Tag: junior fiction

Posted in authors, interviews

Ashleigh Barton on the Freddie Spector, Fact Collector series

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a junior fiction novel: Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Peter Cheong.
The cover of a junior fiction novel: Freddie, Spector Fact Collector - Go for Gold
A head and shoulders photo of Ashleigh Barton, author

Ashleigh Barton writes picture books and junior fiction series for children. Before writing full time, she pursued her love of books (children’s books especially) by working in some of Australia’s biggest publishing houses. Today we’re chatting to Ashleigh about the first two books in her new Freddie Spector, Fact Collector series, illustrated by Peter Cheong.

From the publisher:

Fast-paced and humorous, this series is all about an everyday eight-year-old boy whose love of facts and extraordinary imagination come together with unexpected and hilarious results.

Go for Gold: Freddie is obsessed with facts about sport. It’s all he talks about: weird sports, Olympic sports, extreme sports, athletes and sporting history. And, when the medals for the school sports carnival go missing and the carnival is about to be cancelled, Freddie realises it’s up to him to solve the mystery and save the day.

Space Cadet: Freddie is obsessed with facts about space. It’s all he talks about: stars, planets, galaxies, astronauts, space travel – and, of course UFOs and extraterrestrials. And, after noticing some very suspicious goings-on, Freddie realises it’s up to him to discover the answer to a burning question: could aliens have landed in his neighbourhood?

You must have a large collection of facts to keep Freddie going in the series! What’s the most startling fact you’ve unearthed so far?

Yes, I did so much research to collect Freddie’s facts! I actually spent more time researching than writing. My goal was to find facts that were as interesting, fun or as unusual as possible – things you probably wouldn’t be learning at school. The most startling facts for me would probably the effects space has on the human body. For example, you grow taller since there’s no gravity compressing your spine, you experience muscle and bone mass loss, and your vision can change. It did not make me want to go to space!

The first two books in the series are sports-themed (Go for Gold) and space-themed (Space Cadet). Do you have a favourite sport you like to take part in … or to watch at a sports carnival or the Olympics?

Well, funnily enough I’m not much of a sporty person at all. I did play a lot of different sports growing up – netball, basketball, software, tennis, touch football, soccer and swimming – but was pretty average at all of them. I based Freddie’s dread of the sports carnival on my own experience as a child.

Peter Cheong illustrates the Freddie Spector series and we love his humorous black-and-white illustrations. Did you discuss your characters with Peter during the book’s production?

I love Peter’s work too! And no – we didn’t work together at all. Peter completely did his own thing and brought the characters to life based on reading the story. I think he did an incredible job and I really love the way he’s portrayed Freddie and the other characters.

Do you have a tip for kids who’d like to write their own mystery?

My tip for kids who’d like to write their own mystery would be to think about ways to keep the reader guessing. If the reader is trying to figure out what happened, they’re going to want to keep reading the story. Think about clues and twists and red herrings (clues that are intentionally misleading), you can include along the way.

What’s next for you and your writing?

At the moment, I’m working on some books that I haven’t shown anyone yet, but next year I’ve got a new middle grade novel and a picture book I’m super excited about. The novel, which will be published in May, is called How to Sail to Somewhere and the official tagline is: “A story of lost and found, of friendship, family, hope and the power of the ocean, for middle-grade readers who love a mystery.”  The picture book will be out a bit later in the year and is called Hedgehog Echidna. Another very talented illustrator is currently working on the illustrations, but I’m not sure how much more I can say about that one yet!

The first two books in the Freddie Spector, Fact Collector series are out now! Ask for them at your favourite bookshop or local library.

Awesome extras:

Take a sneak peek inside Go for Gold

Take a sneak peek inside Space Cadet

Download the Teachers’ Notes for this series

Visit author Ashleigh Barton’s website for more about her and her books

Visit illustrator Peter Cheong’s website for more about him and his books

The cover of a junior fiction novel: Freddie Spector, Fact Collector: Space Cadet by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Peter Cheong.
The cover of a junior fiction novel: Freddie, Spector Fact Collector - Go for Gold
Posted in Book reviews by kids

Book review: Smarty Pup Pawsome Genius Friends Fur-ever

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Smarty Pup Pawsome Genius Friends Fur-ever by Anh Do and Anton Emdin

REVIEWED BY EMMA, 6, QLD

Smarty Pup: Pawsome Genius Friends Fur-ever by Anh Do, illustrated by Anton Emdin, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 9781760526399

Emma’s review of this book was longlisted in the 2024 Young Reviewers’ Competition.

