Like everyone who works with children’s books, I’ve always loved reading and inventing new stories.

I now harness this passion by working with children and books all day - a dream balance!

I’ve had experience on both sides of the publishing desk, working for five years in editorial as part of a busy children’s publishing team and then doing a mixture of writing, editing and consulting on children’s books of all kinds as a freelancer.

After years of working as an editor I realised I wanted to be more connected with the people we were making books for… so I went back to university and did a PGCE specialising in Early Years (child development and learning from birth to aged 5).

Since then I’ve worked in Early Years schools and nurseries, alongside my freelance writing, getting to really understand the needs and experiences of young children… and their grown-ups!

I love having that unique additional insight into what’s happening for children when they read, play and ask questions. Brain development, and particularly supporting learning and wellbeing through play, are my real passion!

I use this deeper knowledge and understanding to make sure all books I work on are genuinely perfect for the children reading them.

Sometimes this makes my projects a little bit different to other books… because learning shouldn’t always look like the traditional worksheets and school lessons we experienced!

Being bold and playful is so important when creating for children this age.

If you’re interested in finding out more about anything to do with young children’s learning and development contact me for a chat… I can talk about it for hours!