Orange Monster

This still needs a lot of work – but I really like the concept and yes I do really have a lot of socks!

Mummy has so many socks

A draw full she has – a draw full of socks

All rainbow and stippy – are her socks

Purple and blue, all kinds of hues

Lots of colours are my mummys socks

Socks she collects – collects she socks

All bright colours are her socks

Luminous green with pretend zips

Some of them I swear must reach her hips!

Some say they are goth-chick my mummys socks

Others hippy ‘cos of those glittery socks

My mummy has so many socks!

Her sock draw is buldging at the seams

Her socks are hiding in twos and threes

All knee length are my mummys socks

Why does my mummy have so many socks?

She says I’ll find out soon enough

When I find them full of stuff

Mummy’s socks all full of stuff?

She thinks my head is made of fluff!

But its Christmas Eve and the socks are here!

Mummy’s socks so bright oh dear!

Strippy, spotty, glittery socks

Wow! My mummy really does have a lot of socks

She’s says I can pick some of her socks

One for each of us – for each of us, one of mummys socks

To hang along the fire place

Mummys socks all glitter ‘n’ lace

She says that Santa is gonna come!

And fill all her socks up oh what fun!

I just can’t wait don’t want to sleep

Mummy’s socks I want to keep

For once I’m glad – I’m glad I am

That my mummy has so many socks

So many socks my mummy has

And for her socks I am so glad!

When Santa calls he’ll fill those socks

And mummy has a lot of socks!

Second Poem – I think this one will be inside a christmas tree or bualbal or something like that:

Christmas Present

Christmas Feast

Christmas Sky

Christmas Cake

Christmas Candle

Christmas Decorations

Christmas Cards

Christmas Carols

Christmas Cheer

Christmas Dinner

Christmas Lights

Christmas Tree

Christmas *Part* ey

And yes I do realise this is basically just a list but I find kids really like this sort of thing especially when its inside of a picture 🙂

I have begun work on the poems for The Little Book of Festive Poetry – Poem One is about Snow:

Twerlling whirlling through the air

Snowflakes glittering everywhere

Blanketing the world in white

With imperfections out of sight

Jean is standing at the door

Seeing a new world to explore

And once its settled on the ground

She clumps in wellies all around

Throwing snowballs big and small

Building Snowmen to represent us all!

And as the night begins to fall

She hears the dreaded parental call

And heads sorrowfully through the door

But Mummy’s made hot chocolate and a whole lot more!

With sweet chestnuts a roasting

And marshmellows for toasting

Mince pies and cream to be gobbled up

Sweet warm and sticky things to sup

And then its that sleepy tired time

With wooden stairs there to climb

And Jean will dream of the snow

Tomorrow she’ll go sledding you know

It still needs some work and a few extra verses added I think but its a beginning 🙂

I have done some rough sketches for What Can I See Under the Sea? They are done in felt tip pen and the three pictures contain all of the characters in the text version.

My little girl loves the pictures and her one critiasism was that, they need have own page mummy – Needs more!’ She’s only four and she couldn’t know that that is the plan – I was very glad of the feedback!

As I will be from anyone else.

The actual illustrations I want to do in acrylics and then scan and tart up on the computer.

Can you see Carl the crab?

He is red with lots of legs.

Can you see Stella the starfish?

She is orange and sleeps in the sand.

Can you see Dolly the dolphine?

She is grey and likes to jump.

Can you see Fred the Fish?

He is yellow and swims about.

Can you see Tracy the turtle?

She is green with great big flippers.

Can you see Jim the jellyfish?

He is white and floats about.

Can you see Seth the seahorse?

He is purple and hides a lot.

Can you see Olly the octopus?

He is brown with wavy tentacles.

Can you see Shelly the shelfish?

She is pink and hides in the sand.

Can you see Willy the whale?

He is blue and very large.

Can you see Elly the eel?

She is black and very long.

Can you see Cara the coral?

She is lots of colours and looks like a flower.

Ok I don’t know what the correct terms and stuff are but basically her are the rough idea sketches to show where the story is going with a list of the text and what picture corraspondse with what!

This are so rough I am a bit ashamed of them but its more a working out the process of whats needed in the book – also they are done in the back of my diary which doesn’t help – in biro in a coffee shop :/

‘Mummy it’s raining’

‘Raining outside’

‘Raining on the window’

‘Raining on the roof’

‘Raining on the cars’

‘Raining on the trees’

‘Raining on the grass’

‘Raining on the puddles’

‘Raining on the birds!’

‘Raining on the cat’

‘Raining on… Daddy!?’

‘Raining on Mummy!’

‘Raining on me!’

‘Raining on all three!

This idea came from a walk at midnight on Halloween with my little girl, ‘Daddy! There’s a dragon!’ me and daddy look to see steam rising from the warm fermenting compost heap into the cold dank night. We then had to go and investigate said dragon to show Jean it was all ok.

My plan is to write something a bit longer and better but basically that paragraph above and add in drawings – I haven’t yet decided what style to use so may have to do some experiments in different media 🙂

I’m thinking it may well be set around fire works night too 🙂

The Chee Chee Chii are little imaginary creatures that live in our mixing bowls – my little girl is very fond of them and is the only one who can see them 🙂

She says they are 2 1/2 inches high with three legs. They are tri-coloured as in each one in three seperate colours but as a group they have many different colour variations. They all however have black and red legs. They are furry like cats and were bells like cats. They have small pink or orange eyes – three of with eyelashes. Three hands on short arms and small ear’s like Jean (thats my little girl) – three of, small noses – three of though they are furry snout type noses and they hang around in threes.

And I have absolutely no idea what sort of adventures they are going to have or how on earth I’m going to draw them without making them look really sinister but I will try!

The idea of this is that it is almost two stories – one being told by a little girl in the presant tense as she wonders about the house being bored, the other being shown in the pictures as mum gets things ready for Dad’s coming home party.

I have a very clear idea of what sort of pictures I want for this book – the main question is am I good enough and do I actually have the patience. I want it to have a very dreamy childhood feel to it almost like the snowman illustrations but abit sharper.

Again this is a story that is heavily relient on the pictures.

I think I already know what the ‘written’ bit of the story is going to say – I’ll send it live as soon as its ready 🙂