My Books
Where it all started…
In May 1988 I had an encounter with God which changed my life in many amazing ways. One of these was the birthing of passion to produce books which brought alive the Bible alive for kids. I had to wait until 1998 to see this dream fulfilled and since then I’ve authored and illustrated approaching 60 titles.
I typically employ a combination of information, fun and cartoons, seeking to engage not only confident readers but those for whom books might feel a little daunting. Having been raised on both comics and books I’ve come to realise that I’m actually writing for my 10 year old younger self—the sort of things I enjoyed reading at that age.
It was a book called ‘What Shall We Pray About?‘ that got the ball rolling for me and which featured colourful double page spreads illustrated and written to stimulate ideas of what to pray.
If my memory serves me correctly the book was produced in eight language editions including one which had a rather nice padded cover. The publisher was Angus Hudson, for whom I subsequently produced a number of children’s books.
Boring Bible
Having previously developed a few books for John Hunt Publishing I was on my way to a meeting with John where I was planning to present him with the latest fruits of my fertile imagination. I’d recently come across the ubiquitous ‘Horrible Histories’ series and en route to that meeting an idea formed for a range of kids’ books about the Bible (in the style of the ‘Horrible Histories’)—the Boring Bible series.
Over lunch I put to one side my pre-prepared presentation and asked John if he’d take a punt and commission me to do this. Fortunately for me he agreed and the rest is history (but in this case, not of the horrible variety).
Six months later I had delivered the first six books in what became a twelve book series and a spin-off range of Instant Lesson Material books with publisher Kevin Mayhew Ltd.
And just to prove they did the trick, here’s one of the many nice reviews we received for the Boring Bible series…
I have just purchased the whole series as I am looking for ways to make the teaching of RE in my school more dynamic. I have just given them to my year six to review. They are loving them. The humour, the ease of understanding what it is about, the style and accessibility for them is great. These books are a real find and I couldn't recommend them highly enough.'
The ’50 Bible Stories’ series
Having had an initial meeting with CWR sometime around 2007 it soon became clear that we on were on same page when it came to communicating biblical truth and God’s life through media.
I was keen to introduce a book series that helped children get their teeth into God’s word and to find out for themselves how good it was.
The ‘50 Bible Stories‘ series presented kids with fifty Bible stories (re-told by yours truly) and accompanied by a cartoon image. The added element was the hook at the end in which the story was left hanging, awaiting the reader to dive into the Bible and to discover how things panned out.
There are ten titles in all and I was thrilled when ’50 Weirdest Bible Stories’ was awarded Children’s Book of the Year 2010 (u12) by the UK Christian book industry.
In 2012 CWR also placed a copy of this book in every library in the UK.
Professor Bumblebrain
How do you deal with meaty themes relating to God, such as prayer and creation, in a way that doesn’t turn kids off before they’ve even been turned on?
This book series (which had that worthy aim) began its life with the working title of ‘Just About Everything You’ll Ever Need To Know About…’ but before very long the central character who I had devised to present the books had taken on a life of his own and thus the Professor Bumblebrain series was created.
The books are peppered with cartoons, humour and facts and take the reader on a journey through the subject, arming them with information but leaving them to come to their own conclusions.
We also produced a small comic range about Christmas, Easter and Halloween.
Amazing Agents of God
The Bible is full of amazing people who undertake megatastic missions (and awesome assignments) for God – just like special agents. In these books I portray Bible characters such as Joseph, Esther, Peter and Mary (and many more) as agents on a mission for God.
In reading the agents’ reports, the imaginations of young readers can be transported to the middle of thrilling life-changing episodes. These men and women from the Bible (or The God Files as agents of God call it) come to life as inspiring and exciting role models. I tap into the desire for many young people to hear about courageous people who made a big difference.
Amazing Agents of God hopes to ignite the curiosity within young minds to learn more about Old and New Testament characters, why they accepted their missions, how it led to amazing adventures and a deeper faith in their boss (God).
Where's God Gone?
This book follows the investigation of the Detective Dudes, Kool Kat and Hot Dog, as they try to find God, who has apparently gone missing!
This cartoon graphic novel is a fantastic tool for helping to explain the overall story of God to children aged 7-11.
‘Where’s God Gone?’ is great for holiday clubs/VBS, prize-giving or just individual use.
40 OT and 40 NT Bible Stories
These books are the fruit of an exciting collaboration between myself, Walk Through the Bible UK and CWR.
40 OT and 40 NT Bible Stories repackage 80 stories from my ’50’ series into two books to give away free to school children and linked to the Walk Through the Bible presentations in UK schools.
The illustrations are those I produced for the classroom presentations and the design style of the books is in sync with the rest of the Walk Through the Bible products.
The Supernaturals and the Miracle Dream
When Jesus lived on the earth he healed the sick, revealed things about people’s lives that only God could know, brought the dead back to life, performed amazing miracles, taught about God and gave people the chance of a new start in life.
Before he returned to heaven Jesus told his followers that he would give them the power to do the same things. This power is called the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit is like having a superpower. He enables us to do things we couldn’t do naturally so that we can serve God faithfully and effectively.
As children follow the adventures of The Supernaturals they’ll discover more about these superpowers.
It’s great to be working with a new publisher, Malcolm Down and under the Sarah Grace imprint. The Supernaturals and the Miracle Dream is the first in this series.
A list of all of my books…
The '50' Series
50 Craziest Bible Stories
50 Weirdest Bible Stories
50 Wildest Bible Stories
50 Goriest Bible Stories
50 Jammiest Bible Stories
50 Barmiest Bible Stories
50 Juiciest Bible Stories
50 Wackiest Bible Stories
50 Christmasiest Bible Stories
50 Zappiest Bible Stories
Boring Bible Series
Ballistic Beginnings
Hotchpotch Hebrews
Magnificent Moses
Catastrophic Kings
Super Son
Hyper Holy Happenings
Saints Alive
Christmas Crackers
The Big Boss
Crazy Christians
Bible Buster
Eggs-traordinary Easter
Boring Bible Instant Lesson Material series
Abraham to Jacob
The Life of Jesus
The Book of Acts
New Testament Heroes
The Prophets
Professor Bumblebrain
Bonkers Book on God
Bonkers Book on Jesus
Bonkers Book on Creation
Bonkers Book on Bible Heroes
Bonkers Book on Parables
Bonkers Book on Prayer
Absolutely Bonkers
Champions comic
Absolutely Bonkers Easter comic
Absolutely Bonkers Halloween comic
Absolutely Bonkers Christmas comic
Amazing Agents of God
Awesome Assignments
Megatastic Missions
Extraordinary Exploits
Outstanding Operations
Books for younger children
Who Made the World?
What Shall We Pray About?
The Bigger and Bigger Book of Bible Stories
Kids say, "Thank You God"
Kids say, "Praise God"
Big Truth Bible Stories:
Betty Boat
Rory Racer
Polly Plane
Tommy Tractor
Big Truth Bible Stories (compilation)
E-Books
Netherton — Thereby Hang’s a Tail or, the Origin of the Misplaced Apostrophe