Jonny Duddle at Waterstones Piccadilly

Ooohh aarrrhh! We had a swashbuckling Friday with author and illustrator of the award winning The Pirates Next Door in Waterstones Piccadilly last week.

Jonny's editor Libby and Press Officer Jayne,
warm up the crowd whilst we wait for Jonny to arrive.

After a shaky start, due to his train being held up rain and fog, Jonny Duddle arrived in a full pirates costume and immediately captured the children's attention. Their disbelief was audible as Jonny described his time on board a ship as a real life pirate, especially when he produced a biscuit from 2004 - with added creatures...!

The ship Jonny worked on

Jonny then launched into a fantastic reading of The Pirates Next Door (complete with pirate voices and sound effects!) before finishing the talk by drawing a pirate whose big nose and the owl (?) on his shoulder was directed by the children!

There was just enough time to squeeze in a few questions before the children had to leave and we got ready for the next session!

Click here to watch a stock motion video of Jonny drawing a pirate during the afternoon session.

You can view all of the photos taken on our Facebook page