Richard Fairgray – författare

A mysterious box arrives at the door marked OPEN IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. That sure is handy for Zachary J. Warthog. Need a packet of sugar? Just open the box and it’s there! Clean underwear? Check.Cyrus P. Rhinosaur gets a box, too. When he has real and true emergencies, like a tornado that hits his house, he decides the save the box for an even bigger emergency.When Zack loses his box, suddenly—a real emergency! But no box to open . . .

There once was a girl called Sweet Penny who did exactly as she was told. Her sister and brother disappointed her mother, but she never broke the mold. Penny was so nice and quiet that teachers forgot she was there. Being so good, doing just what you should, that just won''t get you anywhere. Sweet Penny is so good, she would never do anything to disappoint her parents or disrupt class or upset her friends. In fact, she''s so sweet, that even when bullies steal her lunch, she just quietly smiles and lets them. And then, one day on the playground Penny''s class is playing a game when a lion hops over the fence. Penny''s classmates scream and scatter, but Penny was told to stay right where she was. And so she does. And the lion eats her. But something changes when she''s in his very dark belly. She punches and kicks her way out, and when she emerges, not-so-sweet Penny will never be taken advantage of again. Told in verse, Richard Fairgray and Alex Burke''s wickedly funny picture book is a celebration of strong girls and a call to, "Be bold, be loud, shout out, and speak up," because "sometimes it''s hard to be brave."

Gorillas can be hard to spot, because they are masters of disguise and really good at hiding. Gorillas often have jobs where they get to wear masks—that’s why so many gorillas are surgeons, astronauts, scuba divers, and ninjas. There are adult gorillas and kid gorillas. There are even gorillas that go to school with you. You may think you’ve seen a gorilla swinging by before, but it’s much more likely that he was an orangutan—orangutans are terrible at hiding. You will know when there are lots of gorillas living in your midst because the grocery stores will be entirely out of bananas. In fact, you should always carry a banana with you, because you never know when there might be a gorilla around.Gorillas in Our Midst is all silliness and fun, and is destined to become a new favorite. Comic artist Richard Fairgray’s illustrations are filled with wonderful details for kids to discover with each read. Kids will love spotting the gorillas on each page and are sure to laugh out loud at the gorillas’ many disguises. And, of course, a story like this can’t end without a surprising twist!Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.