Welcome to our first Storyteller! feature. And first things first.
A HUGE THANK YOU! to everyone for the kind support and encouragement as I begin this new(ish!) chapter of my KidLit journey. There’s been a lot of learning and lots of fun even in these few short weeks (though January feels like it’s been 3000 days already… does anyone else feel that??!) One of the many highlights so far, has been reading January’s INCREDIBLE challenge entries and I CAN’T WAIT to see what February’s challenge brings (not so subtle hint…have a nosy HERE🔗 for entry details. 1st Feb deadline is fast approaching!).
At it’s heart, this space is about celebrating stories and reading in all their forms in a fun, interactive and inclusive way. Because I truly, deeply and passionately believe stories belong to EVERYONE and if by some luck this space helps even one person connect more with KidLit, it means the world to me.

And now onto the less mushy stuff…

First up: Last week’s Battle of the Books Zog Vs Diary of a Wimpy Kid results…. DRUM ROLL PLEASE…..
WINNER: Mum Sarah with Zog by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (it was close!)

Big thanks to everyone who voted! It was so close but Mum Sarah just snuck ahead by just FOUR votes! Jess and Lily were right on her heels… Both brilliant choices!*

*side note…I think the girls definitely earn a week of being waited on hand and foot and being fed peeled grapes with as much ice-cream as they like, as a very well deserved consolation prize.**
** Just kidding Sarah… TWO WEEKS!

You can read the full Battle HERE .
Who would YOU have picked and why? Pop a comment below and tell us!

But now from Battle of The Book victory to a very special guest.
I’ve been BURSTING to reveal this but somehow managed to keep it under wraps! So ANOTHER DRUMROLL PLEASE…
Our Mystery Guest is none other than the BRILLIANT…

This week’s Star Reader Question comes from fan and young artist Erin age 11 – thank you for your contribution!

I’ll try and keep the intro short and sweet but so much to say! Not only does Rob Biddulph write and illustrate fabulous books like Peanut Jones, Odd Dog Out, I Follow The Fox and his soon to be published The Last Wolf (The Moonhaven Chronicles out FEB 5th 2026!) but did you know that (and this one’s for the parents!) he was the art director of Just Seventeen. A magazine that must have been a staple in every teen girl’s reading material!

On a personal note, I need to say thank you to Rob for keeping us parents sane(ish) during lockdown with Draw With Rob🔗. Our family loved joining in for the Guiness World Record for the Largest Online Drawing Lesson (photo attached!). It was one of our more favourite memories of what seems now such a surreal time!

I’ve also seen Rob live a couple of times at Barnes Children’s Literature Festival (more on that later in the year!) and their London School’s Programme🔗. Last year, he gave a workshop to over 500 adults and primary school pupils. When he performed I Follow the Fox, there was not a dry eye in the house. I keep saying it but if THAT SONG ever streams online I’ll be downloading it before you’ve finished saying the word FOX! Anyway. I’ve waffled enough…

💬On to the exclusive interview!

Welcome Rob! Did you have a favourite reading spot or story-time ritual when you were little?
Well, I was a real bedtime-story kid. I loved climbing into bed, all cosy and wrapped up in my duvet, and disappearing into a story with my mum or my dad just before falling asleep. It felt like a little daily adventure. The perfect way to end the day and send my imagination wandering. 

What kind of things did you enjoy drawing as a child?Pretty much everything! I was one of those children who always had a pencil in his hand. I’d draw animals, people, imaginary creatures, whole little worlds – if I could see it (or imagine it), I’d try to draw it. I loved drawing from life, too, so I’d sketch whatever I found lying around the house: fruit, toys, trainers… anything really. Drawing from life is brilliant for learning about shading. I’ve always enjoyed looking really closely at an object to see how the light hits it and how that reveals its form. I also spent a huge amount of time writing and illustrating my own comics. I had one called YAHOO! that I made on a regular basis. It was packed with characters, puzzle pages, all sorts of bits and pieces. My dad used to photocopy it for me and I’d hand it out to my friends at school. So I suppose I was using illustration to tell stories right from the very beginning.

Which of your favourite childhood stories or books have you shared with your own children?
Ooh, I have shared quite a few of the classics I enjoyed growing up: all of Richard Scarry’s books, Dogger by Shirley Hughes, The Tiger Who Came to Tea obviously, the Mr Men books and loads more. And I’ve passed on my all-time favourite children’s text How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss too. That one really planted the seed for me becoming a picture-book writer as well as an illustrator.

Some of the grown-ups here might remember Just 17 magazine where you were actually the Art Director! (I definitely do!)
What was your favourite part of that job and did it shape how you illustrate today?
Just 17 was brilliant fun. First and foremost, I loved the creative buzz – designing pages, working with brilliant editors, writers and photographers, coming up with photoshoot ideas for people likeKylie Minogue and the Spice Girls, going on those photoshoots, doing a bit of modelling, and trying to catch the reader’s eye and draw them in with every spread I designed. It taught me loads about storytelling through layout, colour, pacing and composition. Skills that are definitely useful in my book work now. Those years in magazines were like a masterclass in visual communication.

