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Sir Lenny Henry pairs with 'rising star' Doku on new picture book series for MCB
Sir Lenny Henry is pairing with “rising star” illustrator Salomey Doku on a new picture book series for Macmillan Children’s Books.
The deal for world rights and audio in Henry’s text was completed by Samantha Smith, publisher for fiction, non-fiction and picture books, and Natalie Jerome, now of Originate Literary Agency and Rebecca Ptsaszynski of PBJ management. Doku’s illustrations were acquired through Christabel McKinley at David Higham Associates.
The duo’s first book, You Can Do Anything, Tyrone! will be published in July 2023 and will be followed by two further stories featuring Tyrone, his family and his friends. You Can Do Anything, Tyrone! follows Tyrone, who is building a space rocket to go on an adventure to the moon. When Tyrone’s building bricks stop working, Grandad Cleveland is on hand to show Tyrone that with determination and imagination, there’s nothing he can’t do. Together, the pair embark on an out-of-this world adventure.
When the book was announced on "BBC Breakfast", Henry launched a competition inviting children to draw pictures of Tyrone, and the winning entries are featured in the final pages of the book.
Hannah Ray, publishing director for picture books, said: “Sir Lenny Henry’s story is something special. His fresh, warm, rhyming style is immediately engaging, and Salomey’s artwork pops on the page. From the moment we saw her very first sketches of Tyrone and Grandad Cleveland, we knew we’d found the perfect person to bring Lenny’s words to life.
:Tyrone is an irresistible character who all children will love. Together, Lenny and Salomey are creating magic with an empowering book that’s packed full of imagination and adventure."
Henry added: “Tyrone is very close to my heart. He’s a good boy, and most importantly – a happy boy, but he needs a bit of help to believe in himself. With You Can Do Anything, Tyrone! I wanted to write the story that I would have loved to have read when I was growing up: a story featuring characters who looked like me going on big, exciting adventures. Picture books can be the start of a life-long passion for reading and I wanted to write a story for young children that was funny and inclusive – a story for everyone.”
Doku also commented: “Getting the opportunity to bring Tyrone and his grandad Cleveland to life through colour has been a wonderful honour.”