Smarty pup is funny because the pup JJ can talk. JJ gets hit with purple goo that is from space. This book will make you laugh because JJ saves the day and he is a smart dog.

I liked reading it because I have a dog. I love the pictures because they are colourful like a comic. He looks cute.

Emma’s review was longlisted in the Junior category of Alphabet Soup’s 2024 Young Reviewers’ Competition. The competition is now closed, but we publish book reviews by young writers all year round. To send us YOUR book review, read our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in authors, interviews

Cassy Polimeni on Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A head and shoulders photo of Cassy Polimeni
Cassy Polimeni (photo by Fran Jorgensen)
Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze

Cassy Polimeni writes books for children and young adults. She has worked as a bookseller, travel writer, magazine editor, TV book reviewer and airport chauffeur. Today we’re chatting to Cassy about Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra – the first in a fun four-book junior fiction series, illustrated by Hykie Breeze.

The publisher provided Alphabet Soup with a reader copy of Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra.

From the publisher:

Eight-year-old Ella hates her new house. She wants to be back in her old house with her best friend Viv next door … until one day Ella discovers a secret pond in her neighbours’ backyard with an orchestra of frogs! At her new school Ella meets Mai and learns about their class frog bog project. But when Ella finds out that the neighbours’ secret pond is under threat Ella and Mai must come up with a plan to save the frogs – before it’s too late!

Did you ever have to move house when you were growing up?

I lived in the same house my whole childhood, but some of my closest friends at school over the years were ‘the new kid’. I think any new experience – starting school, a new after-school activity or joining a new social group – can feel a bit like moving house because you’re thrown into a new world with new faces and new rules and you might miss the comfort of familiar things. That got me thinking about what might make it easier for Ella and I decided it would be nature — and frogs! – and that connecting with this part of her new environment would help her feel more at home. I did love reading up my favourite tree when I was a kid, just like Ella does in the book. Seeing that childhood memory brought to life with Hykie Breeze’s sweet illustration was a highlight!

What’s your favourite frog?

That’s too hard – with over 7500 species to choose from I need at least a Top 10! I have been fascinated with glass frogs lately — they’re see-through, so you can see their internal organs. Very cool and slightly gross. I’m also fascinated by a tree frog that was discovered in Western Australia recently who was bright blue because of a genetic quirk (tree frogs are usually green).

There are lots of different kinds of frog calls (a frog orchestra!) in the book. Are they based on frogs you can hear where you live or did you research frog calls before you started the writing? 

Both! When I had the idea for a frog orchestra I listened to lots of frog recordings (The Frog ID app is great for this) and tried to work out how to put the sounds into words (onomatopoeia) as well as which calls reminded me of which instruments in an orchestra. I didn’t include frog species names because I wanted people from all around Australia (and hopefully the world) to imagine these frogs might live near them.

Is there something you wish everyone knew about frogs?

One of my favourite frog facts is that frogs are an ‘indicator species’ (like bees and coral), which means they can tell us how healthy the environment is. Because of their extremely sensitive skin, frogs are the first to react and respond to changes in their environment, which makes them a bit like an alarm if something is wrong. They are canaries in the coal mine of climate change. Their sensitive skin also means it’s very important not to touch them if you can help it. Anything on your skin – even soap or sunscreen – could be harmful to them. It’s best to admire them from a distance, but if you ever need to pick up a frog for any reason you should use rinsed/dampened rubber gloves.

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next? 

The next book in the series, Ella and the Sleepover Safari, will be out early 2025 so I’m excited to be able to start sharing that very soon. It’s about what happens when Ella’s old friend Viv and new friend Mai meet for the first time at her birthday party – a sleepover at the zoo! The girls don’t get along at first but when an animal escapes they need to figure out if they can work together. I’m also working on Books 3 and 4 in the Ella and the Frogs series as well as a narrative non-fiction picture book all about science and wonder with CSIRO Publishing.

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS

Take a sneak peek inside the book (look for the thumbnails next to the cover)

Ask your grown-up if you can take part in the seventh annual FrogID Week (November 8th to 17th, 2024), which is the Australian Museum’s national citizen science project.

