Ada Twist, Scientist

Ada Twist, Scientist

By Andrea Beaty & David Roberts

Published by Abrams

Ada Twist is the third book in the series from picture book duo Andrea Beaty and David Roberts. And much in the vain of the previous books, it follows a talented child discovering the world in a scientific way.

In Andrea Beaty and David Roberts’ new picture book Ada Twist, Scientist is like her classmates, builder Iggy and inventor Rosie: scientist Ada, a character of colour, has a boundless imagination and has always been hopelessly curious. Why are there pointy things stuck to a rose? Why are there hairs growing inside your nose?

Filled with humorous insights about the world that surrounds Ada and funny moments when Ada nearly washes her pet cat in the washing machine, this latest book in the series in another triumph. Children will love Ada's curiosity and David's usual fantastic illustrations, all rendered in his trademark watercolour and pen and ink style. I particaulrly enjoyed the spreads where Ada runs riot with a pen and a clean white wall, covering the wall in doodles, questions and clutter.

Beaty delightfully advocates for girls in science in her now-trademark crisply rhyming text. Ada Twist, Scientist champions girl power and women scientists, and brings welcome diversity to picture books about girls in science. A must buy for your own little scientist - and I can't recommend more if you already own the previous titles - you'd be a mad scientist not to!

Ada Twist, Scientist is available to buy now from all good bookshops and on the Abrams books website.

Interview with Michelle Robinson

Michelle grew up in Gloucestershire. Before she started writing funny stories for children, Michelle wrote copy and devised websites for some of the world's biggest brands. She always dreamed of becoming an author like her hero, Roald Dahl. She shares his birthday and his love of chocolate, but she is much, much shorter. Michelle lives in Frome with her husband and young son and daughter. 

BWB: What gave you the idea to write A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting?

MR: Walking in the woods in Canada. Various family members gave us conflicting advice on what to do if we encountered a bear. For example, "Don't use soap or perfume, bears are attracted to it" versus "Do wear perfume, they'll realise you're human and stay away". Or "Wear something bright so you don't get shot by a hunter" versus "If you wear something bright the bears will spot you and attack." There were so many of these crazy tips that by the time we went to the woods we were convinced of our own doom. Thankfully we didn't have to put our muddled knowledge to the test. 

BWB: David Roberts is renowned for illustrating fantastic bears. Was he your personal choice to illustrate A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting? 

MR: David Roberts is renowned for illustrating fantastic *everything*. I've been a fan since forever and I couldn't believe it when I heard he would be illustrating my story. I still can't quite believe it, actually. 

BWB: Who is your favourite fictional bear?

MR: Winnie the Pooh. I love the pairing of A.A. Milne's voice and E.H. Shepard's drawings. The humour and tenderness that runs through their books is exquisite. 

BWB: Why do you think bears are such a popular animal in the picture book world?

MR: I really don't know why it should be that bears have such timeless appeal. It's not as though bear is a man's best friend, after all. And as you'll find out in 'A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting', real bears certainly aren't as cuddly as the stuffed variety. I wonder why bears are the go-to stuffed animal? If someone had thought to create a different soft toy all those years ago, might this blog post be about the enduring appeal of the gnu? The mind boggles.

BWB: Any plans to work with David again?

MR: Happily, yes! A follow up to Bear Spotting is on the way - and I still can't quite believe my luck.

Huge bear cuddles to the fantastic, Michelle, for taking part in my Q&A and being super generous for offering a personally signed copy of A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting to one lucky tweeter! If you want to enter visit twitter here and RT and follow. To find out loads more about Michelle and her amazing work, visit her website here. A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting to available to buy now in all good bookshops and on the Bloomsbury website.

A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting

A Beginners Guide to Bear Spotting

By Michelle Robinson & David Roberts

Published by Bloomsbury

Fanatical about bears? Ever wanted to see one out in the wild? Well this is the perfect beginners guide to spotting them! Superstars, Michelle Robinson and David Roberts come together to bring us the ultimate bear spotting guide.

In this read aloud picture book, a young novice bear spotter ventures into the woods in the hope of seeing a bear. The only thing is this little adventurer doesn't realise a real bear is a lot more dangerous than their favourite cuddly teddy bear! What ensues is a funny (and sometimes scary) guide to coming face to face with a couple of bears and what not to do if you need to avoid being eaten!

You couldn't get a better picture book team up than this! With Michelle's chatty and witty writing style and David's whimsy illustrations (beautifully inked and textured drawings adorn each spread), A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting is a fantastic and refreshing picture book. 

David's illustrations are top notch, with parts of the book mimicking a field guide, with the use of similar typography and graph paper. 

I love Michelle's tone of voice in this book, reminding me of mockumentry's and Monty Python sketches. The fact the protagonist also doesn't have a gender makes this a book the reader can put themselves in. An extremely funny read with an ending that will have any child snuggling up to a teddy instead of wanting to meet a real breathing bear! Here's hoping there's more fantastic books from this talented duo coming soon (pretty please?).

A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting is available to buy now at all good bookshops and online at Bloomsbury here. If you would love the chance to win a personally signed copy of the book check out the competition on twitter here. I also caught up with Michelle to ask her some bear related questions, check out the interview here.