Technically it’s the Australian edition… but I’ll be selling some copies of my new book with Rebekah Yock, The Giant Spoon, directly to people in the UK, from May 11th.
It’s not quite the same as seeing it in lots of lovely shops, as is the case in Australia, but given Covid, Brexit, a start-up publisher on another continent, a small first print run, and the wonders of the internet, this seems like the best approach. And it’s still really, really exciting – for me, there’s nothing quite like seeing other people enjoy my work. That connection feels amazing!
In the era of Insta-everything, it’s also important to remember this was created as a physical book first and foremost. It’s not a set of memes or cute motifs, but a story, to be experienced as such. I want to share that story – to get people turning the lovely, thick pages of this book.
For the youngest, I hope they feel free to chew, scribble and dribble, and point at familiar things: mummy, doggy, tree, bird. I hope the almost-readers feel good (there aren’t too many words), and find lots of new details to enjoy in the pictures as they re-read it (this is what I did when I was learning to read – brain breaks spent looking at the pictures… Ladybird’s book about the park, and Richard Scarry’s mix’n’match book especially). Perhaps grown-ups will talk about Ruby and her friends – how they invent new ways to have fun, and work together to overcome challenges. How they help the giant, and in return gain a new, supersized and unusual friend. During the pandemic so many kids got cut off from their friends – and play has had to adapt to Covid safety rules. I hope in a small way this book reminds people of the joy of hanging out with your friends, making up your own fun, and seeing what lovely surprises life gives you!
Lucy Jollow 