Visit Cassy Polimeni’s website to learn more about her and her books

Ella and the Amazing Frog Orchestra by Cassy Polimeni, illustrated by Hykie Breeze
Posted in Book reviews by kids

Book review: Right Way Down and Other Poems

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY CLASS 4K AT GREAT SOUTHERN GRAMMAR, WA

Right Way Down and Other Poems, edited by Rebecca M. Newman & Sally Murphy, illustrated by Briony Stewart, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781760993429

Alphabet Soup is a co-publisher of this book and provided a review copy.

Right Way Down and Other Poems is a great book filled with fun and awesome poems. Each poem tells a little story that makes you think. Some even make you laugh out loud.

The poems voted as our favourites were:

  1. ‘How to be a Dragon Egg’ by Rebecca Newman – This poem made you feel that you were the dragon in that egg.
  2. ‘Right Way Down‘ by Sally Murphy – The front cover is such a good design and we had fun reading this poem upside down.
  3. ‘Rain!‘ – When we read this poem in class, it was raining, and the poem put words to what we were hearing.

Why It’s Great: The poems are easy to read and have a nice rhythm, so they sound good when you read them out loud and even to yourself. The words are simple but create vivid pictures in your mind.

Pictures: The book has lots of black and white drawings that don’t overshadow the poem and still lets you create your own pictures when reading the poem. 

Overall: Right Way Down and Other Poems is a fantastic book for kids and adults. It’s great reading  for those spare couple of minutes you find in your day. If you love great poems, you’ll really love this book!

Right Way Down and Other Poems is out now! Ask for it at your favourite bookshop or local library.

Take a sneak peek inside the book

Download the Teachers’ Notes

Download an activity sheet to write your own poem!

Right Way Down and Other Poems, edited by Rebecca M Newman and Sally Murphy

This is the first ever book review from Class 4K at Great Southern Grammar. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Anwen, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Kelpie Chaos

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
The cover of a children's book: Kelpie Chaos by Deb Fitzpatrick

REVIEWED BY ANWEN, 10, WA

Kelpie Chaos by Deb Fitzpatrick, Fremantle Press, ISBN 9781760993856

The publisher provided a review copy of this book.

I think that Kelpie Chaos is a great book for all ages of readers because there is that thrill and excitement that many readers thrive with in their reading. It’s very clear and descriptive in a way that helps you create a picture in your mind but also lets you imagine what it looks like and what’s going to happen next.

This book has a story that a lot of people would be able to relate to – an excited puppy racing about and the sick feeling that you might not find your beloved friend. I also like how the titles sort of point out one sentence or part of that chapter and that most of them are really funny.

I encourage everybody to read this book and you see what I mean about it being amazing! Read and enjoy!

Read chapter one at the publisher’s website.

Read our interview with the author: Deb Fitzpatrick.

Anwen is a regular book reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her reviews here. If YOU would like to send us a book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in authors, interviews

Nat Amoore on the Shower Land series

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
A photo of Nat Amoore standing with her hands in the pockets of her jeans

Nat Amoore has been a trapeze artist and circus performer, a podcaster, and now she’s an award-winning children’s author. Since Nat’s first book – Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire – was published in 2019, she’s published five more books and there are plenty more on the way! Today we’re pleased to be chatting about her latest venture: the Shower Land series, illustrated by James Hart.

From the publisher:

Felix hates Mondays. Dad’s yelling at him to get up. His little brother, Olly, is being super annoying. So when Felix shuts the bathroom door, he wishes he could get away. He turns on the shower and . . . REEEEKKKKKK!

A hilarious junior fiction series where getting in the shower might send you to another world.

When you were a kid were you up and out the door at the crack of dawn, or hard to get going after the alarm went off?

Oh, definitely up and out! I still am. I was never really much of a sleep-in kind of person. There was too much cool stuff out there waiting to be done. Even when getting up early meant going to school. Okay, so the actual school part wasn’t my favourite but I was always dying to see my friends. I also grew up on a farm so getting up early was kind of standard practice. My parents would kick us out of the house after breakfast and we would run around in the paddocks having cow poo fights and building treehouses. Then we were allowed back for lunch and sent out again until the sun went down. And to this day, I still get up early to write. I write best from about 5:30am until 12pm and then in the afternoon I’m kind of useless. So that’s when I do all my admin stuff … or go for a walk on the beach and pat everyone else’s puppies.

