Cover Reveal: Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy by Lara Williamson

It is with the greatest of pleasure that today we reveal the fabulous cover and awesome trailer of Lara Williamson's new book, Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy (great title!!). This is Lara's third book, and if it is as good as A Boy Called Hope and The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair then it should be high up in your "must-read in 2017" list. Now over to Lara and her fabulous new book cover:

A BIG thank you to Middle Grade Strikes Back for hosting the cover reveal for my third book, JUST CALL ME SPAGHETTI-HOOP BOY. Here is some info about the book; the Cheeky inspiration behind it and a dynamic cover to be proud of.

Watch out world, Adam Butters has a story to tell. And it’s going to be ACE

JUST CALL ME SPAGHETTI-HOOP BOY is a story about Adam who was adopted as a child. And although it’s not a secret, when his teacher suggests making a family tree for a school project, he wants to find out more about his real mother. Problem: where do you get information about your real
mother and how does that work when you’ve got an adoptive mother already? Well, for starters there’s a special hidden envelope that Adam discovers saying he was really called Ace.

KAPOW! That’s a superhero name, right? Being a superhero will make the world perfect, right? This is Adam’s DESTINY! He’ll save a life, help animals and old people and make everyone happy, especially his adoptive mum, who has a face like a melted welly at the moment. But things start to go horribly wrong when Adam overhears a conversation about someone new coming to live with his family; someone who is going to take Adam’s place for ever. Now is the time for Adam to step up, be ACE and unlock the secrets of his past so he can blast his way to a new future …

As a child I loved comics and I think they inspired JUST CALL ME SPAGHETTI-HOOP BOY. Like most kids my age I had my favourites and ordered them from the newsagent and as soon as they’d come in I’d rush to the newsagent and get the comic and devour it as soon as I got home and then I’d have to wait another week. Sometimes those seven days felt like for ever. I particularly loved a comic
called Cheeky (published by IPC) and he was a big-toothed hero in a stripy jumper (once they gave away a free knitting pattern for the jumper. You’ve got to love that. Someone please knit me the jumper now and I’ll wear it). Eventually Cheeky merged into Whoopee, then Whizzer and Chips. I must add that my love of comics didn’t end as I got older and I eventually ended up working for magazines – howzat for a link? Plus, I’ve never forgotten how much I loved Cheeky and perhaps he inspired more parts of my books than I ever realized. (I’ve just remembered that Cheeky had an unnamed pet snail that occupied the back page of the comic called Snail of the Century. Um… Right
now I’m wondering if that little snail secretly inspired Brian in The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair. Go snails <at a snail’s pace obvs>!)

I am beyond happy with the dynamic finished cover of Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy. The incredible illustrations by Carlos Aon and Katharine Millichope’s fabulous design really bring Adam to life. This is how he sees himself, standing tall with his cape fluttering in the wind. Inside his head he’s probably shouting ‘KAZOO!’ which is his superhero motto! There’s a tiny twinkle in Adam’s eye and it’s important because he’s got a sense of mischief. If you look really carefully you’ll see a little spaghetti hoop on Adam’s chest and it’s that attention to detail that takes a cover to a whole new superhero level. Why is the spaghetti hoop so important? Well, that’s the thing – you’ve got to read the story to find out. In my opinion, a good cover throws up lots of delicious little secrets and invites you to discover the story between the pages – Carlos and Katharine have achieved this. From now on I’m going to declare them both cover design superheroes. Finally, it’s been amazing working with the illustrations to create this animated book trailer. Hope you love it as much as I do!

Watch out world, this is Adam’s journey to becoming a superhero, and you’re all invited along. Just Call Me Spaghetti-Hoop Boy by Lara Williamson is out in the UK on March 1st 2017. You can follow Lara on Twitter @LaraWilliamson or on Instagram @larawilliamsonauthor or check out larawilliamson.com.


Hey! Stop right there! Where are you going? You haven't seen the trailer yet? Grab a mug of your favourite hot beverage and sit back and enjoy:

Robyn Silver: Chatting to the cover designer and illustrator

Robyn Silver: The Midnight Chimes will be published by Scholastic on 1st September and today I'm very proud to reveal the cover...

Life was very ordinary for ten-year-old Robyn Silver. The often-ignored middle child in a big family, the most excitement she had was the dash to the dinner table to reach the last slice of pizza. Until... she begins to see creepy creatures around her town - creatures that are invisible to everyone else. And when her school is forced to decamp to mysterious Grimdean House and she meets its equally mysterious owner, Mr Cryptorum, Robyn finds herself catapulted headfirst into an extraordinary adventure - with more excitement than she could possibly have imagined. Be careful what you wish for...

As an author, it's the best thing in the world to be given a book cover like this that clicks perfectly with your story. I love the bright colours and bold design, as well as the amazing work on the lettering and the brilliant characterisation of Robyn. You can tell from one look at her that she isn't a character that will take things lying down!