Lockdown now seems like an alternate universe! But one of the activities that kept many children (and their grown-ups!) entertained was your #drawwithrob videos. Our family has such special memories from taking part in the world record.
What did you learn, or what memories stick with you from those sessions?
Well, I’m still making new videos now, but those sessions during the lockdowns were incredibly special. What stays with me most is the sense of community. Families from all over the world were, through my videos, drawing together at a really difficult time. I loved hearing how kids would draw with their grandparents who they couldn’t see in real life over Zoom. Plus, seeing children’s artwork flood in on my social feeds every day was genuinely heart-lifting. I still get sent pictures from parents and kids every single day of my life, and I love it! And yes, the world record event in May 2020 when we drew a whale and raised thousands for the NHS)… well, that was unforgettable! It reminded me how powerful creativity can be when we share it. I would have to say that I think Draw With Rob is the thing in my life that I am most proud of (except for my daughters).

Huge congratulations on The Last Wolf (5th Feb 2026)! The first book in your The Moonhaven Chronicles series sounds jampacked with adventure – four friends sneaking out every full moon, a werewolf attack and lots of secrets. What inspired this story, and how did you balance a spooky setting with warmth and humour?Thank you! Well, I suppose The Last Wolf initially grew out of what we all experienced during the pandemic – lockdown. I found myself thinking about what would happen if werewolves really existed. I concluded that no one would be allowed outside on a full moon in case they transformed, so once a month the world would be completely deserted. I kept thinking of that scene in 28 Days Later where Cillian Murphy walks through an empty London. And then I thought: how fun would it be to have the whole planet to yourself on those nights if you did manage to sneak out? That’s when I came up with the Moonlighters – a bunch of kids who slip out for nocturnal adventures every full moon. From there, things snowballed. I started wondering what might happen if one of the kids got caught up in a werewolf attack, and what the repercussions would be. Then I thought it would be fun if their hometown, Moonhaven, was historically a town where there had been lots of werewolf sightings – a lupine epicentre, if you like – but what if it was also a place full of secrets, where not all was as it seeemed. That’s when you start to think about the antagonists. There’d have to be a special police force, the Nighthawks, who would enforce the monthly lockdowns, and there would also have to be a main villain – coming up with London Pike’s personality and wardrobe was one of my favourite parts of the process. So, all in all, writing this book was super-fun. Throughout, I wanted there to be a sense of creeping dread, but I also wanted to create a cast of characters you’d genuinely want to hang out with. So our protagonists, Jax, Jovi, Esau, Fourth, and Purple, bring all the warmth and humour; their friendship gives the book its emotional core. Once I had them, the spooky elements naturally slotted in around them. The story is a bit dark and twisty in places, but the big, beating heart underneath keeps everything grounded, I think. It’s a LOT of fun. 

This month’s Blog theme isNew Beginnings. What exciting new adventures or projects await you in 2026?
It’s is going to be a huge year for me. I’ll be working hard on Hunter’s Moon, the second book in The Moonhaven Chronicles, plus I’ll be putting the finishing touches to my next picture book and two more Draw With Rob activity books. I also have a couple of brand new projects with HarperCollins which are really exciting, but unfortunately I’m not allowed to talk about them yet. Speaking of secrets, there are a couple of other mind-bogglingly exciting things bubbling away too, but again, I have to keep my lips sealed for now. One thing I can say for sure is that I’ll be touring just as much as always, and am looking forward to meeting lots of my readers up and down the country and around the world.  

And just for fun!
If you were stranded on a desert island could only bring one character from The Last Wolf for company, who would it be and why?
Probably Jovi. She’s clever, resourceful, and always keeps her head in a crisis.  

If you could shrink to down to live inside one of your illustrated worlds for the day, which book would you explore?
I think I’d pick Odd Dog Out. The sausage-dog world feels joyful and bright – full of colour, quirky characters, and good vibes. It would be a pretty lovely place to spend a day.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️STAR READER QUESTION FROM ERIN, AGED 11 ⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What do you find impossible to draw and why? And also do you like sausage dogs as there are a few in your videos (and your book ODD DOG OUT!)?
Great question, Erin! Well, nothing’s impossible and I’d have a go at drawing anything, but I do I find bicycles surprisingly difficult to draw. All those angles and spokes and lines have to look just right, or the whole thing just feels wrong. Horses are also a bit tricksy. As for sausage dogs… I LOVE them! They’re such funny, characterful little creatures. 
Odd Dog Out is absolutely a love letter to them.

The Last Wolf (Moonhaven Chronicles 1) published by Macmillans Children’s Books
OUT: 5th Feb 2026
Thanks Rob for such an insightful Q&A!

And to the lovely readers – I hope you enjoyed the responses as much as I did!
Coming up next Friday…
Our Story! A KidLit filled Q&A with: Charisse Beaumont Chief Executive of Black Lives in Music and family