Tour at School: Because You're the New Kid!
- " This irrepressibly bouncy tour of all the school essentials (including toilets, emergency meeting tree and library with possibly more than a million books) humorously distills the scariness of starting school and the thrill of making a new friend." - The Guardian
- "A fun and pacy picture book on the important job that is showing a new kid around school, aka giving them 'The Tour'. Shireen’s illustrations ramp up the chaotic energy." - The Bookseller
- "A simultaneous knee-slapper and heart-warmer that is sure to become a read-aloud hit. A first purchase for collections, offering a humorous, inviting, and fresh approach to the new kid experience." - School Library Journal
"A remarkably sweet, funny, and thoughtful picture book. The depiction of school-life is brilliant, with noise, business, games and chaotic fun, all illustrated beautifully to match the energy of a primary setting. " - Booktrust
The hilarious and heartfelt debut picture book from Katie Clapham, illustrated by Nadia Shireen - creator of the bestselling, highly acclaimed Grimwood series and Barbara Throws a Wobbler - will help kids feel better about those first-day-at-school nerves, as well as encouraging all children to create a safe and welcoming space for others.
Because, really, starting school can be scary. And being a New Kid in a new school can also be very scary. Luckily, this book will help soothe first-day nerves, make kids feel excited about the challenge and also show children how to be the PERFECT Tour Guide and make any New Kid feel right at home. And did we mention this book is very funny? Because it really is.
So, come along and join THE TOUR with Katie Clapham and Nadia Shireen. First stop? The toilets. Because they're great for singing in. (And also for weeing.) And don't forget to show them the library and its one MILLION books (remember to use your quiet mouse voice!), the playground (where you can play Worldwide Hairdressers!) and ... the EMERGENCY MEET UP PLACE (just in case anyone gets lost). But REMEMBER, sometimes when you're a New Kid it can all be ... a bit too much. And that's when the New Kid doesn't need you to be a tour guide anymore, they need you to be ... a friend.
Katie Clapham is the co-owner of independent bookshop Storytellers, Inc. with her mum. Picked by The Bookseller as a rising star, Katie was also named Best Young Bookseller at the British Book Awards. Katie is the author of acclaimed teen comedy Three Girls (UCLan, 2022), and The Missing Bookshop (Stripes, 2019). She lives by the sea with her husband, daughter and dog, where she writes the popular Substack newsletter, Receipt from the Bookshop, as well as working in the bookshop. Find her on Instagram: @KatieClaphamWriting.
Nadia Shireen has been making picture books since 2010, when her debut Good Little Wolf burst onto the scene and was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Since then, she’s written and illustrated many more picture books including Barbara Throws a Wobbler, Billy and the Beast, The Cow Who Fell to Earth and Geoffrey Gets the Jitters. In 2017, The Bumblebear was distributed to over 700,000 children as part of BookTrust’s Time To Read campaign. Her anarchic series for older readers, Grimwood, was a World Book Day title in 2022 and has taken the playgrounds of the nation by storm. Nadia has won the UKLA book prize twice, though she has lost loads of others (she still enjoys being nominated though.) She co-presents a podcast about children’s books called The Island of Brilliant with writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Find her on Instagram: @NadiaShireenDraws.