‘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 many steps in making a story and picture book for kids?

My next book for children, Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes, will be coming out next year and I am really excited about it. Why does it take so long? After a story is written, it needs to go through a lot of stages before it can be called a book:

1. When the author first writes the story it is called a manuscript.
2. The manuscript then goes to an editor who looks at any spelling errors or incorrect punctuation.
3. The editor will also look at the story to decide if parts of it are not needed or something is missing in the story. This is normal and most writers listen to what the editor says because they usually know best. My editor’s name is Wendy and she lives in France.
4. After the writer and the editor are both happy with the story, it then goes to the illustrator.
5. The illustrator for the Jackowhisp series is Omar Aranda and he draws the pictures. I don’t tell Omar what to draw; I leave it up to him. Just as well, because if you look at the pictures in Jimba Jackobean and the Bouncer-Bangerrings you will agree that they are amazing!

6. When the pictures come back to me I then send them and the manuscript off to a story boarder whose job it is to put them all  together into a book on the computer. My storyboard lady is Monique and without her, the book wouldn’t look very good. She is responsible for the layout of the pages and makes them look nice with proper margins and a nice font that is easy to read.

7. Eventually the book is ready for the printer. When Jimba Jackobean and the Bouncer-Bangerrings was printed, I flew to the  printer’s in Adelaide to watch the printing process. You can see me in these images.

I won’t be flying to Adelaide this time for the print of Jimba Jackobean and the Octodillioes because I will be busy here in Melbourne. Make sure you get your copy in next year before they sell out.

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

PS

If you have any questions about making a picture book for children, just type them in the comments box below and I will do my best to answer them

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Welcome To Jindleberry Woodland – Home of The Quillarills | Alexis Tapp

The Quillarills are another of my favourite characters in the JackoWhisp series of story and picture books for children. The Quillarills live in Jindleberry Woodland inside the Billy-Bubble trees.

If you look closely, you will see Jindleberry Woodland at the top of the map, just above Bangerring Mountain.

If you look at the close up map below you will see the Billy-Bubble trees with the little windows and stairs. One even has a little canopy to keep you dry when it rains. It is always good to be able to put your key in the front door of your house and not get wet in the rain, don’t you think?

This book isn’t published yet, but it is about Jimba Jackobean’s sister, Jessica. She plays a musical instrument, and do you know I haven’t thought of a name for it yet. I think it looks something like a violin though.

If you think of a good name for the instrument you could tell me by leaving me a message in the comments box below this story.

Jessica makes friends with the Quillarills and they invite her into their homes in the Billy-Bubble trees.

This is a lovely story in which Jessica solves a huge problem for the Quillarills and makes lots of new friends.  It’s always nice to make new friends, don’t you think?

Look out for this book  when it’s published, won’t you? Like all of my story books for children, it’s just for fun.

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

PS

Have you downloaded your FREE colourful Jimba Jackobean poster yet?
Order Jackowhisp Books & CDs online.

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Meet The Mudsloppers | Alexis Tapp

In the JackoWhisp series of childrens story and picture books, some of my favourite characters are the Mudsloppers. They are similar to the Bouncer-Bangerrings in that they love to have fun, which is what I
like about them, but the Mudsloppers live in Jackomire Swamp.

If you look on the map you will see the swamp on the right, just past Bangerring Mountain.

Here’s a closer view of Jackomire Swamp.

Can you see the Mudsloppers’ houses too? Aren’t the houses in Jackomire Swamp wonderful?

The Mudsloppers are always covered in mud because they just love slopping around in their muddy swamp. They jump into the swamp and play there most of the day and long into the night.

I am not sure when the Mudslopper book will be published, but look out for it won’t you? Like all of my story books for children, it’s just for fun.

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

PS

Have you downloaded your FREE colourful Jimba Jackobean poster yet?
Order Jackowhisp Books & CDs online

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