You can read the whole book online, over on the Flight Time Stories website!
Our book was loosely inspired by the story and picture submitted by the competition's winner, four-year-old Maddison Penney. I liked her cover image and used its basic design on our title page!
My favourite part was drawing Enrico the monkey, I love how he's earnest and cheeky at the same time, and he has this quiff of hair that sticks up no matter how often his mother tries to lick it down.
Emirates also announced today a competition for World Book Day, giving young readers the chance to win a holiday to Dubai for themselves and their family. Families can enter the World Book Day (Thursday 2nd March) competition by sharing pictures of their children dressed up as their favourite storybook character on social media, including the Emirates social handles (Twitter @emirates / Facebook Emirates) and the hashtags #FlightTimeStories and #WorldBookDay in their post. (Check out the hashtags to see other people's entries!) Emirates judges, Philip and I will select the final winner, and competition runners up will also receive a copy of Monkey on a Plane!.
I'm also looking forward to visiting the Emirates Festival of Literature next week, launching Monkey goes on a Plane! Philip Reeve and I have LOADS of fun events with schools and families happening while we're there! Here's a link to my events, and check out the overall schedule, it's jam-packed with great stuff by other children's book writers and illustrators, too, including local writer-illustrator Maitha Al Khayat (we're doing a pirate picture book event together!), Candy Gourlay, Smriti Prasadam-Halls, Francesca Simon, Abi Elphinstone, Andy Stanton, Eleanor Updale, Frances Hardinge, Jon Klassen, Kevin Crossley-Holland, Michael Foreman and Tanya Landman.