If you could be transported via shower to another place, would you try it? (Even if you might end up somewhere without any clothes on?)

ABSOLUTELY!!! Like Felix, I think I would figure out the clothes part quick enough. Teleporting to other worlds is my ultimate dream, even with all the risks involved. I mean it’s essentially why I’m an author right? So, I can just go to other worlds in my head for a living. Life is an adventure and I’ll take every cool experience I can along the way. Even with the risk of not knowing what or where, I couldn’t resist. Otherwise, I would always live in regret thinking, ‘What if I had said yes?’ Where would I have gone? What have I missed out on? I mean, once I had teleported to the prehistoric times and gotten my head bitten off by a T-rex, I might have second thoughts. But by then it’s too late anyway so YES! Let’s do it!

Even though Olly can be an annoying little brother, his jokes are pretty funny. Do you have a go-to joke for parties/Christmas lunch/ice-breakers at an event?

Ha! I love Olly. I’ve always wanted a younger sibling (I only have an older brother) and I love giving my characters funny younger siblings. I have a few go-to jokes. It’s good to have them up your sleeve I think and kids are ALWAYS asking me to tell a joke, or ‘what’s my best joke’? They change all the time but I like jokes that really rely on delivery and so my current favourite is …

What do we want? Low-flying airplane noises! When do we want them? NEEEEYYYOOOOOOOOWWWW!

But I also love …

What did the drummer call his twin daughters?

Anna 1, Anna 2

BA HA HA HA HA!

Do you have a tip for young writers who’d like to write a funny book?

Ooohhh, this is hard because I don’t really sit down and think ‘I’m going to write a funny book’. BUT what I am sure will help, is to think about what makes YOU laugh or what you think is funny and, even more importantly, what you DON’T find funny, especially when it is trying to be. I don’t like mean humour. Even when Olly makes fun of Felix, he’s not actually picking on any real characteristic of Felix’s. What is much stronger in the story and their relationship is the love, the banter and the bond that they have that allows for them to tease and play knowing that the brotherly love lies beneath. This then allows for them to joke and not get hurt. I would never have Olly insulting a random kid at school. Humour is less about the jokes and more about the interactions and relationships and the joy of laughter that falls in the gaps.

For a prompt, the next time you find something hilarious – I’m talking snort-laugh kind of funny – use that as a prompt for a story. It might be a joke your friend tells you, or when your baby sister comes out with her nappy on her head (clean or dirty, your pick!) Use this funny thing as a prompt for a story.

Can you tell us a little about what you’re working on next?

So, I’m working on two things at the moment. Firstly, the very final pages of Shower Land 3: Walk The Plank just before it goes to print. I love this stage of a book where you are just reading it for the last time and making any final little tweaks before you release it into the world. It’s nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time. And I’m also working on a brand new middle grade book. It’s a bit of a change for me – a spooky, slightly fantasy style story but don’t worry, still funny! It’s a big project and I’m moving much more slowly on it than my other book because there are so many threads and important world building bits. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Books 1 and 2 in the Shower Land series are out now! Ask for them at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS:

Watch a book trailer for Book 1 [YouTube]

Listen to Nat Amoore read from Book 1: Break the Curse (click on ‘play sample’ just under the book cover)

Take a sneak peek inside Book 2: Feel the Freeze

Visit Nat Amoore’s website for more about her and her books

The cover of the first book in the Shower Land series by Nat Amoore, illustrated by James Hart
the cover of the second book in the Shower Land series
the cover of the third book in the Shower Land series.
Posted in authors, interviews

Kristy Nita Brown on Where’s My Whistle?

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

MEET THE AUTHOR

Headshot of Kristy Nita Brown

Kristy Nita Brown is a Western Australian author, writing junior fiction books and delivering creative writing, independent publishing and film making workshops at libraries and schools. Today we’re pleased to be chatting to Kristy about the first book in her Mavey and Beth’s Double Act series: Where’s My Whistle?, illustrated by Alison Mutton.

A children's book with twin girls on the cover.

The author provided Alphabet Soup with a reading copy of Where’s My Whistle?

