Final Year

Former primary school teacher Matt Goodfellow is now a full-time poet who visits schools across the country to give high-energy performances and workshops. His first poetry collection for Otter-Barry Books, Chicken on the Roof, received wide acclaim. He is also the author of Caterpillar Cake, illustrated by Krina Patel-Sage and shortlisted for the CLiPPA award, Shu-Lin's Grandpa, illustrated by Yu Rong and shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, and a contributor to CLiPPA-shortlisted poetry collection Being Me: Poems about Thoughts, Worries and Feelings, all published by Otter-Barry Books. Matt lives in Stockport, Manchester, UK.Joe Todd-Stanton’s  picturebook The Secret of Black Rock was longlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Award and won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. His Brownstone’s Mythical Collection series has been optioned by DreamWorks. In 2023, he was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration for The Comet.

"I am pleased to report it is EXCELLENT in every way. Told in verse, with illustrations, it focuses on a young boy going into school year 6. Think friendships, SAT’s, family life. This book will steal your heart, rearrange it and return it. Lovely references to David Almond. This is most definitely recommended to all age 8 upwards, all parents, all teachers. Simply go buy it!"