Bramble Graphics

Happy World Book Day 2026!

The year of the Fire Horse has certainly galloped in with a storm of creative activity for me! I’ve been busy working up some new Doric titles for you to enjoy. For World Book Day, I thought I’d share my sketches for four books that I’ve currently got in the pipeline for this year and into next:

1. Doric in yer Pooch
Local travel guide wi a twist. A coothie wee pocket guide for travellers exploring the North East corner of Scotland.

2. A Fantoosh o’ Futrets
Imaginative children’s book with collective nouns o critters in Doric, featuring lively illustrations.

3. The Curse o’ the Sands o’ Forvie
A Doric Manga-sytle Graphic Novel based on the folklore tale of Fivie, and how it came to be buried.

4. My First hunner words in Doric
Illutrated guide for pre-schoolers and early learners of Doric.

Other ideas simmering in my head are but not yet fully formed include:

5. Chilloot at...series
An augmented reality kiddies mindfulness adventure, taking a slow jouney through a favourite local beauty spot; Burn o’ Vat in the Muir of Dinnet Nature Reserve etc, and taking in all the smells, sights and sounds of the area for an immersive, relaxing experience. This ties in with my Doric wellness channel called Chilloot (still a work in progress).

6. Cheesy Quavers
A book about teenage ravers in an Aberdeen highschool, a coming of age story.

7. A Lovliness of Ladybirds
Illustrated book of groups, interacting, socialising and solving conflict, overall theme of individual dignity and living in peace and harmony.

8. Aul age disnae come itsel
Collection of humerous illustrated stories and poems.

Dinna go stealing aa my ideas noo!

I’m also taking commissions, so if you’ve got a great idea for a book, but need a creative designer to help to bring it to life, give me a shout.

On a serious note, World Book day is so important. It shouldn’t be about dressing up in natty costumes. It should be an inclusive, low-cost, fun event that everyone can join in with, no matter the cost. Encouraging and instilling a love of reading for pleasure in out children has been proven by research from The Scottish Book trust, to be the single most important indicator in a child’s future success. That equates to social mobility, and enabling children to climb out of poverty.

Giving children access to books to read plays a huge part in this. So save our libraries, don’t shut them, or cut funding to them, follow Sweden’s lead and invest in them. We should open even more libraries!

That’s why I fully support World Book Day every year, and this afternoon, I’m away to speak to the P1s at my local primary school and hand out free copies of Furryboots, to pass on my passion for reading and give them access to books.