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Books

COMING SOON

Information books on BUGS, FLOWERS & TREES and a new Read it yourself PEPPA book for Ladybird

Sue Nicholson Curious Questions and Answers about Polar Lands
Wild World
Champion Daddy Pig

Information Books

I've written and edited all kinds of information books – traditional (with a spread-by-spread approach), active (with experiments and/or field guides), dip-in browsable fact and Q&A books, and informational fiction or 'picture information' books, where information is presented with picture book illustrations or includes a fictional element.

INFORMATION BOOKS

I love researching and writing non-fiction, especially for younger readers. Subjects I've worked on include:

• animal babies

• ancient civilisations

• bugs

• castles

• dinosaurs

• horses

• knights

• the Moon

• oceans

• pandas

• pets

• pirates

• rainforests

• the Victorians

• the weather

• whales

See more of my information books

Curious Q&A Polar Lands.png

Curious Q&A about... 
Polar Lands

Miles Kelly Publishing • 32pp • 2022 illustrated by Ana Gomez

Why are some icebergs blue? Who wears two coats to keep out the cold?
Entertaining Q&A for ages 5+ 

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Little-Know-It-All

Can you Touch a Rainbow?

Can you Tickle a Tiger's Tummy?

QED Publishing • 48pp • 2019 illustrated by Lalalimola

No matter how bizarre the question, the Little Know-it-all Owl has the answers. Fun Q&A for busy little minds, with easy-to-read text and bright illustrations.

Stories

Stories include eight titles in the Fairytale Friends series, commissioned by educational imprint QED. I've also written short stories published in story compilations for 6+ readers,  stories packaged with cover mounts, and stories based on licensed brands. 

STORIES
Fairytale Friends

QED • 24pp • 2020

Eight themed stories based around popular fairytale characters, devised to foster empathy in the classroom.

Each title ends with a page of classroom extension activities.

Jack Breaks the Beanstalks
Scared Little Red Riding Hood cover, written by Sue Nicholson, published by QED
Scared Little Red Riding Hood

Illustrated by Laura Brenlla

Little Red Riding Hood is scared of almost everything, especially the wild, dark forest near her home. When she finds a tiny, lost wolf cub, can she face her fear to return him to his mother?

Fairytale Friends titles illustrated by Laura Brenlla:

Keep Trying, Aladdin!

Don't Be Cross, Goldilocks

Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread House

Cinderella's Ballet Shoes children's book cover, by Sue Nicholson published by QED
Cinderella's Ballet Shoes

Illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino

Cinderella wants more than anything to have lessons at the new dance school in the village but she doesn't have any ballet shoes. Can her fairytale friends help make Cinderella's dream come true?

Fairytale Friends titles illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino:

Cinderella's Ballet Shoes Wake Up, Sleepy Beauty!

Jack Breaks the Beanstalks

Snow White, Star Striker

Fairytale Friends
Cinderella's Ballet Shoes

Licensed Character Books

Books I've adapted from licensed character brands include annuals, board books, longer stories, make-and-do activity books, and fun-to-learn sticker books with puzzles and games. I'm experienced to working across different formats and extents using provided assets, screen grabs and on-line style bibles. 

LICENSED CHARACTER BOOKS
Up and Down board book cover, adapted by Sue Nicholson for Ladybird Licensing
Up and Down

Ladybird Licensing • 10pp • 2019

Peppa's off on a bike ride – but will Daddy Pig keep up?

 

Fun-to-learn, life-the-flap story with a focus on opposites

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George's First Day at Playgroup

Ladybird Licensing • 16pp • 2016

Sticker story book with a simple narrative arc

Licensed brands I've worked on: 

• Angelina Ballerina

• Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom

• Clangers

• Disney

• Hello Kitty

• Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train

• Mary Cicely Barker's Flower Fairies

• Peppa Pig

• Raa Raa the Noisy Lion

• Topsy & Tim

See more books based on Peppa Pig and other licensed character brands

 Holly's Lost Wand book cover
Holly's Lost Wand

Ladybird Licensing • 24pp • 2015

Colourful search-and-find adventure based on Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom

Heroes to the Rescue

Other Ben & Holly titles for Ladybird include board books, longer stories and sticker-activity books. 

