Farting fish, messy writing and playing with Matisse

PLUS why I'm very annoying to go on a walk with now

Aug 06, 2025

Hi, I’m Alice! I’m a children’s author, editor and author coach. I’ve written more than 50 books – about art, science, activism and more – that help kids to explore our world, and make big ideas feel exciting and easy to understand.

This is Big Wide World, a monthly newsletter that gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like to be a children’s non-fiction author. If you’re into fun facts, great stories and odd creatures, I think you’ll like it here.

What I’ve been up to this month

Getting ready for the launch of my new book Farting Fish, a very fun science book all about winners of the Ig Nobel Prize. SO many great facts and silly stories in this one, with hilarious illustrations by Sam Wedelich. Did you know that herrings can communicate in farts, and that this almost caused a world war?!
Some fiction writing (gasp!) for a really exciting book that will be coming out next year. I’m working with an amazing illustrator, and seeing her pencil sketches bring the characters to life has been a total joy.
Finishing off a first draft for a non-fiction book for slightly older children. It feels quite personal, and I’ve found the research hard-going at times, but it’s really interesting and fun too and I hope it’ll help a lot of kids.
Getting a bit behind myself because our semi-elderly cat hasn’t been very well :( Luckily, she seems to be doing much better, but visits to the vet hospital – plus watching her obsessively for symptoms while she obliviously gnaws away on hand-shredded roast chicken – have taken up a fair bit of time.
A run of delightful end-of-year school visits, including Early Years/Key Stage 1 arty workshops with my new Play with Matisse creative kit (brilliantly illustrated by Leanne Bock). Look at these masterpieces!

What I’ve learned at work this month

Williamina Fleming (1857–1911) discovered nearly 400 stars and other objects in space, and developed a system to classify stars that is still used today! She was a single mum, abandoned with a newborn baby by her husband, and she worked as a maid and a housekeeper to support herself and her child before she became an astronomer 💪
British folklore has all sorts of delightfully monstrous creatures designed to keep children away from danger and naughtiness. One of my personal favourites is The Gooseberry Wife, who lives on the Isle of Wight. She’s a gigantic, hairy caterpillar who stops kids nicking gooseberries from orchards!
Elephants seem to have the best sense of smell of any animal in the world – even better than dogs. They can also communicate over long distances (up to 32km – from London Kings Cross to Heathrow Airport!) through underground vibrations that they can sense through their feet.

Book recommendations

Eurek-her is full of amazing women in STEM and their great work. It includes one of my favourite stories of all time, about how the scientist Tu Youyou used a combination of cutting-edge medical research and an ancient Chinese remedy found in a 1,500-year-old book(!) to develop a malaria treatment that has saved millions of lives.

All Brains Are Wonderful is very close to my heart, as an ADHDer myself. It’s an inclusive look at how brains work, and how unique and incredibly powerful every person’s brain really is. I edited this book and the one above, and I think the authors and illustrators did such a great job that I want everyone to read them both!

Does a Monkey Get Grumpy? is a charming non-fiction picture book that gives young kids some really fun facts (did you know that when guinea pigs and chinchillas do excited little bouncy jumps, it’s called popcorning?!) The illustration and design are gorgeous, and the rhythmic text is nice to read aloud.

*This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy a book using one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Author coach corner

As well as writing and editing, I also do 1-to-1 author coaching to help new and aspiring children’s authors create their own brilliant books! Here is a real-life writing tip that has come up in my own work this month…

Don’t expect your first draft to be perfect, or try to achieve this – it can actually hurt your writing process
We all want to do the best writing we can, of course, but your first draft is NOT the place for perfection. In fact, a touch of messy writing can be very helpful at this early stage.

Firstly, because trying to perfect your thoughts and word choices as you’re getting them out of your brain can stop you building momentum, making it a slow and frustrating experience. Judging yourself too harshly can also stop you feeling safe enough to access and include your most creative ideas – which, with a bit of polish down the line, might well be your best ones!

Secondly, because if you’ve laboured endlessly to perfect every word of your first draft, it can feel much harder to make the bigger changes (in structure, tone and so on) that your text may need at this early stage. Not just because of all the time spent on it, but because this approach can make it hard to see how to unpick your ‘perfect’ version to rework it. Be a bit messy at first, then refine later!

3 things I like that aren’t books

Merlin and Seek apps: The reason I now take forever to walk anywhere, because I’m having a lovely time trying to ID unfamiliar plants and bird calls.
Pour Moi swimming costumes: Comfy, supportive, mostly non-hideous swimming costumes that use recycled content and avoid toxic dyes and chemicals. A find!
Substack shout-out: Words and Pictures from Naomi and James Jones, a brilliant children’s author–illustrator team with tons of great advice to share.

Have you read any great books recently, or found any fun new ways to engage with nature? Please comment below in Substack or reply to this email to let me know :)