I've been curious about the cover design process for a long time and, with Robyn Silver, I knew that thoughts about the cover would just be the start as there will also be illustrations inside. Luckily, the fantastic designer, Jamie Gregory, and brilliant illustrator, Renée Kurilla, were happy to talk to me about it.

Hi Jamie, thanks for letting me ask you some questions. What were your first thoughts when designing the cover for Robyn Silver?

My first thoughts were of Robyn's character. She's such a strong female lead and it was important to all of us that we got her just right.

How important was the style of the lettering?

The style of the lettering is always important but for this particular book I really wanted the logo to use silver foil. I wanted the letters to be as monster themed as possible – I actually had to pare it back a bit. It had so many jagged edges at one point that it was affecting legibility!

What was it about Renée Kurilla's artwork that made her a fantastic choice as an illustrator?

We were trying to find this perfect style that was alluding us. The illustration needed to be punchy enough for a monster book but with soft line work to give it a feminine touch.
I saw Renée's work in a colleagues book (The Owl's of Blossom Wood) and although it was for a younger audience her line work was perfect. I contacted her and explained what we were looking for and she produced an amazing sample of Robyn and a Kobold – this convinced me that she should illustrate this series.

What will the artwork inside the book include? Are there any surprises in store?

The book includes a beautifully illustrated creature glossary with the monsters in frames. There are plenty of surprises but I wouldn't want to give them away!


Thanks Jamie, I can't wait to see the creature glossary - it sounds amazing! Next, a few questions for fabulous illustrator, Renée Kurilla.
Hi Renee, thanks for coming on Middle Grade Strikes Back! How easy was it to portray Robyn Silver and do you enjoy drawing her?

Robyn Silver is just about the coolest (fictional) ten year old I've ever had the pleasure of getting to know, so of course I enjoy drawing her! Like every project, it takes me a while to really get to know the characters I'm working with. In the beginning, I had to commit to a sketch that appealed to me and hope that everyone at Scholastic UK (and yourself) liked her as much as I did!

I feel lucky to have the opportunity and continue to get to know Robyn more and more with each drawing I make of her! (Side note: I wish my hair could always look as good as hers!)

How do you go about putting personality into a character?

For my initial sketches, I knew just a few major things about Robyn: She fights monsters (bravely) with a torch blade and she is ten years old. Now that I've read and reread her story, I've learned much more and can add proper emotion where needed. Using your manuscript as a guide makes it quite easy and fun!

For side characters like Aiden and Nora, I took notes while reading: Aiden is a talented engineer and Nora is incredibly book smart but skittish with a sword. Knowing these things helps inform things like posture and even hairstyle!

Can you tell us anything about the artwork that will go inside the book?

The interior artwork started as a series of very tiny penciled thumbnails that eventually ended up on the computer (I work in Photoshop). One thing I have learned about myself while working on Robyn Silver is that I love drawing ornate decorations such as picture frames, furniture, and rugs. You'll see a lot of that in Grimdean House! Here's a sneak peek at the thumbnails!

Thanks so much for this insight, Renée. I can't wait to see the pictures in more detail and I feel very lucky to have such talented people working on Robyn Silver!

Robyn Silver: The Midnight Chimes is out September 1st. Find out more about Paula Harrison on her website: http://paulaharrison.jimdo.com/

Guest Post: Designing the Cover for Peter Bunzl's Cogheart

Last week we were delighted to reveal the cover for Cogheart by Peter Bunzl. As promised, today we are joined by Usborne designer, Kath Millichope, to tell us about how she went about designing the Cogheart cover, and we also have this extra-special treat for you - this fabulous animated version of the cover that (the obviously multi-talented) Peter Bunzl has created:

“On reading the manuscript to prepare for the cover design, I began to immediately see the imagery in my head - it would needed to have a magical and fantastical feel to reflect atmosphere and adventure of the story, but I also felt that it should be action-packed, as it is full of flying machines whizzing around and the children themselves seem to even tumble through the book!

There are so many gorgeous elements – from talking foxes to mechanical housekeepers – that I wanted to show as much as possible of Lily's world, and I began to think it would be exciting to create a world that actually looks like it was itself made of clockwork. To achieve this, I used a combination of photographic and illustrated elements, creating a layered, drop-shadow look, giving the illusion of it being a bit 3D, where each part looks as though it could move independently. I then added the zeppelin lines in a kind of figure of eight, to both represent the continuous cycle of the clock, and also the route of the adventure that the children would follow.

We managed to secure fabulous illustrator Becca Stadtlander to work on the project. Her muted-pallette style has a beautifully timeless feel and perfectly suits the dark Victorian backdrop, while her characters have a quirky, magical quality with angular joints – all of which suited the clockwork style.

I finished the cover with a sprinkling of what could be stars or snow - I imagined the characters to be in a sort of starry snow-globe, which could be tipped over like an egg-timer to start the adventure all over again!”

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl is out in the UK on September 1st 2016. Share the adventure with #Cogheart. You can follow Peter on Twitter @peterbunzl.