‘Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes’ preview…

‘Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes’ (say ‘octo-dilly-ohs’), the second book in the Jackowhisp series, was supposed to be available for Christmas this year but we are behind schedule. Many of you have been asking and I can now tell you that the ‘Octodillioes’ will be available early in 2011. When I have a definite date for the release I will post a notice on my website so you will be the first to know. Thank you for your patience.

‘Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes’ is about Jimba going on a field trip to the beach with his teacher and the rest of the class. While the other Jack-o-Whispers are happy to collect shells for their class projects, Jimba wants to see octodillioes, but the octodillioes only come out of the water out at night.

Free download – full colour A4 poster from Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes

Jimba Jackobean at the beach and hoping to see some octodillioes

Click here to see a bigger image that you can download!

There is a lovely surprise for Jimba at the end of the book, but I won’t tell you what it is – you will need to read it to find out. Hmm… I wonder what an octodillio looks like.

‘Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes’ is beautifully illustrated by Omar Aranda, and delightful to read. I hope you enjoy reading about Jimba, he is a great character and I know he will be a favourite in classic children’s books for years to come.

The illustrations for ‘Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes’ are looking great. Omar has set them out a little differently this time and I think the effect is better still. Omar has drawn some wonderful birds too, so make sure you look for them as you read the book.

Also, you will meet some of Jimba’s friends. There is Melody Whisper, Jasper Whipjack, Mae Mae Jitter-Jump and of course, Mrs Jickelby, Jimba’s teacher.

Don’t forget to tell your friends about Jimba and how they can buy a book from my website www.alexistapp.com

When you order books in December, you also get some FREE gifts:

• a free Jackowhisp bookmark and
• a free Jackowhisp pen.

So tell your friends about this special offer.

Jimba and his friends wish you a lovely Christmas. Stay safe.

Alexis Tapp

Do you like the map of Jackowhisp on this page and in the front of the book?

When I wrote these books I wanted a map because I loved them in children’s story books when I was a child. So, I hope you like it as much as I do.

Omar drew the map and when I first received it, it wasn’t in colour, just a pencil sketch. I spent a long time looking at it. I followed the river with my finger through Jackowhisp because not being in colour, it was a bit hard to pick it out from the rest of the landscape. We made two small changes and then Omar sent the final version in colour.

“What a delightful map,” I thought. I loved all of the little houses in the village. You can pick out the Mayor’s house really easily. It has the beautiful wrought iron gates. Also, that is where the golden clucket lives. Melody Whisper lives in the house next door.

Map: Land of Jackowhisp

One of the changes we made to the map was to put snow on the top of Bangerring Mountain. In the book, Jasper Whipjack and the Mudsloppers, Jasper takes the Mudsloppers to the top of the mountain and there had to be snow on the top for the story to work.

The other change was to move the beach. Peppermint Point actually started out at the bottom of the map. You can see all details of these in your own copy of the book Jimba Jackobean And The Bouncer Bangerrings.

To Your Wonderful Adventures In the Land Of JackoWhisp,
Alexis Tapp

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How the music was composed for the CD of Jimba Jackobean and The Bouncer Bangerrings…

I have been asked about the music on the CD for Jimba Jackobean and the Bouncer-Bangerrings. A very talented man by the name of Roger Nicholson wrote the music.

Recording music for a picture book was a fascinating process. Roger had been given the manuscript of the story and he wrote the music, not on paper, but in his head. Those of you who have the CD will know there is Jimba music, Bouncer-Bangerring music, Mayor Whitterkins music and even, ‘Bouncer-Bangerrings bouncing carefully’ music.

Roger played the keyboard and do you know, he used every note? I have never seen a musician do that and I have been in the music industry all my life. He played up and down the keyboard creating music and only by reading the story. He never had music in front of him, just the story. Click the Play Arrow below to hear a sample of Roger’s soundtrack and part of the story from the CD…

It took about two hours to record and when Roger left he was talking about music for the Octodillioes. So, let’s hope he is available again for the next book.

You can hear all of Roger’s amazing music AND listen to the whole story with your own copy of Jimba Jackobean and The Bouncer Bangerrings Book + CD

I wonder what clucket music will sound like…

To Your Wonderful Adventures In the Land Of JackoWhisp,
Alexis Tapp

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Omar Aranda, Illustrator Of The JackoWhisp Series Of Picture Books for Children

In my last post I wrote about the different stages of publishing a book. I would like to tell you a little more about Omar, the illustrator. Omar lives in Argentina and runs his own illustrator’s agency. He is very successful and also very busy. I am lucky that he likes my books and is happy to illustrate the pictures. Omar draws pictures or illustrations as they are called, for people all over the world. He does book covers as well as books and he also draws for some of the big comic studios like Looney Tunes. You can read more about Omar on The Illustrator’s Agency website.

Who decides what the characters will look like?

When I first wrote these books I didn’t know what the characters would look like. In fact, I thought they would be a bit like long, sausage people. I really had no idea. After Omar agreed to take on the job of illustrating Jimba Jackobean and the Bouncer-Bangerrings, I asked him to draw some of the characters for me. Three days later he sent through the pictures you see on the website of Mayor Whitterkins and his wife Hilda, Bobber Bangerring and Jimba. I was so thrilled. It was wonderful to see my stories with the added dimension of illustrations.

How long does it take to illustrate a picture book for children?

All illustrators, including Omar need a time frame to work with and I asked him if he could have the illustrations ready in six months. That isn’t a long time but he did it. I have included some of his drawings below because he would send them over to see if I liked them. Naturally, I liked everything he sent. Can you see which picture they are by looking in your book of Jimba Jackobean and the Bouncer-Bangerrings?

Some of Omar’s Illustrations For You To Colour

The Meeting. (Click the image to download, print and colour.)

Bobber Bangerring. (Click the image to download, print and colour.)

To Your Wonderful Adventures In the Land Of JackoWhisp,
Alexis Tapp

PS

Did you get your own copy of Jimba Jackobean and The Bouncer Bangerrings yet?
When you do, remember to tell me what you enjoyed most by writing a comment in the comments box below.

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Come And Meet The Cluckets

All classic children’s books have great characters and in the land of Jackowhisp you will meet some cluckets. Cluckets lay eggs and have beautiful red and purple tail feathers. But one clucket has golden tail feathers. He is a prize-winning clucket and he belongs to Hilda Whitterkins.

Melody Whisper and the Golden Clucket is the third book in the Jackowhisp series and tells a story  about a naughty clucket, yes, you guessed it, the golden clucket. One day when Melody is minding the cluckets for Hilda Whitterkins, the golden clucket escapes. Melody and Jimba chase the silly clucket all around Jackowhisp and into Bangerring Mountain. I won’t tell you what happens because you can read it for yourself when the book is published next year. Don’t miss Melody Whisper and the Golden Clucket, it should be available after Christmas.

Jimba Jackobean and The Bouncer Bangerrings

Some of the characters you will meet in ‘Jimba Jackobean And The Bouncer Bangerrings’
by Alexis Tapp

Have you read Jimba Jackobean and The Bouncer Bangerrings yet? It’s a wonderful storybook for children 3 to 8 years old, with delightful illustrations by Omar Aranda. You can even listen to the story on CD as you read along if you get the book and CD together. What a wonderful Christmas or birthday gift for the children you cherish. You can get your copies of this new classic story book for children book here.

Here’s To Your Wonderful Adventures In The Land Of JackoWhisp,
Alexis Tapp

PS.

Remember to let me know how much you enjoyed reading or listening to my stories by leaving a comment in the comments box below.

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