Category: Hedgehogs

Midsummer News

Award Win, New Fox Project, and a Tale of Two Robins

Hello from London, where midsummer is well and truly here, delivering us a 30-degree heatwave just in time for the longest day of the year. Here in the UK most of us love long, lazy evenings in the garden with a glass of rosé, but there is one fly in the ointment – most of us don’t have air-conditioning! Thus the initial excitement really does wear off pretty quickly thanks to the attendant restless nights – wish us luck 😎.

I’ve been meaning to share this post ever since returning from a trip to Costa Rica in March. I only realised the other day that I hadn’t done so (I think jet lag got the better of me), so here is a long-overdue update on what’s been happening this year.

Beyond the Secret Lake wins Children’s Book Award

Back in March, while relaxing at a beach bar in Costa Rica (appropriately called Hemingway’s!), I received an unexpected message from London Book Fair where it had been announced that Beyond the Secret Lake had won the 2025 UK Selfies Award for the best independently published children’s book of 2024! Needless to say, I was thrilled; I’ve been shortlisted a few times before, but this was my first major win.

The award came with a cash prize, PR coaching, and an interview in the magazine BookBrunch talking about my writing process and the research that went into Beyond the Secret Lake. To read the full interview click or tap here.

A huge thank you to my author friend Jane Davis – winner of the first-ever Selfies Award in 2019 – who accepted the award on my behalf. I couldn’t have asked for a more stylish stand-in – her outfit even matched the book cover! Follow this link to see a video of her accepting on my behalf.

A New Fox Story Collection for Ages 6–7+

In the last few months, I’ve been working with my illustrator, Andrew Smith, on creating a single illustrated rhyming storybook collection of all six of my Ferdinand Fox rhyming tales.

Fox trotting along a back alley with a smile on his face. Wall and weeds/dandelions background.

The stories will include:

  • Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog (already a picture book)
  • Ferdinand Fox and the Lost Boy (already a picture book)
  • Ferdinand Fox, the Kittens and the Alley Monster
  • Ferdinand Fox and the Break-in
  • Ferdinand Fox’s Close Shave
  • Ferdinand Fox’s Big Sleep (already a picture book)

The three existing picture books are all hugely popular at my school visits. But the remaining three have sat in my virtual drawer for way too long and I have decided that this needs rectifying! The change in format is partly driven by budget, but also the fact that the remaining stories have quite complex plots for ages 3–5.

I tested the collection idea with a small group of ‘advance readers’ aged 6-8+ from my newsletter by sending a mock-up and text describing where the images would go, as well as asking for preferred book size and number of illustrations. They were wonderfully enthusiastic and loved all of the stories 😊. In response to that feedback, the collection will be in standard paperback size and aimed at children aged 6–7+ to read to themselves or with the help of someone older, and will include scattered colour illustrations. See a couple of samples below.

Image of a double page spread with rhyming text and images of a fox and hedgehog in different poses

While there will not be an illustration for every scene, there are certainly enough to engage young readers as they move through the action. This also means that the stories could still happily be shared with younger children by parents who love rhyme (like me!), then the children can grow into reading them themselves.

Those of you familiar with the existing picture books will see that Andrew has reworked the Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog images to ensure a consistent illustration style in the new collection I love them! What do you think? He will do the same for Ferdinand Fox’s Big Sleep when he gets to it.

Below is the opening extract from Ferdinand Fox, the Kittens and the Alley Monster one of the as-yet ‘never published’ stories – complete with a sketch for the next image in line! 🦊

Image of a draft spread from a rhyming fox story. Two colour illustrations and one sketch. Images show cat and kittens in a carboard box and fox eating a chicken drumstick.

A key theme of the longer stories within the collection is that Ferdinand Fox is an unsung hero – going out of his way to help those in trouble (be they animal or human) but never getting the credit. 😊

I do hope you’ll enjoy the collection when it comes out, which is likely to be in September.

Celebrating World Book Day 2025 (back in March)

Before heading off to Costa Rica, I visited five schools for World Book Day week – as ever, it was a whirlwind of assemblies, readings, and brilliant questions from enthusiastic young readers. Here’s a photo from One Degree Academy in East London, where Year 4 pupils, who had been studying The Secret Lake, came armed with the most thoughtful questions. These in-person visits where I connect with my readers are always a highlight of my year, and such an uplifting reminder of why I love what I do!

