BOOKS

LATEST BOOK

Bird's Eye View of Coronavirus, a new 96 page paperback published in July 2021 by Piggle Press and printed by Amazon. Available for £5.49 from Amazon UK.

A collection of coronavirus themed black and white cartoons posted on Instagram over a year, reflecting the changing situation of the virus..

Bookmarks

Here are a few bookmarks for you to download for free. Just print them on thin card, and cut out.

MalcolmBirdBookmarks.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [3.7 MB]

Ebooks

PIGGLE PRESS is a new imprint for publishing ebooks. Its offices are, allegedly, above Pigglemere Books on the Green in Pigglemere, Cumbria. The following are the first four books.

The first three ebooks, The Piggles' Winter Treat, The Sticky Child, and The School in Murky Wood were made using the splendid Book Creator for iPad®. Using existing text and images, it is incredibly easy to design fixed page ebooks that can then be uploaded to the iBookstore. It is more satisfying than trying to create an illustrated book by other methods and gives a very elegant 'bookish' feel when viewed in iBooks.

Written and Illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

The School in Murky Wood is a 32 page picture book about a school which is used at night, when all the children have gone home, for monsters to learn their lessons. It was first published in the United Kingdom, and then in the United States and this is the first ebook version. It is available for download on the iBookstore, as is a sample excerpt, for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iBooks. There's a short film on YouTube.

It was based on Robinwood School, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, where we used to live, and which I could see from my desk, placed in a dormer window looking down the valley towards Todmorden centre.

The Sticky Child is a 32 page wordless picture book in which a cheerful child finds his match in a middle-aged baby-sitter, and they become the best of friends. It was first published as a hardback in the United States and this is the first ebook version. It is available for download on the iBookstore, as is a sample excerpt, for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iBooks.

There's a short film on YouTube.

The dog is based on Holly, owned by Alice Longstaff and her husband John, great friends who lived in Hebden Bridge. Alice was a splendid photographer and her collection of photographs are a fascinating record of this area of West Yorkshire. A Google search shows many links for these but one is www.alicelongstaff.org.uk

She appears on page 82 of The Christmas Handbook, and is the one wearing a monacle.

The In Stitches comic strip about the Knitall family is in Simply Knitting every month.
There is now a collection of past strips, in PDF form, available from
lulu.com to be read on a computer, or on the PDF shelf of iBooks,
or as a 32 page ebook available for download on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iBooks. There's also a preview of the PDF version to see on the Lulu site.

Written by Alan Dart and Illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

The Piggles' Winter Treat, the first one in a series about the Piggles, is now available on the iBookstore, as is a sample excerpt. It can be viewed using iBooks on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch with iBooks.

A film showing a little of the book, and accompanied by The Piggle Prance, a theme tune written by Peter Polycarpou for a possible animation series, can be seen on YouTube.

Printed Books

Although the following books are now out of print, there are always copies available somewhere through Amazon. A good general book search page is at www.fetchbook.info

Written by Alan Dart and Illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

The Christmas Handbook contains over 100 things to make, and 50 games and activities for making gifts, festve food and things to wear. Some of the topics included are Countdown to Christmas; Father Christmas; Outside in the Snow; Decorations; Food for Christmas; Fun and Games.

In The Magic Handbook the Magician reveals scores of baffling tricks to our group of children, and explains how to perform each one in easy-to-follow picture-strip format. Only the most simple props are used, all of which can be found around the house or in your local high-street shops. To give your performance a professional touch there are patterns for costumes that can be made to fit all shapes and sizes, and tips to give your show polish and style. There are also ideas for throwing a magic party, complete with themed invitations, tableware, food and drink.

In The Party Handbook is gathered together all the information you need to create then themed parties, each one demonstrated in easy-to-follow picture-strip form by our five families. Each theme contains ideas for invitations, table settings, decorations; fancy dress outfits; food and drink; games.

Written and illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

The Witch's Handbook is a homely collection of things to do and make, specifically aimed at the witch's tastes and talents. There are spells and superstitions, recipes and crafts, gardening and fortune-telling, all the things a successful witch needs to know. It was first published in 1984 and since then there have been over 30 editions. A Spanish version was published by Ediciones Maeva in 2018.

Books illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

1000 Things You Ought To Know, written by Ginette Chevalier, is a fascinating collection of hints and tips of all kinds. Black and white line drawings.

I was very privileged to work with Lynda Lee-Potter, providing illustrations for her weekly column in the Daily Mail, for 25 years. When I began, it was just a short journey from Putney to the Daily Mail, which was then just off Fleet Street. After moving to West Yorkshire, it involved a day trip by train to London every Tuesday, which I did for several years. Later, I was able to stay at home and fax the drawing through to the Mail. (This was before email!). I always spoke to Lynda briefly on the day, and, however busy she was, she was always interested in how I was and what I was doing. I was, therefore, most flattered when she asked me to illustrate her book, Class Act.

Whether I read her copy at the Mail, or as it arrived through the fax machine, it was always a joy, and even though it's several years since she died, she's still missed very much, especially on Tuesdays. She was a very special person, and one of those people it was an honour to count as a friend.