About Us

The main thing you need to know about us is that we LOVE children's books. We love reading them, writing them and discovering them. And we'd love to help you find books you'll love, and books that you can give as gifts that will be loved forever. We offer reviews, articles and interviews, all celebrating books as well as the people who write them, edit them, read them and champion them. And don't forget to look out for our book giveaways!

But in case you want to know more...


Sally Poyton is a mother of two lively small people as well as an artist with work on display in public collections around the country. Sally is an aspiring author, she has been honorary mentioned in the 2012 Undiscovered Voices anthology and has been long-listed for the Times Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition twice in 2013 and 2014! Sally has been a big part of the SCBWI Winchester Conference. Her favourite children's books are: Red Wolf, by Margaret Shannon; The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman; Playing Beatie Bow, by Ruth Park; and Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.  Sally can be found on Twitter as @SPoyton.


Nicki Thornton has always loved to disappear into the world of stories. She has worked as a journalist, but decided she preferred the world of books and ten years ago opened her own bookshop, Mostly Books, in Abingdon, which won New Bookshop of the Year in 2008. Talking to so many enthusiastic children about reading, taking authors into schools, as well having children of her own, has all made her rediscover her own love of children’s books and made her want to try to make the leap to write her own, which is even more fun than reading them. She was thrilled to be longlisted for The 2016 Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition with 'The Firefly Cage' a locked-room murder mystery set in a magical world where nothing is quite as it seems. She was previously longlisted for The 2013 Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition for 'The Sleeping Beauty House': a mystery story about a girl who seeks the truth behind a seven-year-old unsolved murder (yes, she really, really likes mystery stories). Her favourite children’s books from childhood are The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat by Enid Blyton. Nicki can be found on Twitter as @nicki_thornton


Jo Wyton is a geologist and aspiring adult. She has no shame whatsoever when it comes to reading children's books in public, and can usually be found with at least two in her bag. In the time when she isn't reading or looking at rocks, she writes contemporary teen fiction. Her favourite children's books are: Matilda, by Roald Dahl; Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke; and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Jo lurks on Twitter cunningly disguised as @JoWyton.


2 comments:

  1. Good to run into you all again, albeit in cyberspace. Lovely website. I've finished my book and have been accepted to self publish by Feed-A-Read, although I may try a few agents first. Hope to see you in the flesh sometime,
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am wondering if you are accepting children's books for review - I have just published two books. juliastebbing@stickybunpublishing.com

    ReplyDelete

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