Image of Karen Inglis children's author talking to an assembly hall of school pupils. A screen on the wall shows book titles and photos relating to the stories.

The Tale of Robbie and Roberta

Back on the theme of animals… I can’t write this post without introducing my latest muses: two robins, Robbie and Roberta, who have been nesting in our garden for two years now and feed directly from my hand. Their daily visits have been a true delight – and who knows, perhaps a story will come from them in time. Here they are in action! (As I write, they are moulting! Who knew that robins moult?!)

Image of robin redbreast in Karen Inglis author's hand. This is Robbie
Robbie
Two robins sitting on garden outbuilding, looking a little dishevelled as they are moulting!
Robbie and Roberta – looking a bit dishevelled as they are moulting!

Secret Lake 4…? 🚣‍♂️

I have been getting emails asking about Book 4 in The Secret Lake series; the ideas for this are currently tumbling around in my mind, which is what always happens. At the moment, it’s a case of ‘watch this space’ until Tom, Stella, Emma, Lucy, Sophie, Hannah and Jack let me know that they are ready for me to start putting pen to paper.

In the meantime, I’m excited to share that following strong sales of The Secret Lake in China, Return to the Secret Lake is soon to be released in Chinese, and the Japanese edition of The Secret Lake (Book 1) is not far behind. I can’t wait to see the covers and share them with you.

And here is the text from one lovely review posted on Amazon for Beyond the Secret Lake. Please do take a moment to help your children leave reviews; it means a lot to us and helps other families discover our stories.

Image of book review of Beyond the Secret Lake with five yellow stars and text "It's the best series I've ever read! If you like mystery you will LOVE this, it's a fantastic book. My daughter aged 8 was gripped from the start, ever night she demanded more and more chapter - we just couldn't put it down. She loved the ending and can't wait for the next book!

Thanks so much for reading, and for continuing to follow my journey. I’ll be back soon with more news. In the meantime, wishing you a wonderful start to the summer. Stay cool (or warm!) wherever you are

With warmest wishes,
Karen 🚣‍♂️ 📚 😊 ❤️

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Festivals, book offers, hedgehogs and more – why I love May!

We’re at the start of the first of two Bank Holiday long weekends this month in the UK  — guaranteed to make the nation smile, come rain or shine! However, there are a couple of other reasons why I especially love May. I’ll start with those before sharing other news.

Barnes Children’s Literature Festival – May 11th/12th

May is the month in which we have The Barnes Children’s Literature Festival, conveniently held down the road from where I live in southwest London. It’s in its fifth year and is now London’s largest dedicated children’s book festival.

Screen Shot 2019-05-03 at 08.51.37
Barnes now has London’s largest dedicated children’s literature festival – don’t miss!

As well as the many big names this year (Lauren Child, Judith Kerr, David Almond, Jeremy Strong to name but a few…), there’s also a fabulous free events programme. So if you have kids and live within reach of London, do look at the programmes and come along. I’m already looking forward to hearing Judith Kerr and Emma Carroll. Oh and I must book for Hillary McKay too!

Do you have a children’s story in you?

I’ve had great fun running children’s events at Barnes over the years. However, this year for the second year in a row I’ll be running an event for new and aspiring children’s authors on  Children’s Book Self-Publishing and Marketing. If you think you have a children’s story in you, or are just curious about how it all works, do come along to find out more about this exciting world. Ages 16-66+ welcome! 🙂 (We had a packed tent last year.) Click here to learn more or book.

The Secret Lake – the magical journey continues

As many of you will know, another reason May has a special place in my heart is that it’s the time that Isabella Plantation, a stunning woodland in London’s Richmond Park, comes into bloom. The woodlands and ‘Still Pond’ (seen below during a 14k walk last Sunday!) were a strong part of the inspiration for my UK bestselling time travel adventure The Secret Lake, which is also now climbing the charts in the US and Canada.

