New chances to catch ‘The Great Big Bug Show’ for children and families in May Half Term:
26 May The Berry Theatre, Southampton 11am @theberrytheatre
27 May Stanley Arts, South London 11am & 2pm @stanleyarts.uk
‘It’s a perfectly paced production that combines poetry, song and interactive elements to inspire an interest in insects and encourage imaginative play.’
The Family Stage
‘A joyful hour of family fun that’s informative in the most inclusive manner’
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Everything Theatre
🍕 Cover Reveal! 🍕
Poetry Pizza has been sizzling away in my brain for years—and it’s nearly ready to serve!
This is my very first poetry collection for Key Stage 2 readers (ages 7–11), and I’m thrilled it will be published by the brilliant team at Otter-Barry Books this coming February!
With awesome illustrations by the amazing @_tommclaughlin and expert editing from @charlie_hacking , Poetry Pizza is a book I am immensely proud of. It’s hilarious and heart-felt in (roughly) equal measure, and some people (my publisher) are calling it “an exceptional and imaginative collection”.
It’s packed with poems about the stuff that really matters to kids, and because I’ve road-tested these poems in countless schools over the years, I know for sure that this book is something young people will relate to and connect with.
Inside, you’ll find:
A spell to give you infinite football skills ⚽
A trick to stop your dad’s “It’s up to you, BUT…” routine 😒
A battle-rapping badger 🎤🦡
A lonely crisp 🥔
And a boy who solves a Rubik’s cube with his toes 🧩🦶
So there’s plenty of silliness, yes—but there’s also a real depth and sensitivity. Expect poems that explore emotional wellbeing and climate change, in a way that feels honest, hopeful, and fun.
Tom has absolutely worked his magic with the illustrations—I’ll be sharing more very soon. But for now… feast your eyes on this delicious cover!
Pre order now from Waterstones online and get 25% off using code OCTOBER25 (offer valid until Friday 17th October)
It’s publication day! Super buzzing that my brand new bug book is out in the world. Join the swarm of literary locusts that are on their way to devour a copy from their local bookshop today.
To celebrate ‘The Great Big Bug Show’ coming to @stanleyarts.uk on May 27th here’s a brand new devilishly disgusting bug fact under a log 🪵 #swallowtailcaterpillar #bugs #naturefacts
Poetry Pizza Restaurant Tour! 🍕
I had such a great time taking my book Poetry Pizza on a tour of some lovely @francomancapizza restaurants - here’s some of the legendary young poets that got involved in my events. And of course very exciting to hear about how much families have been enjoying the special Poetry Pizza Kids Menu!
Big thanks to all the Franco Manca staff for being so welcoming, and to my awesome publisher @otterbarrybooks for helping make it all happen!
To celebrate ‘The Great Big Bug Show’ coming to @theberrytheatre on May 26th here’s a brand new egg-cellent bug fat under a log! 🪵 #ants #naturefact #bugs
Babysitting Ryan’s Buffalo 🦬
My Key Stage 2 collection Poetry Pizza has been out for a couple of months now, and it has been an absolute joy to start taking it with me for shows and school visits.
This little initialism is proving to be a bit of a cheat code to inspire audience contributions - kids (and their grown ups) can quickly have a go at remixing the poem on the spot, by coming up with other things that BRB could stand for...
Recent highlights include:
Better Remember Bacon
Barbara Rescues Barry
Big Red Button
Broccoli Riots Begin
Bunny Reads Books
Let me know in the comments if you’ve got a good one…
Buzzing to be taking The Great Big Bug Show to Cheltenham Science Festival!
Anyone who’s been to the town hall before will know it’s absolutely massive. Let’s hope audiences swarm to fill it!
Si pedala e si cade. Si cade e ci si rialza. Ci si rialza e si scopre la perseveranza, la gioia di osare, la forza di portare il coraggio oltre ogni limite 🚲
𝐀𝐦𝐨 𝐥𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐜𝐢 nasce dall’incontro tra un poeta per bambini, Simon Mole, e uno degli illustratori più apprezzati della scena internazionale, Sam Usher, già autore di Temporale e Neve.
Attraverso la bicicletta, il primo vero simbolo di crescita e libertà, Sam e Simone celebrano la meraviglia del nuovo e la gioia di una bambina che, come tante, impara sotto gli occhi affettuosi di papà, ad andare incontro alla vita ❤️
𝐀𝐦𝐨 𝐥𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐜𝐢 è in libreria e su edizioniclichy.it 🚲
#amolamiabici #edizioniclichy
I’ve got a gig at @yourallypally ! What an iconic venue, and what a legendary line-up to be part of!
As part of @nlbookfest I’ll be performing my favourite poems from A First Book of Bugs and A First Book of Dinosaurs, as well as getting the kids involved with some fun (and quite silly) games and activities. Who knows, I may even dust off the dino costume..
Sunday April 26th / 11am - 11.45am
I’ve been shortlisted for the Clippa Award!
To have one of my books shortlisted for this prize has been a dream of mine for years, so to hear that A First Book of Bugs has made the list is a massive moment for me.
As well as being the main (only?) prize focused solely on children’s poetry collections, what makes the Clippa so special is the work it does to promote poetry in primary schools - their shadowing scheme introduces thousands of kids to the books on the shortlist, and most excitingly of all at the award ceremony I’ll get to see some kids performing their favourite poems from my book… on one of the big stages at The National Theatre!!! I’ve been to a few of these events in previous years to watch, and they are absolutely awesome 🤩
Congrats to the 4 other books on the list - what great company to be in 📚
I’m in the paper! Thrilled to find a lovely review for Poetry Pizza in The Guardian Books of the Month section… Thanks to @imogenrussellwilliams for including us in the Children & Teenagers round up. I spotted it online first, and then was able to get excited all over again when I saw it was also included in the actual paper version of the paper on Saturday too!
