NEWS & EVENTS

A BOOKSHOP NEAR YOU?

My newest picture book, WHEN DINOSAURS WALKED THE EARTH, launches on the 6th of July. And I’ll be doing bookshop signings in London, Surrey and Bristol.

Join me for riddles, rhymes, a reading of the new book, and the chance to buy a signed copy!

NOMAD BOOKS, 781 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5HA. 11am Saturday 1st July 2023. WITH THE ILLUSTRATOR, ZEHRA HICKS.

WATERSTONES EPSON, 50 High St, Epsom KT19 8AJ. 11am Sunday 1st July 2023. WITH THE ILLUSTRATOR, ZEHRA HICKS.

GLOUCESTER ROAD BOOKS, 184 Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 8NU. 9am Saturday 8th July 2023.

MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!

Hold tight! Monster’s thirsty … and he’s off on another wild ride!

Hot on the heels of last year’s hit picture book MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! comes a bright, bold, laugh-out-loud new story featuring our hilarious little hero.

Launches 5 Jan 2023.

Vibrantly illustrated by Fred Benaglia and perfect for all monsters aged 2-6.

‘Vividly imagined … highly entertaining’ ― Julia Eccleshare on MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!

‘A shouty, colourful picture-book romp, begging to be read aloud with gusto’ ― The Guardian on MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!

‘A high-energy read’ ― The Observer on MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!



THE DREAM TRAIN

The first book I published, back in 1992, was a collection of poems for adults. Now (30 years on) a second book of poems has arrived…

THE DREAM TRAIN contains 30 poems for bedtime, written for children aged 3-8. The poems range from the cosy to the funny, and from the musical to the magical.

Each captures something about night-time, sleep or dreams.

Described as “a keep-forever hug of a book”, THE DREAM TRAIN takes readers on a journey into dreamland and beyond, and showcases the warm, inviting artwork of Anuska Allepuz.


I’m looking forward to sharing poems from the book at a number of family events in the months ahead.

You can catch me at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Sunday 9th October. Details here.

And I’ll be at the Wokingham Children’s Book Festival on Sunday 16th October. Details here.

THE DREAM TRAIN

Can you hear the dream train coming?

CHUGGA! CHUGGA!

CHOO-CHOO-CHOO!

Can you hear it, right on time,

coming down the tracks for you?

Can you see the dream train stopping?

CHUGGA…….CHUGGA……….

CHOO-CHOO……..……CHOO!

Now’s your chance to climb on board

and find out where it’s going to.

Can you feel the dream wheels turning?

CHUGGA! CHUGGA!

CHOO-CHOO-CHOO!

Off you go, into the distance,

on a dream train, just for you.

BRISTOL BOOK SHOP FUN

What a treat to host a crowd of young readers at Bristol’s Storysmith Bookshop on Saturday.

We had songs, riddles, stories and poems about night-time, sleep and dreams from my new book THE DREAM TRAIN.

And what’s more, after a reading of MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! the children came up with this poem…

THE HUNGRY TUMMY

Here comes the monster

and he’s feeling very hungry.

It’s time for his lunch

and he wants to fill his tummy.

He wants a soft, banana-tasting, yellow, monster-sized banana!

He wants some cheesy-weezy, jelly-margherita pizza!

He wants a crunchy, crispy, crazy-cranola bacon sandwich!

Lovely musical language … and some word-inventing (cranola ?!?) too!

POETRY IN BRADFORD

It was great to see Waterstones in Bradford bursting with young readers all day on Saturday – and to join the fun with events around MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! and WHERE THE BUGABOO LIVES.


Here are two poems written by the bright-eyed young readers who were there with me…

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH?

Here comes the monster

and he’s feeling very hungry.

It’s time for lunch

and he wants to fill his tummy.

He wants some saucy, crispy, spicy, hot pizza!

He wants some stretchy, stinky, orange, square cheese!

He wants some munchy, crunchy, gooey, tasty MONSTER MUNCH!

FEATURES OF SPRING AND AUTUMN

Down the spring path

there are big bluebells,

red, orange, black and blue butterflies,

birds flying, tweeting and chirping.

Down the autumn path

a strong wind is whistling.

The leaves are swishing and swirling

and they are orange, brown and red.

We will choose the spring path.


If you get the chance, give the one and only Bradford Literature Festival a try.

It’s a treat to be a part of this warm-hearted, inclusive festival, in this warm-hearted, inclusive city.



