Tag: Fremantle Press

Teacher resources for Gastronauts

My new book Gastronauts is out now in bookstores and online.

I’ve pulled together a bunch of free resources for teachers (and interested kids). You can find the full set on my website, but here’s some of my highlights:

Teaching Notes

Heaps of ideas for discussion and links to curriculum.
Download the teaching notes (pdf).

Read a free sample

Read the first 16 pages before you buy the book.
Also great for using to read the start of the book to a class.
Download the free sample (pdf).

‘Make Your Own see-through body’ activity

This is a super fun activity. You need scissors, glue, string and a piece of A3 coloured card – and a print out of the worksheet for each student. (And don’t forget to print the teacher cheat-sheet for you.)
You’ll end up with something that looks like this:

Continue reading “Teacher resources for Gastronauts”

Gastronauts is officially released today (and a Dead Bunny is back)

My new book Gastronauts is officially released today!

I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out … though I do wonder if I crossed the grossness threshold with this one.

Here’s the synopsis:

Sally Tinker – the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve – has developed her greatest invention yet. But when Sally’s baby brother Joe swallows it with disastrous (and gaseous) consequences, Sally and her friend Charli must shrink themselves, venture into the very bowels of Joe, and shut down the invention before it’s too late. What could possibly go wrong?

Magpies magazine calls it ‘hilariously funny … it will  be devoured by emerging readers. Perfect for school and public libraries.’ Cheers, Magpies!

You can read a free sample here, and check out some of my favourite images below.

Continue reading “Gastronauts is officially released today (and a Dead Bunny is back)”

Here comes the Gastronauts book tour

My new book Gastronauts is out in bookstores!

Even though the official release date is Oct 1st, there was a sneaky early release, so you can find it across the country and online. If your local bookshop doesn’t have a copy, you can always ask them to order it in.

To celebrate, I’m traveling around WA, NSW and VIC from Sep 26-Oct 14 to do four book launches, a bunch of comic-drawing workshops and a couple of festivals too.

Scroll down for the list of events and dates. For full details, please visit my events page.

See you on the road 🙂

– James

Gastronauts

Buy local – find your closest bookshop

Or order online:
– Booktopia (Australia and NZ only)
– Angus and Robertson (Australia only)
– QBD (Australia only)
– Boffins
– Dymocks
– Book Depository

 

Gastronauts book launches (WA)

Hi everyone,

it’s almost time to officially launch the latest book in my ‘S.Tinker Inc.’ graphic novel series – it’s called ‘Gastronauts‘!

Here’s the synopsis:

Sally Tinker – the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve – has developed her greatest invention yet. But when Sally’s baby brother Joe swallows it with disastrous (and gaseous) consequences, Sally and her friend Charli must shrink themselves, venture into the very bowels of Joe, and shut down the invention before it’s too late. What could possibly go wrong?

If you’re in my hometown of Perth, there are two book launches: one north of the river and one south. Please come along and spread the word!

Sept 26:  Gastronauts book launch, Fremantle

gastronauts launch bannerCome help me celebrate the release of Gastronauts. The Paper Bird book club kids will preside over proceedings and officially launch the book!

WHEN: Wednesday Sept 26
TIME: 3pm-5pm
WHERE: Paper Bird Children’s Books and Art, 42 Henry St, Fremantle WA
AGES: the book is aimed at 7-10yo (but the whole family is welcome)
COST: FREE
BOOKINGS: essential; click here.

 

Oct 3:  Gastronauts book launch, Perth

This is in fact a group book launch called the ‘Great Big Dark and Spooky Book Read’!

It’s presented by my publisher Fremantle Press, the State Library of Western Australia and AWESOME Arts.

Follow the torchlight to your seat around the ‘campfire’ for a thrilling story time experience with amazing local writers. The Great Big Dark and Spooky Book Read features Gastronauts author and illustrator James Foley (that’s me!), Bush and Beyond  author Cheryl Kickett-Tucker, Off the Track author Cristy Burne, The Hole Story author Kelly Canby, In the Lamplight author Dianne Wolfer, and Ian Mutch, author of More and More and More. From the shadows cast by war to the inside of the human body, from cozy boltholes to the vastness of space, don’t let your fear of the dark discourage you. These fun and exciting stories will light up imaginations of children aged 5 and up!

Each ticket includes your choice of one of the books being launched on the day.

(I don’t mind which book you pick, they’re all good books! But if poo and fart jokes and comics are your thing, then *cough cough* I’d suggest Gastronauts, not biased or anything, of course, ahem).

WHEN: Wednesday Oct 3rd
TIME: 11:15am-12:30pm
WHERE: State Library Theatre, State Library of WA
AGES: 5yo+
COST: $25.20 (includes entry for a family of four, and one copy of a book of your choice); $5.20 for additional tickets
BOOKINGS: essential, click here.

If you can’t make it to a launch, don’t worry: you can already find Gastronauts in lots of bookshops around Australia and online (see links below).

GASTRONAUTS BOOK TOUR – WA, NSW, VIC

Check out my events page for details of my BOOK TOUR!
I’m doing over a dozen events in WA, NSW and VIC between Sep 26-Oct 14.

Buy ‘Gastronauts’

Buy local – find your closest bookshop

Or order online:
– Booktopia (Australia and NZ only)
– Angus and Robertson (Australia only)
– QBD (Australia only)
– Boffins
– Dymocks
– Book Depository

Give your kids Gastro this October!

