Written by Erika McGann and Illustrated by Leona Burns
Lottie and her dog Biscuit live on Branksea Island. It’s the best place in the world, with a castle, a lighthouse, a forest and a beach. Best of all, her friends Mia and Finn live there too. The children LOVE playing on the sand in their pirate ship – until one day it disappears.
Lottie and friends – and Biscuit – search every inch of the island until at last, they spot their ship. Local artist Annie thought the pirate ship was just a broken old boat that would make a lovely flower planter!
Can the children use their creativity and imagination to show Annie just how important the pirate ship is to them – and how much fun they have with it?
A story about Lottie and friends, showing the importance of Inclusion, Imagination, play, Creativity, nature and simplicity.
Author
Erika McGann is the author of The Demon Notebook, winner of the Waverton Good Read Children’s Award, The Broken Spell, The Watching Wood and The Midnight Carnival, the ‘Cass and the Bubble Street Gang’ series, and four picture books, Where Are You, Puffling?, Puffling and the Egg (which was nominated for an Irish Book Award) and Wee Donkey’s Treasure Hunt, all illustrated by Gerry Daly, and The Night-time Cat and the Plump, Grey Mouse, illustrated by Lauren O’Neill. Erika’s most recent book is Tabitha Plimtock and the Edge of the World.
Her picture book Standing On One Leg Is Hard is shortlisted for the An Post Irish Book Awards 2023
Illustrator
Leona Burns is one of our own, we first discovered Leona's talents when she was still a student at the local University here in Donegal. Our offices are based on campus and Leona did her first work placement with us whilst still at college. Since we started the business over 12 years ago we have worked with some of the most recognised Manga artists in Europe and the USA but without doubt, Leona is the best we have ever seen. Leona now works as an independent artist and we continue to commission work with her. When the opportunity to develop the book with O'Brien Press arose there was only one person that we wanted to work with. Leona knows Lottie like no other, developing Lottie's world was something that we have attempted several times both in publishing and animation. Leona gets it every time, there are rarely any creative edits. We take huge pride in developing Lottie's world and the characters in it and there's really no one we would rather have done it with, thank you Leona.
Hardback: 32 pages