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Clangers

Ladybird Licensing • 10pp • 2015

First story books for Clangers fans (episode-based, paced over 10 pages)

Clangers Little Library set of four boxed books

Boxed set of four Little Library Clangers board books

Dinosaur Train sticker book Meet the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur Friends

Ladybird/Jim Henson • 24pp • 2013

Fun-to-learn activity book with stickers, additional dinosaur facts and a pronunciation guide to dinosaur names

Activity Books

My activity titles include craft books (based on licensed brands, hobbies, or National Curriculum topics), educational books and packs for young learners, and fun-to-learn sticker books.  

ACTIVITY BOOKS
150 Things to Make and Do with Peppa Pig book cover
150 Things to Make and Do with Peppa

Ladybird Licensing • 160pp • 2017

Fancy-dress costumes, seasonal activities, recipes, indoor and outdoor games, and ideas for imaginative play. 

150 Things to Make and Do Peppa's House
Peppa's Party
Make-and-Do Book

Ladybird Licensing • 24pp • 2018

Put on your own Peppa--themed party with ideas for invites, party decorations, food and games to play.

 

Includes templates, stickers and press-out card pieces. 

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For some craft activity books (such as Angelina Ballerina: My First Activity Book, I make the crafts photographed in the books. 

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For other craft titles, the finished crafts are made in-house from my scamps and text – in the case of 150 Things to Make and Do and Peppa's Party, by the fab design/editorial team at Ladybird.

See more craft activity books

Press-Out Dinosaur Activity Book cover
Dinosaur Activity Book

Egmont (for M&S) • 32pp

Dinosaur-themed activities with press-out card play pieces.

Fun-to-learn books for the under 5s include activities devised to develop early years foundation skills, such as pencil control and hand-eye coordination, shape and colour recognition, matching, grouping, counting, sound identification and simple story sequencing. 

Novelty Books

I love working with novelty concepts and have written prose and rhyming text for books with sound ships, touch-and-feel elements, flaps and sliders. 

NOVELTY BOOKS
Traffic Jamboree

Campbell Books  • 12pp • 2001

Join in the beep-beeps and vroom-vrooms as a madcap bunch of animals wait in a traffic jam. Touch-and-feel counting book with a final lift-the-flap surprise. 

Winner of the Southampton Children's Book Award

Traffic Jamboree by Sue Nicholson

Although Traffic Jamboree is now out of print, it's still a firm favourite with nursery and reception classes for a fun read-aloud session at the end of a day of workshops – with a bag of very noisy sound effects!

Traffic Jamboree by Sue Nicholson
Uncle Gaston
Uncle Gaston

Ladybird Licensing • 12pp • 2015

Story incorporating sound button, adapted from TV episode and paced over12pp.

Beep Beep Vroom!

Ladybird Licensing • 12pp • 2015

Story incorporating sound clips sourced from TV episodes

Time to Play, Teddy

Rhyming text for cloth play bag, incorporating early learning concepts (colours, counting and opposites)

Editorial 

I've worked in both educational and trade publishing, editing titles for the UK and international co-edition markets. Commissions range from new project development and editorial project management to editing text on-screen to fit highly illustrated layouts or a final proof and polish. 

EDITORIAL
Rebel Girls

Timbuktu Labs • 128pp • 2019

Line-editing commission for the publishers of the Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, a collection of one hundred tales of extraordinary women.

Goodnight Stories, published in 2016, became the most successful book in crowdfunding history and has since been released in over 85 territories worldwide.

Covers of Rebel Girl biography titles, Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code, Madam C.J.Walker Builds a Business
For the world's Rebel Girls....
Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code

How mathematician and computing pioneer Ada Lovelace came to write what we now realise is the first published computer program.

Madam C.J.Walker Builds a Business

The inspiring story of Sarah Breedlove Walker, entrepreneur, businesswoman, and America's first self-made millionaire. 

Discover More Disasters cover, published by Scholastic
Discover More Disasters

Scholastic  •  112pp •  2013
written by David Burnie

Follow a tornado chaser into the heart of a storm, track the path taken by a hurricane as it sweeps across the ocean, and discover which disaster is the world's worst killer... 

Editorial project management of highly illustrated non-fiction title for 10+ readers, with step-by-step illustrations, timelines and eyewitness accounts. 

I'm not taking on long-term, full-time editorial project management at present, but I'm available for other editorial commissions (such as reworking backlist content or editing text to fit on-screen layouts).

I also work with individuals and currently offer editorial manuscript assessment (children's non-fiction, picture books, chapter books and middle grade fiction) and a final pre-pub or pre-sub proofread and polish. Please email or DM me on Twitter for more information.

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