The tireless duo of Steven Lenton and Tracey Corderoy worked with brilliant community-minded independent bookshop Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End to celebrate the publication of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar. After an afternoon storytelling event (to which Michelle Collins made a surprise visit) Steve and Tracey, tiffin and tarts to hand, signed books and raised a glass to the continuing success of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam.
Michelle Collins with Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar
Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar is the second picture book to feature the pair of robber dogs who reform and start up their own cafe in the first book, Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam. In Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar, the dogs are (plot spoiler alert) deceived by the brilliant cat burglar Kitty Le Claw. Momentarily tempted by the sight of the treasures stored in the local bank vault, they stick to the straight and narrow, and help both to capture and save Kitty as she attempts a bold but doomed escape.
Giorgia and Louise couldn’t resist taking a break from the chat to check out the competition at Pickled Pepper Books
Something about the combination of a narratively rich story told in impeccably engineered rhyme, expressive pastel-style illustrations, humour, and come-uppance has struck a chord with children in the UK, where we saw pictures of children dressed up as Shifty and Sam for World Book Day on social media.
Happy world book day, my girls costumes ready for their dress up day tom @2dScrumptious @TraceyCorderoy @NosyCrow pic.twitter.com/mz2n0R1eAD
— Jo Byatt (@JoanneByatt1) March 6, 2014
Grown-ups appreciated it too: Amanda Craig writing in The Times, for example, said, “The rhyming couplets demand enthusiastic participation, and the illustrations are as light and fluffy as a good sponge … slips down a treat.”
Tracey has been amazing at creating and delivering brilliantly engaging and funny events for children for all of her Nosy Crow books. She’s travelled to schools, shops and libraries up and down the country over the past five years, and she found a willing performance partner in Steve. Between them, they devised a Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam show, like this one at the 2014 Hay Festival.
Congratulations to Tracey and Steven on the publication of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar.
Happy people at the Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam: The Cat Burglar at the launch at Pickled Pepper Books
