tales on moon lane: pug-a-doodle-do party! : jabberworks

Recipe for a Pug-a-Doodle-Do book launch: take one excellent co-author...

Photo by Dave Warren

And Britain's finest pug, BENNY BEAN:

Photo by Dave Warren

Add the fabulous booksellers at south London's indie children's bookshop Tales on Moon Lane, including Jo Cocadiz and Jennifer Bell:

Photo by Dave Warren

Mix with much cuddling of celebrity pug:

Decorate front of bookshop with jaw-dropping skill

Photo by Dave Warren

Or as best you can, anyway:

Get some help from the pen-loving pug:

Add a healthy sprinkling of families who love to doodle:

Photo by Dave Warren

Have them create bunting for you:

Distribute biscuits:

And you have a Pug-a-Doodle-Do party!

Photo by Dave Warren

Thanks so much to everyone who came along! It's amazing how that little shop opens up like a Tardis when they clear the central space, and we had so much fun getting to draw and chat with everyone, including lots of kids who had read many or all of my four other books with Philip Reeve: Oliver and the Seawigs, Cakes in Space, Pugs of the Frozen North, and Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair. A couple parents even told us that our books were what got their children into reading, which was amazing to hear. This fantastic artist had brought along his drawing of Cliff, a Rambling Isle from Oliver and the Seawigs, with the Crisp family house perched on top:

And here's his picture of the Nameless Horror from Cakes in Space:

Here are Philip and me, teaching everyone how to draw their own pug:

Photo by Dave Warren

Photo by Dave Warren

At the end, we signed and doodled lots of books and chatted with everyone.

Photo by Dave Warren

Photo by Dave Warren

I'll just post a bunch of photos from the day, mostly because I don't want to forget anything! I love coming back and looking at photos from old blog posts. :)

Photo by Dave Warren

Here's an eager Benny Bean at the start, who loves meeting people and doesn't exist on the same horizontal plane that the rest of us do. That's his lovely owner, Sam Scott-Mance (@dottyscotty01 on Twitter).

Benny Bean is SUCH a heartbreaker. He came along to our London Pugwalk a couple years ago and I fell so in love with him that I actually got a bit teary when I had to say goodbye.

Photo by Dave Warren

Some more fine artwork:

Photo by Dave Warren

This girl and her mum came a long way from the launch and I kept accidentally calling her 'Emily' because she did such a convincing job dressing up as Emily from Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair for World Book Day! (Check out her costume here!)

Here are the fab people from Oxford Children's Books who planned the party with Tales on Moon Lane: Manuela Vogel and Liz Scott Thanks, Liz & Manuela!!