Haig partners with Gravett for new children’s book

Matt Haig is teaming up with illustrator Emily Gravett for a children’s book about a girl who can talk to animals.

Evie and the Animals is aimed at readers aged 7+ and tells the story of what happens when Evie lets the school rabbit free, which lands her in big trouble. Evie promises her dad she won’t talk to animals again but when she sees a silver kitten on a missing poster she realises animals are going missing all over town.

The book will be published by Canongate on 6th June 2019 with cover and inside illustrations by Gravett.

Publishing director Francis Bickmore, who acquired world rights from Clare Conville at Conville & Walsh, said: “Evie is a whole new hero: someone who understands that our furry, feathered and scaly friends have thoughts and feelings too, and have a lot to say, if one only stops to listen. On the back of Matt Haig’s Christmas quartet, this new non-seasonal children’s book promises to take Matt Haig’s children’s publishing to a different level.

“We’re delighted to announce that in Emily Gravett, who is so loved and admired for her animals, we think we’ve found the perfect illustrator to bring Evie’s exploits to life when we publish in June 2019.”

Haig’s current children’s book, The Truth Pixie, is number three in the children’s TCM and has sold 6,527 copies through Nielsen BookScan. His Christmas series has sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK and is published in more than 20 foreign territories, according to Canongate.