Parakeet Books

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Parakeet Books

Compelling. Stimulating. Inclusive. We make books that are truly with main characters tha

31/01/2025

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” – Malorie Blackman

15/01/2025

Happy Pongal! This is our Chennai family doing a beautiful job of making pongal outside and celebrating the Tamil harvest festival ❤️

13/12/2024

Escape the drizzle and join us for a jolly kids’ storytime on Sunday 15th December, 10-11am 📚✨ at the Paxton Centre on Anerley Hill!
A merry mix of tales, giggles, and imagination. It’s completely free, but do pop by the café for a cuppa or treat if you can.

See you there!

10/12/2024

Storytime is back at the Paxton Centre!

•10-11 am
•15 December
•Free

Looking for a fun and fabulous way to kick off your Christmas? Come join us for a delightful Story Time session at the Paxton Centre on Friday, 15th December! This event is perfect for kids from about age 1 to 7, but newborns and older children are so welcome.
It will be an hour of giggles, colouring, and plenty of “WOW!” moments. All while you enjoy a coffee from the lovely Paxton Centre.

Who are we?
I’m Judy Skidmore from Parakeet Books. We publish sumptuous, delicious and unique picture books.

I’ll be reading a brilliant selection. Some stories are funny, some adventurous, some rhyme. All are fab and available to buy. And there’s free Christmas wrapping if you need it!

When: Friday, 15th December, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Where: The Paxton Centre, 52 Anerley Hill, London SE19 2AE
Who: Kids aged 1 to 7 ish
Cost: Free but please buy something from the cafe if you can.

We can’t wait to share some magical stories with you all. See you on the 15th for a morning of giggles, fun, and pure story magic!

And if you are looking for fabulous Christmas presents we'll have a few on sale. And we'll even wrap them for you!

09/12/2024

Head to Parakeetbooks.com for original, unique utterly brilliant picture books. We'll Christmas wrap them for you for free.

19/07/2024

Sunny weather again at last! Now that it's perked up I'll be arranging to do more of these lovely dino-tastic events (reading, book signing, dinosaur craft sessions) with the lovely folks at Parakeet Books - this was back in April at the Horniman's Museum when I had to keep on hat, coat and scarf despite the sunny skies! Dinosaurs seem to be a perennially favourite topic for children - so great to encourage reading. And it's always lovely to meet dinosaur fans and collaborate with other authors. 🦖🦕

29/05/2024

Posted • 🌟Cover Process🌟
The last slide was the first sketch I did for the cover of the picture book Paper Boats. We eventually decided that we wanted to have the grandmother look strong and fierce, hence the second sketch. After playing around with the text and composition a bit (super fun idea of writing the name of the book in the boat itself!) we landed on the final cover ✨ ⛵
There wasn’t a lot of back and forth for the cover of this book, the eventual design choice seemed quite obvious from the start and I absolutely love how it turned out.
All thanks to the wonderful people without whose input I could not have helped create this wonderful book.
Book written by & published by 🦜🌷

19/05/2024

Stories in the park one week from today!

AND music, sounds, and crafting! Please come along!

Posted • Come and have a peek into the world of the Secret Garden in Crystal Palace Park at our family-friendly open day packed full of children’s activities!

📅 Sunday 26 May 11:00 – 15:00
📍 At the Secret Garden, behind the Information Centre

Find your way around the park’s pocket-sized nature reserve with your special map and scavenger hunt sheet.

Discover on your wanderings songs, stories, soothing sounds and art activities.

🕚 11:00 Stories with Judy
🕦 11:30 Songs with Cat
🕛 12:00 Stories with Judy
🕧 12:30 Songs with Cat
🕜 13:30 Soothing Sounds with Simone

Take part in one of the scheduled activities or simply explore this wonderful space, which is usually closed to the public. Art activities throughout the day.

No tickets needed - drop in all day!

.east .park

16/05/2024

Our debut at the Horniman market went very well thanks!

Top authors Sheju Adiyatiparambil-John, NS Blackman, and Kirstin McNeil came along, books were signed, and fun was had Sonia from Dinosaur Books and I planning our next trip, so stay tuned to find out when we’re next at the Horniman ❤️📚

14/05/2024

It was an absolute joy to work with this amazing artist ❤️

Posted • Realised that I never posted on feed this wonderful picture book I worked on with written by ❤️
Will be sharing process and more art from it while I work on two new books! 🌱

20/04/2024

Gorgeous, joyful, inclusive books from

📚Books for ages 0-14
📍Horniman market
📅 21 April 10-15.00

#

07/03/2024

Whether you stitch a costume, buy it from the supermarket or raid the cupboards the night before it's all about the love of a good book

09/02/2024

Buy a signed book and pay for crucial surgery for children in Gaza.
Please share ❤️
https://www.32auctions.com/booksforgaza

23/01/2024

We're never going to post regularly or consistently or stay on message. We try but we just can't do it. Social media is exhausting.

Essentially we're a micro publisher making kids books (in our spare time) that we think are excellent.

Have a look at our shop but even that's not up to date so check out Parakeetbooks.com

Thanks ❤️

04/12/2023

Go Art! ❤️

Posted • Exciting Visit from Literary Author Ms Arti Jain at Oryx International School

In a day filled with inspiration and creativity, Year 6 students at Oryx International School had the privilege of a special visit from the talented author .a.jain Ms Jain is most renown for her book "Don't Climb On The Bullock Cart," dedicated the day to sharing her passion for writing and storytelling with our students.

During the visit, Ms Jain dedicated her time to reading her books to our enthusiastic young readers. Students had the unique opportunity to pose direct questions to the author, delving into the fascinating world of literary creation. Queries about the inspiration behind "Don't Climb On The Bullock Cart" were addressed firsthand, revealing details about whether the story was based on personal experiences or the author's imagination.

