Once upon a time...

It all started shortly after my nephew was born. I was really keen to write something, a story just for him that could be told to him at bedtime.

I'd always loved dinosaurs as a kid, I had this Ladybird book and I loved looking at the pages and imagining what it would be like to stand next to one.

I recall the first time someone said to me, 'Are you writing a children's book? You should go and check out the ones in Waterstones...'.
So down I went into the basement of a Waterstones, and picked up the first thing I laid eyes on, it was A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson.

At the time, Bradley and the Dinosaur was in it's first stages, it was just a story in prose - it didn't rhyme even, but as I thumbed through Julia's story, my heart both leapt and sank. The pictures were gorgeous, the story rhymed in an instantly appealing way, and even better, there was a moral of the story too that was both hilarious and poignant. I had learned something from the story after reading it.

I could see I was going to have to start again, to give my story pace and rhythm, but I was hooked! I was on the path and determined to bring a wondrous story to life.

Once I'd got the words right, I started to draw the pages as I imagined them - a storyboard. Then, I needed to find someone with experience who could bring this into a rich and vivid whole. I found and met with the fantastic and hugely talented illustrator, Jacqueline East, and she made the artwork from my storyboard.

From start to finish, it took me about ten years to get that first story to a published form.

The journey continues...

Having learned the ropes, the sequel - Bradley and the Magic Carpet took just two years and was published in 2018.

After that, I went on a holiday retreat. I'd spent so long getting these two stories done, that I had not had time to write anything new. I was overjoyed to be on a writing holiday that new stories just came bubbling up every day!

The first of these was about naughty sausages - a counterpoint to Bradley's kindness. This time, I set myself the goal of doing it all myself, words and illustrations, Jumbo Giant Sausages was first published in 2019.

My fourth picture book, The Button and the Bean which is the second story in the Read and Learn series was released at the end of 2021, and tells a story about inseparable friends who are there for each other, while also having fun with words. 

In 2022 Bradley and the Rocket, completed the Bradley's Magic Adventures series.

My most challenging picture book so far, Time Telling Ted took me two years to write and illustrate and was published in 2025. It's a must for children learning to tell the time and possible the most gorgeously illustrated book I've done to date.

Lastly there are now over seven translated copies of my books (available here) and to mark the 10th Anniversary of Bradley and the Dinosaur, a hardcover edition is now available too.

What an adventure!

Julian

Last updated June 2026

My first dinosaur book