the middle of the night Blue Kangaroo hops down from the shelf, draws a special picture saying ‘sorry’ and slips it under Lily’s mum’s door. Lily’s Mum wants to know who drew the lovely picture. And Lily whispers, ‘It was you, Blue Kangaroo!’