Ms Jain not only shared her personal experiences and motivations but also imparted valuable advice on how to write creatively and originally. Inspired by the author's words, students began to explore their own creative veins during the session, demonstrating renewed interest in writing.

At Oryx International School, we encourage exploration and creativity, and Ms Arti Jain's visit has been an enriching experience that has inspired our students to embark on their own literary journeys. We thank Arti for sharing her time and wisdom with us and look forward to future opportunities to nurture the love for reading and writing in our school community. Today, the literary spirit has shone brightly at Oryx International School! 📚✨
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16/11/2023

Treat your little ones to a book from a micro publisher.
You'll find fresh talent, new ideas and joy within!

These are our recommendations ❤️❤️

05/09/2023

We just booked our tickets to a dance performance at the Shoestring Theatre.

, who we LOVE, and Croydon council are putting on a wonderful dance festival through September.

Many tickets are free so have a look!

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Brilliant Arti! So proud 😍 *repost* I’m absolutely ecstatic to announce — Don’t Climb On The Bullock Cart is now available at @qatarnationallibrary — in their @qnl_children — YA section. My heartfelt gratitude to @kusum2911 and to @qnl_children for making my dream come true. It’s an honour and a privilege to say — “Look under JA… you’ll find our book.” May we continue to buzz like the bees to collect and share the honey of stories, of words that connect and build bridges between counties, people and hearts. I pray for peace. #artismoments #author #writing #wriringcommunity #library #gratitude #memoir #illustratedbooks #newbook #yabooks #childhood #grandparents #love #hope #thisismystory #bees Library videos shot by @kusum2911

We just got our copies of Crooked Witch Soup by Victoria Blain (@multiculturalstorytellers) We printed with @mixamprint and we're very happy with how it's come out 😁 Available to buy at Parakeetbooks.com . . . . . #wolof #heritage #gambiandiaspora #booksaboutwitches #blackhair #halocode #braids #hairwrap #headwrap #textiles #africanfabric #africantextiles #geometricfabric #collage #fabriccollage #pencildrawings #Mysteriousbooks #pencilsketches #childrensillustration #antiracism #activismwithwords #artisactivism #blacklivesmatter #blackbooksmatter #readingismagic #representationmatters #powerofstories #socialchange #parakeetbooks

Check out our beautiful, unique books at the kickstarter link in our bio or stories or search for Parakeet Books on kickstarter.com . . . . . #kickstartercampaign #ProjectWeLove #readingrocks #childrensbooks #debuttalent #newtalent #southasianculture #southasianwriting #kidsadventure #multicultural #multiculturalstortellers #adventurestory #indianculture #indianculture #childrensbooks #diversityandinclusion #joyofreading #readingrocks #readingforpleasure #diversebooksforkids #kidsbooks #blackbooksmatter #readingismagic #bravegirls #readingismagic #representationmatters #kidsbookstagram #parakeetbooks

#kickstartercampaign #ProjectWeLove #debutwriter #debut #debuttalent #newtalent #southasianculture #southasianwriting #kidsadventure #multicultural #multiculturalstortellers #adventurestory #indianculture #indianculture #childrensbooks #diversityandinclusion #joyofreading #readingrocks #readingforpleasure #diversebooksforkids #blacklivesmatter #blackbooksmatter #readingismagic #booksaboutwitches #readingismagic #representationmatters #kidlitwitch #parakeetbooks ..

Oops! We said we'd launch our kickstarter pre-orders but we didn't! We will do it next. Promise. Thanks for your patience ❤️ #newtalent #newbooks #parakeetbooks

#protecttranskids #protecttransyouth #protecttranslives #transpeoplearemypeople #transrights #translove #trans

"They gave us jammy dodgers" #autumn #leaves #snacks #parakeetbooks

This company are fab. They are smashing taboos and making period products accessible to everyone Posted @withrepost • @cupoflife_net Featured in @1newsnz Menstruation has been a taboo topic for a long time - could that be because half the population will never experience it? Well, there’s now a device that lets men get a taste of the pain women go through every month.

Important film to watch, so we know what's going on out there. There's a lot of crap that people with visible differences have to put up with. Posted @withregram • @changingfacesuk During #FaceEqualityWeek our campaigners spoke about what they wish people knew about visible difference and how to be a better ally. Our video was shared widely and prompted many important conversations around difference. In the same week, we saw IBM commit to our #PledgeToBeSeen campaign and our ambassador Tulsi spoke to the Leader of the House of Commons about her experiences of living with a visible difference and the importance of positive representation. #ChangingTheLandscape 📨 Click the link in our bio to get all our latest campaign news and updates.

Wow❤️ Posted @withregram • @guardian A Norwegian Christmas advert showing Santa Claus in a gay relationship has been praised as 'beautiful', 'powerful' and 'progressive'. Titled 'When Harry met Santa', the queer love story was made by the Norwegian postal service Posten - and also marks the upcoming 50th anniversary since homosexuality was decriminalised in the country. Monica Solberg, the postal service’s marketing director, told LGBTQ Nation: “Posten is an inclusive workplace with great diversity, and we would like to celebrate the 50th anniversary with this fine love story." Mats Strandberg, who is married to Johan Ehn, who plays Harry, proudly tweeted: ‘That’s my husband kissing Santa!’ #christmas #santa #relationship #gayrights #norway #lgbtrights #loveislove #lgbtq+

Rita's grandad made her a magic wand. And this is how she weilds it. Proper magic.

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Judy and Sheju of Parakeet Books

After children we realised there were few children’s books that featured people of colour or families that look like our family. So we write and make beautiful, loving, diverse stories featuring:

people of colour

girls as heroes

LGBT families