About the book:

The Year Two song has whistling in it, and Mavey can’t whistle. To make matters worse, Mavey’s twin sister Beth has a mighty whistle. Terrified her classmates will laugh at her, Mavey and her family devise a plan to get Mavey whistling. Will Mavey learn how to whistle in time for the big concert? Or will Mavey’s toot stay mute? 

First things first: can you whistle?

I can whistle. I remember my dad showing me how to whistle. We lived in the bush, so I had plenty of long car rides to practise. But Mavey and Beth’s Double Act: Where’s My Whistle? isn’t about me. It’s based on my eight-year-old daughter who can’t whistle. When she found out she was the only kid in her class that couldn’t do it, she was very upset. Together we searched the Internet for different ways to whistle. Do you know some adults can’t whistle too? 

The book includes some interesting facts about whistling – did you write the storyline first or did all those whistling facts give you the idea for the story? 

At the back of the book I included facts about whistling, a pan flute activity and the Skipping Song to play on the recorder. These came last. The story came first, from watching my daughter struggle with the feelings that come along with being unable to do something your friends can. 

We learn that Mavey’s favourite subject at school is Music. What was your favourite subject when you were at school? 

Music was one of my favourite subjects growing up because I played the flute. Every Saturday, I went to flute lessons at the Fremantle Music School. Then, on some Sundays, I performed with other kids in a small ensemble. My best friend at primary school also played the piano. We both loved music together. In high school, my favourite subject was small business. Because I sold lollies and washed the teacher’s cars, and made lots of money! 

Do you have a tip for young writers who’d like to try writing their own chapter book? 

My tip for young writers is to read as many books as you can that are similar to what you want to write. Then pick your favourite and follow the structure as you write your own story. Most chapter books have a similar number of chapters and word count. Usually, something happens in each chapter to move the story forward. At the end, the story is resolved in a way that the person reading it learns something, or feels good. Hopefully, following this structure will help a young writer get to the end, because I think finishing the story is the hardest part. 

What’s next for Mavey & Beth?

I’m toying with a couple of ideas for the next Mavey and Beth book. I know the cover will be green and blue. I can picture the twins on the cover. But I’m not sure if the story will be about Mavey getting her ears pierced, a birthday party mishap, or a swimming lesson disaster. What do you think? 

Where’s My Whistle is out now! Find a list of stockists at the author’s website.

AWESOME EXTRAS

A children's book with twin girls on the cover.

Watch the book trailer for Where’s My Whistle? [YouTube]

Visit the author’s website for more about Kristy and her books

Visit the illustrator’s website for more about Allison and her books

Posted in Book reviews by kids, Glenridge Elementary School

Book review: Dragon Masters series

Posted on by Alphabet Soup
Image shows the cover of a children's book: Dragon Masters, Rise of the Earth Dragon. The cover illustration shows an orange dragon shaped like a snake with bat wings on a green grassy mountain smiling at a boy in a yellow tunic and brown trousers. Behind them are snow covered mountains with an icy blue look to them.

REVIEWED BY TEDDY, SECOND GRADE, MISSOURI, USA

Dragon Masters series by Tracey West and Graham Howells, Scholastic, Book 1 ISBN 9780545646239

Teddy read his school’s copies of books in this series.

Do you like fantasy, mystery, and dragons? Then Dragon Masters is the series for you! I like this series because it is funny and mysterious with dragons you could never even think of!

In Book One Drake (the main character) gets pulled away by castle guards to the castle where he becomes a dragon master and works with a dragon! One reason that I like this book is because it is cool when Worm (Drake’s dragon) makes rocks float with his mind! Another reason I like this series is because there are lots of powerful dragons! For example in book 17 Drake meets a stone dragon and it has the power to turn things to stone! A third reason I like this book is because there are lots of good wizards and bad wizards. For instance Diego and Griffith are nice, but wizards like Maldred and Astrid are not. These are some reasons why you should read this series.

If you want to learn more about this book, visit your local library. I recommend this book for ages 5-80. I give this book 10 out of 10 stars.

