Weird, Wild & Wonderful

James Carter is an award-winning children’s poet, non-fiction writer and musician. An ambassador for National Poetry Day, he travels all over the UK and abroad with his melodica to give lively, action-packed poetry/music performances, workshops and INSET days. His latest verse non-fiction series for younger readers (Little Tiger Press) is translated into over 8 languages. A former lecturer in Creative Writing/Children’s Literature at Reading University, in the last 19 years James has visited over 1300 Primary/Prep schools in the UK and abroad and has performed at various prestigious festivals including Cheltenham, Hay and Edinburgh. He is the author of CLiPPA-shortlisted collection Zim Zam Zoom (with Nicola Colton). He lives in Oxfordshire. Neal Layton is an author and illustrator whose images are prized for their spontaneity and inventiveness. His picture books include The Tree, The Story of Stars, and Oscar and Arabella. Born in Chichester, he was going to be a scientist but instead studied Graphic Design, gaining a BA at Newcastle and an MA in Illustration at Central St Martins. He lives with his family in Portsmouth, Hampshire.