BIBLIOGRAPHY
2024
In this collection of compelling short stories, authors including M. G. Leonard, Neal Shusterman and Tolá Okogwu offer hope for our planet in the face of climate change. Skyscraper farms. Insects for dinner. Guerilla gardening. Nine authors pose ingenious and thought-provoking solutions to the climate crisis in this anthology of climate fiction. Rooted in real-world science and technology, the stories offer a roadmap for a future where our planet can thrive. From a rewilding project with unexpected consequences to a rebellion against augmented reality, these wide-ranging stories will leave the reader feeling a little less powerless in the fight to save planet Earth.
Feather is the fourth book in The Twitchers Quartet and is published by Walker Books in February 2024.
On a school trip to the Royal Swan Natural History Museum, Ava finds herself at the centre of a heist: hundreds of invaluable bird of paradise skins from the Alfred Wallace Collection have been stolen! When she discovers a jet-black feather, she's sure it's a clue, but the police won't listen to her, so she takes the case to the Twitchers
2023
The Ice Children began as an audiobook for Audible, but will be published on 2nd November as a stunning hardback edition with cover and glorious internal illustrations by Penny Neville Lee. Available to pre-order now from all retailers. It is the perfect Christmas gift for young readers.
It was a pleasure and a great honour to be asked to write the introduction to the new Oxford Children’s Classics edition of The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, which is one of my favourite children’s books and has had a very real significance in my own life.
Clutch is the third book in The Twitchers series, published by Walker Books.
It’s springtime, nesting season. When a peregrine falcon nest is raided, Twitch realizes a thief is at work. Horrified, he and the Twitchers set out to catch the dangerous criminal, only to be ensnared in a deadly trap. Can they save themselves and stop the villain before anyone gets hurt?
2022
The Ice Children (Audible audiobook) - a fully cast audio play produced by Audible for Christmas.
Into The Red - A collaboration between 70 authors and 70 artists Into The Red aims to raise funds to support conservation work aiming to reverse the declines of our most at-risk birds. My words about the Starling sit beside an illustration by Ben Rothery. Profits from the book are donated to BTO to further their work on red-listed birds. You can get your copy here.
The Arctic Railway Assassin is the sixth book in the Adventures on Trains series, written with Sam Sedgman and published by Macmillan.
Spark is the second book in The Twitchers series, published by Walker Books.
Nominated for the Crimefest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children 2022.
Sabotage on the Solar Express Danger is the fifth book in the Adventures on Trains series, written with Sam Sedgman and published by Macmillan.
2021
Danger at Dead Man’s Pass is the fourth book in the Adventures on Trains series, written with Sam Sedgman and published by Macmillan.
Twitch is the first book in The Twitchers series and published by Walker Books.
Nominated for the Carnegie Medal, Winner of the Crimefest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children 2021 and the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards 2021 and the 2023 Alexander Palace Bilbio-Buzz Children’s Book Prize.
Murder on the Safari Star is the third book in the Adventures on Trains series, written with Sam Sedgman and published by Macmillan.
Nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 2023.
2020
Consider the Dung Beetle (p92) - a short piece in Katherine Rundell’s anthology The Book of Hopes containing contributions from over a hundred children’s illustrators and authors. Free digital edition available on the Literacy Trust website. Print book published by Bloomsbury.
Kidnap on the California Comet is the second in the Adventures on Trains series written with Sam Sedgman and is published by Macmillan.
Nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 2022.
Pip and the Umbrella Room, a short book for young German readers of English, published by Klett.
Rex the Rhinoceros Beetle, M. G. Leonard picture book about a brave rhinoceros beetle called Rex and his boastful friend Buster. Published by Scholastic.
The Old Steam Train, a short book for young German readers of English. Published by Klett.
The Highland Falcon Thief is the first book in the Adventures on Trains series written with Sam Sedgman and published by Macmillan.
It won the 2020 Children’s Fiction Book of the Year (British Book Awards), the 2020 Books Are My Bag readers awards for Children’s Fiction, the 2020 Woman & Home Magazine Book Award for Best Children’s Adventure Story and the 2022 FCBG Book for Young Readers. In translation, the book has also won Switzerland’s prestigious Prix Enfantaisie 2022 and 2022.
The Tale of a Toothbrush was M. G. Leonard’s debut picture book about a toothbrush that gets thrown away, becoming plastic in the ocean, published by Walker Books.
2019
Spider Wig, a short book for young German readers of English. Published by Klett.
2018
Battle of the Beetles, the third part of the beetle trilogy and published by Chicken House.
It won the Your Choice STEAM Children’s Book Prize 2019.
The Bug Hunters - a short story in the collection Make More Noise, about a girl who loves insects, but when she moves house is bullied for her passion at her new school. Published by Nosy Crow.
The Beetle Collector's Handbook, a non-fiction companion to the trilogy, was published by Scholastic.
It was longlisted for the Blue Peter Book Prize and won the Doncaster Book Award for Non-fiction.
2017
Beetle Queen, the second part of the trilogy, was published by Chicken House. It was nominated for the Carnegie medal.
2016
Beetle Boy was published by Chicken House in the UK, Scholastic in the US, Canada and Australia and has sold in thirty-nine territories, becoming a bestseller in the UK and the Netherlands.
It won the 2017 Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel, the Sheffield Children's Book Award 2017 for shorter novel and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It won the gold medal (1st Place) in the 2018 National Children’s Book Awards of China and was selected as one of the best children’s books in Europe by The White Raven international youth library.