Second grade students at Glenridge Elementary School (Missouri, USA) are guest reviewers at Alphabet Soup. Click here if you’d like to read more book reviews by Glenridge Elementary School. To send us YOUR book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in Book reviews by Elizabeth, Book reviews by kids

Book review: Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

REVIEWED BY ELIZABETH, 8, NSW

Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo by Kylie Howarth

Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo by Kylie Howarth, Walker Books Australia, ISBN 9781760652548

Elizabeth received a review copy of this book.

‘Go, Hermie! go’ I whispered.

‘No, mine is going to win,’ said my best friend Emely.

This is Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo and it is about Bodhi and Emely. They are on a vacation in the Maldives and they find a turtle that is sick because it can’t swim underwater or dive.

Bodhi (Fish Kid) cannot carry Emely and the turtle back to their island to show Bodhi’s dad who could help. So Bodhi just takes the turtle and leaves Emely behind at the beach island. 

Is the turtle going to survive? Will Emely get home?

I love this book! That is why I give this book 10/10! I love when they help the turtle.  I like that the author introduced real animals in Fish Kid Fact pages such as the spinner dolphins and black tip reef sharks.

Read an interview with the author-illustrator of the Fish Kid series.

Elizabeth is a regular reviewer for Alphabet Soup. You can read more of her reviews here. To send us YOUR story, poem, artwork or book review, check out our submission guidelines. Happy reading!

Posted in authors, illustrator, interviews

Kylie Howarth on Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo

Posted on by Alphabet Soup

Kylie Howarth is an award-winning, internationally published children’s author-illustrator from Western Australia.

Kylie Howarth swimming with a turtle
Author-illustrator Kylie Howarth swimming with a turtle.

Kylie has swum with whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales in Ningaloo, piranha and pink dolphins in the Amazon, braved scuba diving with lionfish in Egypt, marine iguanas and hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands and encountered great white sharks in South Africa!

Kylie not only draws inspiration from her underwater travels but also her own two fish-kids who are ocean explorers too. The textures in Kylie’s book illustrations are created during their backyard art sessions. 

We’re pleased to have Kylie visit Alphabet Soup today to talk about her latest book Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo.

From the publisher:

Fish Kid’s friendship with bestie, Emely, soon hits a snag during a tricky sea turtle rescue. Secretly wishing for powers of her own, Emely’s strange behaviour leaves Fish Kid wondering if their friendship and the super-sick turtle will survive. And if things weren’t bad enough, another turtle from the sanctuary goes missing. Can this super hero-in-the-making use his fishy powers to save the day?

Have you been to all the places Fish Kid visits?

Yes! It’s tough work having to visit amazing places like the Galapagos Islands, Ningaloo Reef and the Maldives! Visiting these places allows me to meet the sea creatures that feature in my books. It was my scuba dive with 20 hammer head sharks that actually inspired the Fish Kid series.

Do you have a favourite sea creature?

I LOVE humpback whales. I was lucky enough to fulfil a dream recently, and swim with humpbacks as part of my research for Fish Kid and the Mega Manta Ray. I collect humpback whale sculptures, books, paintings and my favourite pair of earrings are humpback whales!

Each book in this series includes some featured pages with Fish Kid Facts about sea creatures. How do you go about researching for the books?

I try to meet all the creatures in my books face-to-face to learn about them. If I’m on a snorkelling tour, I’ll quiz the local instructors and underwater photographers to find out what they have observed about each sea creature. I then follow up with library and internet research, checking several different sources to ensure each fact is correct.

The Fish Kid books also include black-and-white illustrations scattered through the story. Can you tell us a bit about how you create your illustrations?

For the first book I used pencil and ink to create the illustrations. I’ve since taught myself to illustrate on an iPad using a program called Procreate. You can use pencil and ink looking ‘brushes’ drawing directly on the screen, so the second and third books in the series were done using this technique on my iPad. See if you can spot the difference!

Can you tell us a bit about what you’re working on next?

I have just completed final illustrations for a picture book I’ve also written, which will be released next year. Although most of my books have an ocean theme, I’ve branched out a little and this one features some Australian bush animals!

Fish Kid and the Turtle Torpedo is out now! Ask for is at your favourite bookshop or local library.

AWESOME EXTRAS:

Watch Kylie Howarth share some facts from the Fish Kid books (YouTube)

Learn how to draw a Hammerhead shark (YouTube)

Download some classroom activities

Make a woven turtle torpedo!

Visit Kylie Howarth’s website for more about her and her books.