Hello! I haven’t posted in a while, as things have been very busy at home – my wife and I now have a beautiful 5-month old baby. AND I’ve been working on a new book, which just went off to print today!

GASTRONAUTS is the third graphic novel in the S.Tinker Inc. series, featuring the irrepressible Sally Tinker. She’s the world’s foremost inventor under the age of twelve, and there’s no problem she can’t solve. Unfortunately there’s no problem her inventions can’t cause, either; she’s already built a robot that went completely out of control, and created a giant dung beetle that terrorised her town. In this new story the problem is a lot smaller, in that her baby brother Joe has swallowed a teeny-tiny invention.  Sally and her friend Charli must shrink themselves and venture into the very bowels of Joe to shut down the swallowed invention before it causes some unintended (and very gaseous) consequences.

Gastronauts will be out in bookshops and online on October 1st, 2018. Your kids have probably given you gastro a few times, so now you can return the favour 😉

And here’s the cover! I’m so happy with how it turned out. Big thanks to the awesome team at Fremantle Press for being wonderful, as always.

If you’re super keen to grab a copy and don’t want to forget or miss out, you can pre-order now at Booktopia.

I’ll do some more posts the closer we get to the book birthday.

And FYI, there will be launches in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, so stay tuned for details!

Thanks for reading,

James

 

Brobot: from roughs to final artwork

Hello! I’ve pulled together some gifs to show you how I made some of the illustrations in Brobot. You can see how I got from the first rough drawing to the final artwork for each illustration. Check them out below.

(NB: if you’re receiving this post by email and the gifs don’t appear, just click on the post title above to view the original post on my website).

brobot-final-pg-38-39-timelapse

brobot-final-pg-44-45-timelapse

brobot-final-pg-52-53-timelapse

brobot-final-pg-56-57-timelapse

 

brobot-final-pg-84-85-v2-timelapse

Brobot-3d-final-400pxBuy ‘Brobot’ now

My new book ‘Brobot’ is out now

img_8485It’s finally here! My new book Brobot is now available in bookshops.

Brobot is about a young inventor called Sally Tinker. She gets sick of her baby brother Joe, so she builds a new one, called Brobot.

Here’s some more info on the characters …

img_7811 img_8395 img_8396

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is the Brobot book trailer! I had heaps of fun playing with a program called Adobe Character Animator to bring Sally to life.

Brobot-3d-final-400pxBuy ‘Brobot’ now

 

 

 

Events for September, October & November

It’s my busy time of the year. Between August and October I’m visiting lots of schools and libraries for private events, but I’m also running some public talks and workshops – including a public launch for my new book Brobot on October 7th as part of the Awesome Festival.

See below for all the details.

Sept 3 – children’s book illustration workshop (for adults)

'The Last Viking' (2011), A New Believer?

A 3 hour workshop for the City of South Perth’s 2016 Evolve development program.

WHEN: Saturday September 3, 10am-1pm.
WHERE: Halo Espresso, 82 Angelo St, South Perth.
COST: $30 + booking fee.
BOOKINGS: essential. Click here for bookings.

 

Continue reading “Events for September, October & November”

Events for June and July

This June and July you’ll find me reading from my upcoming book in Fremantle, running sessions at a kids’ lit festival in Balingup, and giving a free dragon-drawing workshop in Perth.

Come by and say hi!

June 6 – Books Out Loud!

p
Come and hear Fremantle Press authors Deb Fitzpatrick, Norman Jorgensen, Paula Hayes, Meg McKinlay and myself doing free live readings on WA Day. I’ll do a few sketches too.

There’ll be a bunch of other activities on during the day: a skateboarding clinic, art classes, a climbing wall, mask making and kite flying. Should be awesome!

VENUE: Fremantle Esplanade
WHEN: Monday June 6th; Books Out Loud is on from 12noon-1pm
(other WA Day activities go from 10am-4pm)
FOR: all ages
COST: free!
BOOKINGS: not required; just turn up. More info here.

July 9/10 – Telling Tales Children’s Literature Festival

Balingup

Join me and a bunch of other children’s authors & illustrators in Balingup for a weekend of talks and workshops for kids. Come for a day or for the weekend. This is one of my favourite festivals to visit because the whole community gets involved – plus Balingup has stunning scenery and great cafés!

VENUE: Balingup (3hrs drive south of Perth)
WHEN: Saturday July 9th – Sunday July 1oth
FOR: 4-14yos
COST: $6 per day per child. Children can attend up to four session per day. No charge for accompanying parents or toddlers seated on parents lap.
BOOKINGS & MORE INFO: visit the Telling Tales website.

July 15 – Making mythical monsters:
watercolour dragons workshop

20160715-dragon-workshop
In the July holidays join me for a free workshop where you get to create, draw and paint amazing watercolor dragons.
Numbers are limited.

VENUE: City of Perth Library, 573 Hay st (NB: this is NOT the State Library)
WHEN: Friday July 15th, 10:30am-12 noon
FOR: strictly 7-10 year olds only
COST: free
BOOKINGS: email Suzanne at childrens.library@cityofperth.wa.gov.au

Last Viking Returns voted number one by WA kids

The Last Viking Returns (2014), front coverNorm and I have some good news: The Last Viking Returns has won the Hoffman Award!

It’s one of the WA Young Readers’ Book Awards and it’s given to the highest-ranked book by a WA creator. The Last Viking won the same award back in 2012.

Huge thanks to all the WA kids who voted for our book; it means a lot.

You can read more about the win on the Fremantle Press website.