Mr Flubbergump is a little friendly dinosaur who goes on lots of
fun adventures.
His first outing in "I call him Mr Flubbergump" topped the
Douglas Waterstones store bestseller list for two weeks and
remained in the top ten for a further two weeks. It has also
been nominated for 'UK Children's Picture Book Author of the Year'
with the finalists being announced in March 2015.
Author Anthony E Rea.
In this second book "Mr Flubbergump goes to space" he dons a spacesuit and travels to space in a rocket where he sees stars, comets, planets and meets the man in the moon.
The Mr Flubbergump series of children's books are aimed at 0 to 5 year olds and written with a rhythm that helps children memorise the story and encourages them to 'read' along. The use of simple and familiar words help little ones build a core of known words, helping with the foundation of literacy. Bright and bold colours are used to engage and capture the readers imagination.
Prior to the official launch we caught up with author Tony Rea
to find out more.
Where did the inspiration for the character come
from?
Having had a few attempts at characters that fell from my
subconscious I quickly conceded that by not having the character
based on anything it would make it more difficult for a child to
form a 'like' or 'bond' with the character and would therefore make
it more difficult to promote and gain a fan base. After all,
first and foremost Mr Flubbergump had to appeal to the child being
read the story. With a couple of failed attempts using other
animals as the inspiration I kept coming back to dinosaurs, which I
knew my then 3 year old nephew loved. It was then a matter of
making him fun and likeable using simple shapes such as ovals,
circles and triangles, knowing young children are introduced to
these at an early stage. My background in animation made this
process much easier and having written a paper on children's
animation, past and present, I had a good foundation of knowledge
to work with.
"Mr Flubbergump goes to space" is the second outing
after the successful "I call him Mr Flubbergump". Are there
plans for future instalments?
Yes, there are plans for a third book in this series, though the
final details are still in the 'ironing out' phase. There are
also plans for a separate series staring Mr Flubbergump where he is
a detective. The stories will be longer and slighly more
complex and, at the moment at least, will be aimed at the next age
group up, 3 to 7 year olds. Also I am considering an animated
series with Mr Flubbergump, where he will teach pre-schoolers
colours, shapes and numbers.
What inspired you to write a book for
children?
I love the fun of childrens books and it gives me the freedom to
draw fun characters and worlds that adult books may limit.
Also with all the advances in technology it's nice to bring 'books'
to children and see how excited they still are. I believe there is
no better audience than children, good or bad they will give you
their honest opinion!
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
When I was very young I enjoyed the 'Mr Men' books and as an older
child it is impossible not to fall in love with the Roald Dahl
stories, my favourites being 'George's Marvellous Medicine' and of
course 'The BFG.'
Any tips for those who think they too could write a
book?
Good question, my tips would be;
1. Don't do it for money, do it because it makes you happy. There
is no guarantee there will be any money no matter how good your
work is.
2. Research! Know who you are writing it for and what is out there
for that group now.
3. Prepare yourself for a lot of hard work!! It doesn't happen
overnight.
4. Believe!! Believe in what you are doing.
and lastly
5. Enjoy the ride!! Savour every little victory, there are few
better feelings than holding the first copy of 'your book'. Thank
everyone that helps you along the way.
The official launch of "Mr Flubbergump goes to space" is on
Saturday 15th November at Waterstones Douglas. Tony will be
there to sign copies of the book, meet everyone and answer any
questions, plus there will be a face painter who will be painting
children's faces as little Mr Flubbergumps.
For more details visit Mr Flubbergumps facebook page or his website www.mrflubbergump.com.