BRADFORD LITERATURE FESTIVAL

If you’ll be in or around Bradford on Saturday 2 July 2022, please join me for one of the family events and book signings I’ll be doing as part of the city’s Literature Festival.

Both events will be at Waterstones (The Wool Exchange, Hustlergate, Bradford BD1 1BL.)

From 9.45-10.30am there will be lots of lively picture book fun for children aged 3+, and I’ll be reading and signing my latest book, MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!.

Full details and how to book, here: https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/event/monster-hungry-phone/

Then from 12.45-1.30pm I’ll take young readers (if they’re feeling brave enough) on a lively, laugh-out-loud journey into my interactive book for 5-9 year-olds, WHERE THE BUGABOO LIVES.

Full details and how to book, here: https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/event/where-the-bugaboo-lives/

STORYSMITH BOOKSHOP BRISTOL

Calling all book-loving Bristol families!

Come and join me for some Saturday morning picture book fun at the welcoming Storysmith Bookshop at 236 North Street, Bristol BS3 1JD.

On Saturday 23rd July from 10am, I’ll be reading and signing my latest picture book – which features a very noisy but very loveable monster.

Age 3+. FREE but you need to book a space. All details here: https://storysmithbooks.com/product/sean-taylor-monster-hungry-phone-event/

PAPERBACK TRAILER

Sunny days are on their way. HOW TO BE COOLER THAN COOL is out in paperback. And here’s our trailer…

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‘HOW TO BE COOLER THAN COOL by Sean Taylor is a reminder that the coolest thing is to be yourself.’ ― The Daily Telegraph

‘This 3 year old thought this book was hilarious! Before we read it together, she sat down and looked at the pages on her own and giggled away loudly at the pictures … When I asked her what she liked best she said ‘the silliness’. It’s a wonderful book.’ — Parent on Toppsta

‘Taylor and Jullien’s joyful, zingy and high-colour graphic picture book is brilliant fun for reading together – the high contrast and thick black outlines as well as the nice clear font make it super accessible while being stylish and silly with plenty of great phrases to copy. There’s also a lovely message about enjoying yourself and not worrying what other people think.’ ― BookTrust

POETRY MASTERCLASS

Young people across the UK are spending Saturday mornings at their local university, college or museum discovering subjects they love.

Saturday Clubs are open to 13–16-year-olds of all abilities and are free to attend.

I was pleased to run a Poetry Masterclass for the ‘Writing and Talking’ group at London Metropolitan University this year.

We had a memorable, creative morning. Some beautiful poems were written.

Joining a National Saturday Club is a way of learning new skills, making friends, and finding out more about further education and careers. If you are interested in finding out more, follow this link: https://saturday-club.org/ .

MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE!

My latest book is about a monster who wants something to eat. What’s more, he wants it in a hurry. So he picks up his phone.

But what happens if you’re in such a hurry, you keep on dialling the wrong number?!

I remember writing MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! – almost as an afterthought – when working on other picture book stories back in 2018. It’s only 177 words long.

So it’s a treat to see how it has caught the imagination since it was published, by Bloomsbury , in January 2022.

Waterstones have chosen it as one of their Children’s Books You Need to Read in 2022: https://www.waterstones.com/blog/the-childrens-books-you-need-to-read-in-2022 

It’s Julia Eccleshare’s Pick of the Month at @readingforkids. She says: “MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! The three words…brilliantly capture the wit & simplicity of this vividly imagined story.’

The Guardian calls it: ‘A shouty, colourful picture-book romp, begging to be read aloud with gusto.’

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/28/childrens-and-teens-roundup-the-best-new-picture-books-and-novels

And follow this link for a delight-filled review from Picture Book Snob!

https://www.picturebooksnob.com/post/monster-hungry-phone

I loved working with French illustrator Fred Benaglia on this title. His dynamic, vibrant illustrations perfectly match the text.

And I can reveal that MONSTER! HUNGRY! PHONE! is the first in a series. So our very noisy (but very loveable) monster is going to be back before long, with more comic adventures…

HOW TO BE COOLER THAN STROUD

Join me for some HOW TO BE COOLER THAN COOL fun in Stroud on the morning of Sunday, 7th November 2021.

This lively family event will be part of the Stroud Book Festival – which is going to feature a host of special authors this year.

And it’s LIVE!

For the details, including how to get tickets, follow this link: