Wee Puffling - colours

I thought I'd make a little post about the colours used in Wee Puffling. 

Firstly, I have to admit that pufflings are not purple. They're grey and black and white like this.

From my sketchbook

And they don't have the lovely colourful beaks the older puffins have, a look I much prefer. 

I thought kids would identify the traditional puffin colours easier and though our main character is often alone (searching for the other birds) I wanted to make sure that he stood out when all the puffins were together. 

While I'm writing I do all my rough drawings without colour, although I do mark in the sea. So I don't really worry too much about character design or colours at this point.

a rough page

But as the story got closer to being done I started to do some colour tests to find Wee Puffling's feather colour.

I knew the backgrounds were going to be bright like in Wee Unicorn so whatever colour I picked had to stand out against those colours and also sit well with the other puffins. As I began working on the final artwork I still hadn't settled on a feather colour so I would do tests against the finished backgrounds and send them to my art director to see what she thought.

Some variations I sent to my art director, Katie.

This is when I was trying a more traditional puffin look. I was also experimenting with beak colours and outline thickness. I tried painted feather details but they weren't as subtle as the pencil drawn ones.

I'd settled on the puffin group having this dark blue, almost black, feather colour and so I thought a lighter grey might work for Wee Puffling but it was too dull.

As a little last minute experiment I switched to a lilac. Something that felt quite grey but still young and bright. I was worried it might feel too faint and sent this purple too...

And this was the colour the art director and I liked best. It's so helpful to have a second opinion. 

The background colours are as limited as Wee Unicorn but tonally different. And where Wee Unicorn has its darkest colour be a navy blue, Wee Puffling has a dark purple to tie in with the feather colour.

This is the rough of the first double spread when all puffins are together.

Compositionally I've tried to draw focus to my main character as best I can by giving him more height and space around him. But as you can see having his own dedicated colour helps to pick him out too. Nothing else in the book is the same colour as Wee Puffling so that every time we look for him we find him easily.

Wee Puffling is available to buy now. 

Or you can borrow it from your local library.

Wee Puffling is out today!

My latest picture book, Wee Puffling, is out today! 

When all the other puffins head out to sea for the winter Wee Puffling decides to hide, and finds himself suddenly all alone.

At first life alone on the island is fun but he soon misses his friends and heads off on an adventure to find them. Here are a few of the creatures he meets along the way.

Seals!

Sea turtles!

Laid back otters

I could draw jellyfish all day

Wee Puffling is available to buy in all good bookshops. If they don't have a copy on the shelf you can just ask them to order one. Or you can buy it wherever you get your books or by clicking here.

A look inside The Great Glacier Hotel Heist

 I've been so busy working on Watts and Whiskerton book 4 (publishing in November this year) that I didn't realise how long it'd been since I posted anything here. I haven't even shown you what to expect from book 3! So here's a peek at the insides of The Great Glacier Hotel Heist!

Watts is excited to on his first ever family holiday, and especially thrilled that Pearl has been invited too.

They are visiting the Great Glacier Hotel and Ski Resort. Here's a map of the hotel. This will help eagle- eyed detectives to solve the case.

Sadly, Pearl has injured her paw but she doesn't let that slow her down when a mystery arrives. It turns out that the president of Trotskovia is staying in the hotel to transport The Ice Crystal, a priceless necklace, back home with her, But when a jewel thief strikes and the necklace is stolen, Mr and Mrs Watts find themselves under arrest!

And then the president goes missing!

And a snowbeast is seen in the grounds of the hotel!

It's up to Watts and Pearl to find out how all of these curious events are connected and capture the jewel thief. Can they do it? Of course they can. But can they ski? Well...

The Great Glacier Hotel Heist is available to buy now. Ask at your local bookshop, or wherever you like to buy your books, and don't forget you can borrow it from your library too.

If you'd like a more summery adventure why not try Sabotage at the Fete Cake Bake. Featuring teamwork, baking disasters and a thief! Can our budding detecives solve this cake catastrophe and earn and a first class ribbon for baking too? 

You can read more about it by clicking here.

Or Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure. Featuring a budding detective duo, dinosaur bones and a museum break in. Can Watts and Pearl work out what's been going on?

You can dig up more dirt on that mystery here.

Cover reveal - Watts and Whiskerton book 3

 Hello! This is an exciting day because I can finally reveal the cover for Watts and Pearl's next adventure: The Great Glacier Hotel Heist.

Watts is looking forward to a holiday at the Great Glacier Hotel and Ski Resort. But when they arrive, his and Pearl's quiet vacation soon turns into another high-stakes investigation: the priceless Ice Crystal has been stolen from the hotel safe, and his parents are the prime suspects!

Will Watts and Pearl be able to clear Mr and Mrs Watts' names? And will they be able to catch the real jewel thief? This dog and cat detective duo will have to navigate through heavy snow, suspicious staff, and a locked room mystery. But will they manage to ski, sleuth and save the day?

It publishes next year but is available for pre-order now by clicking here.

Or you can ask your lovely local bookshop to order you one in.

The Week Junior Book Awards 2025

Hello! I've just realised how long it's been since I've updated this blog. In the gap I've been busy finishing Watts and Whiskerton book 3 (more on that soon) and writing book 4. But back to the awards!

I had a really nice evening at the Week Junior Book Awards, a rare trip to London for me, and even though I didn't win my category (the excellent book Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton did) I was thrilled to be highly commended.

Woohoo! 

The young fiction category was full of excellent books so if you're looking for your next read, this list is a good place to start. Behold the young fiction shortlist!

The Week Junior Book Awards

A few weeks ago I learned that Watts and Whiskerton: Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure has been shortlisted for a Week Junior Award in the Fiction Younger category, which is lovely news.

You can find the other fantastic shortlistees here, as well as the nominees in all the other categories. It's a great place to discover new books.

The winners are announced in September.

Out now!

Watts and Whiskerton: Sabotage at the Fete Cake Bake is finally out! 

It has been published today which is strange because it feels like it's been out forever, only because I've known about it so long and I finished the book several months ago. But it's nice to know readers can finally get their hands on it.

For those who don't know, this is the second book in the Watts and Whiskerton series. They are a detective duo (and best friends) and each book is its own mystery so you don't have to read them in order, but it doesn't hurt. 

It's perfect for new readers, budding detectives and young bakers.

I'm currently working on the final art for book three so I'd better get back to it.