Karen Inglis standing in front of Still Pond lake with pin azaleis
Still Pond last Sunday 28th April – The Inspiration for The Secret Lake

Unbelievably, over 20,000 copies of The Secret Lake have sold in print in the last year and I’ve just signed two foreign rights deals. If you don’t yet know the story and are curious, do visit Amazon UK to read over 100 reviews 🙂 You’ll also find 35 more on Amazon.com.

It’s now almost 20 years since I wrote the first draft, after watching some friends’ children playing in the vast communal gardens of London’s Notting Hill. As I looked all around at the grand houses I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if the children playing there that day could meet the children who had lived and played there 100 years earlier. If you want to know more, or to download a free sample, follow the links below. The reading age is 8-11, but it’s also perfect to read aloud to ages 6 upwards.

The Secret Lake on offer in the UK and Canada

For those of you who live in the UK, The Secret Lake is currently on offer on Amazon at £5.29 down from £6.99. It’s also discounted on Amazon in Canada from $10.70 to $9.71. I don’t control the offers I’m afraid, so don’t know how long they will last. If you have a young bookworm at home, I’d say grab it while you can. And, of course, you can also order it from your local bookshop.

Reader fan mail – making me smile!

image of a book and two cards
This beautiful hand-drawn postcard is from a Secret Lake fan in Richmond, Texas

We authors love hearing from our readers. Above is a lovely hand-drawn postcard I received from a nine-year-old pupil, Grace, from Richmond, Texas, USA. I was travelling in Vietnam when her card arrived and my son sent a photo on Whatsapp — I was thrilled and have since written back with the ‘head in the clouds’ (that’s me!) giraffe card you can see. I’ve also just received an envelope full of letters from school children in Wiltshire, UK — most asking for a sequel after they read The Secret Lake in class! This was a wonderful surprise, especially as I’ve not visited that school.

hand written letters arranged with a copy of The Secret Lake children's book
Wonderful handwriting – and lots of requests for a sequel to The Secret Lake!

Eeek! The Runaway Alien cover makeover

In more news, Eeek! The Runaway Alien (my fun illustrated story about a soccer-mad who runs away to Earth for the World Cup) has a had a minor cover update, with a football added. Goodness knows why we didn’t have one before! To mark the occasion, my illustrator created this animation. I hope you enjoy!

Eeek! is ‘laugh-out-loud funny’ and great for boys and girls aged 7-10 who love soccer and/or aliens. Read Amazon reviews or grab a Kindle sample here.

Hedgehog Awareness Week: May 5th – 11th

Last, but not least, it’s Hedgehog Awareness Week here in the UK next week. All year round we’re doing what we can to look out for them as they are now an endangered species.

We’re lucky to have quite a few hedgehogs in my local London village of Barnes, and there’s a huge campaign to encourage homeowners to create holes at the foot of garden fences, to allow the hedgehogs to travel to find food. This creates a ‘hedgehog highway’. The video below of a hedgehog running up the side of my family home last summer demonstrates just how far they like to go in search of food!

Click below to view a video of a hedgehog out looking for food – my brother kindly captured this for me last summer 🙂

Hedgehogs and foxes – early learning

If you have a toddler in the house, or children/grandchildren up to age 6 my gentle rhyming picture book Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog, about a baby hedgehog that meets a fox one night, ends with eight fun pages of photos and facts about foxes and hedgehogs including how to build nests and safe places for hedgehogs to hibernate in your garden. It’s always a huge hit at my school visits — not least when they come to learn what foxes and hedgehogs like to eat for breakfast and supper!

View Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog on Amazon here.

You can find out more about helping hedgehogs on the Hedgehog Preservation Society website.

FFHH Global print link Affiliate

Do you have hedgehogs where you live? I’d love to hear about them or see some photos if you do!

That’s it for now. I hope you have a relaxing May bank holiday weekend if you’ll be getting time off where you are. And, for those of you in the US, I hope the children have been getting stuck into reading more than ever over the last week!

With very best wishes,

Karen

PS If you or your children have read any of my books already, it would mean a lot to me if you could help them leave an honest review on Amazon or your other preferred store. Doing so means that Amazon and other stores will show it to more people. Every little really does help! Thank you!

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