Posted by Tom on May 24, 2013
Hot on the heels of our Reading Group (more really exciting news about this follows), we’ve had another thought.
The new idea is the formation of The Nosy Crow Crew, and we suppose it’s sort of like an ambassador programme: we’d love to have a closer relationship with some parents, teachers, librarians, booksellers, bloggers, and anyone who’s enthusiastic about children’s books and/or apps, and children’s reading in any medium… and who really likes what we do (books and/or apps).
In fact, part of the thinking behind this new idea came out of our decision to host a monthly book club – we received an overwhelming amount of interest from people who wanted to come (to the point that we sadly couldn’t include everyone), but we also heard from a number of people who couldn’t make it, usually because they didn’t live close enough.
We know that The Nosy Crow Crew idea isn’t the same as a reading group (though we do have A Soon-To-Be-Revealed-Plan for participating in the reading group at a distance, and we really hope that some of you might be inspired to set up your own children’s book reading group that might shadow our choices, or make your own), but the response to the reading group idea reminded us of how many people from all over the UK are interested in the same kind of things that we are, and this is just a way of getting a little closer to some of them.
And we are, honestly, both delighted and humbled every time someone on Twitter or elsewhere online says how much they love Nosy Crow, or a particular Nosy Crow book or app.
Although we’d have to limit membership of The Nosy Crow Crew to the UK and Ireland (at least for now – it’s all about the costs of postage and packing, honestly), you can be based anywhere in the UK and Ireland and still take part.
If you become a member of The Nosy Crow Crew, we’ll send you some Nosy Crow stuff right away – a Nosy Crow mug, badges, bookmarks, twitter ribbons, icons for your blog, and more. We’ll include you in our monthly books newsletter, and every three months we’ll write to you with some special insights and extra information and news, and send you one utterly and entirely free Nosy Crow book or app of your choice (up to the value of £10.99). There’ll be other exclusive offers as we develop the idea and as we think them up.
And what would we like from you? Well, we’d love to hear your views about what we do and about our books. And we’d very much like you to help spread the word about Nosy Crow online and in person… which is why you really need to like what we do.
You don’t need to have any particular background, although to avoid any conflict of interest, I’m afraid we’ve decided that you really can’t work for another publisher. Having a relevant (children’s book-y, children’s app-y or parenting) blog, a lively Twitter feed, or any other means of reaching an audience would be a benefit, but it’s not absolutely essential.
If you’re interested in becoming one of the first members of The Nosy Crow Crew, write us an email (tom@nosycrow.com) telling us why you’d be right for us. There are a limited number of places available to begin with – we want to do it well, and make real connections with people, so it seems to us best to start small – but we may feel able to open Crew membership up to a wider audience later on in the year.
Tagged with apps,
books,
nosy crow,
nosy crow crew
Posted by Tom on May 23, 2013
It’s time for our monthly book giveaway! If you’re a resident of the UK or Ireland you can win any of next month’s releases simply by subscribing to our Books Newsletter and either tweeting to @NosyCrowBooks or leaving a comment underneath this blogpost, telling us the name you subscribed with and the book you’d like to win.
The paperback edition of Leigh Hodgkinson’s fantastic picture book Troll Swap is out next month – a funny, clever story with real heart and Leigh’s brilliant, distinctive illustration style. Here’s a look inside:
We’re publishing a very exciting debut novel: Tiger Thief, by Michaela Clarke – an epic, beautifully written fantasy, with richly-drawn characters and environments and a truly gripping story. Here’s the first chapter:
We’re releasing the second book in the HILARIOUS The Grunts series, written by Philip Ardagh and illustrated by Axel Scheffler – The Grunts all at Sea. Here’s the first chapter:
As if that wasn’t enough, we’re also publishing the paperback edition of the first book in the series, The Grunts in Trouble – so if you’re new to the series you can discover it from the very beginning and find out exactly how the travails of Mr and Mrs Grunt begin… Here’s the first chapter:
And last but not least, June will see publication of The Rescue Princesses: Animals in Danger by Paula Harrison – a special three-in-one edition combining the first three volumes in the fantastic Rescue Princesses series. Here’s the first chapter:
You can subscribe to the books newsletter here (if you’ve already subscribed you’re still eligible for this competition) – and every month we’ll write to you with details of our upcoming titles, author events, exclusive interviews, and all of our news. So have a good think about which book you’d like to win (we can only accept one entry per person), and good luck – we’ll pick the winners at random next week.
Tagged with axel scheffler,
leigh hodgkinson,
michaela clarke,
nosy crow,
paula harrison,
philip ardagh,
rescue princesses,
the grunts all at sea,
the grunts in trouble,
tiger thief,
troll swap
Posted by Tom on May 22, 2013
Last week we announced plans on our blog to launch a reading group (for adults), here in the Crow’s Nest, where we’d discuss a different children’s book (or group of books) every month – sometimes a book we publish, but often books by other publishers.
The response was really fantastic (we received far more requests to attend than we have spaces), and we’re very pleased to be able to share a few more details with you all today.
The first book we’ll be discussing, on Thursday June 13, will be Wonder, by R.J. Palacio – a fantastic, moving novel and the winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in the 5 – 12 category.
If you’ve written to us expressing your interest in the reading group, you should receive an email within the next 24 hours confirming whether you have a place in the first month’s group. If you haven’t made it this time around, please don’t be too discouraged – the first date has been incredibly over-subscribed, and we’ll try and make sure everyone has a chance to attend in coming months! If you are offered a place, we’d be incredibly grateful if you could write to confirm attendance, as if you’re unable to make the June date we’ll offer the space to someone on the waiting list. We’re also working on a few ways of expanding the reach of the group to as many people as possible online – we’ll be able to share more news shortly.
Although we’re still planning the exact format for the evening, we did want to give everyone a few discussion points to think about in advance – here are some of the things we might cover:
1) How successfully do you think Palacio conveys different narrative viewpoints?
2) In 19th century children’s books, disability is often (a) temporary, and (b) a means for redemption. How are changed attitudes to disability reflected in Wonder?
3) How does Palacio relate individuals’ socio-economic circumstances to their inner characters?
4) Did you find Wonder to be sentimental, or affirming?
5) This book ends with a prize-giving. Which characters do you think should have been awarded prizes?
If you have other questions, we’d love to hear them!
You can buy Wonder online here – and we’ll have more book group-related news shortly, so keep an eye on this blog. And if you have any other questions about the event itself, send me an email at tom@nosycrow.com.
Tagged with nosy crow,
r.j. palacio,
reading group,
wonder
