Walliams serves up Marmalade in second picture book with Stower

David Walliams’ next picture book, Marmalade, will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books in February featuring illustrations by Adam Stower. 

Marmalade, which follows a baby panda with orange fur, will be published on 17th Feb 2022, in hardback with simultaneous e-book and audio editions, marking Walliams’ ninth picture book and the second collaboration with Stower. 

Stower first worked with the author on Little Monsters (HarperCollins), published in October 2021. 

“One morning, deep in the forest, a beautiful baby panda is born,” the blurb of the new book reads. “This panda is different to all the others, as he has dazzling orange fur. His mummy calls him Marmalade. And so begins the tale of a little panda who goes on a big adventure when he sets off alone to find out where he belongs.” 

Executive publisher Ann-Janine Murtagh said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be igniting a glorious year of David’s publishing in 2022 with the arrival of his delightful new picture book, Marmalade. This heart-warming tale – beautifully written with the biggest heart – will delight readers young and old in a book that celebrates belonging, love and family. Adam Stower’s illustrations are just joyful and the perfect complement to David’s warm and witty storytelling. What a wonderful way to start a stellar year of Walliams publishing.”  

Walliams added: “This book is like an early spring: colourful, light and joyous. Adam Stower has done a marvellous job on the illustrations, which bring my story to life. It tells the tale of a baby panda named Marmalade, who thinks he doesn’t fit because his fur is orange. Marmalade goes on an epic journey through the forest, meeting all the weird and wonderful creatures along the way, to find out where he belongs.”  

Stower, an award-winning author and illustrator based in Brighton, described the experience of working on the book as “a joy”. He added: “David Walliams’ story is full of warmth and the little orange panda at its heart is as determined as he is cute. It was a pleasure to illustrate the lush and colourful world of Marmalade, packed as it is with wonderful characters from moon bears to pangolins and many more besides.” 

In 2021, Walliams released two fiction titles with HarperCollins, Megamonster and his first ever sequel, Gangsta Granny Strikes Back. Both titles went straight to number one in the children’s and overall bestseller charts. He has held the children’s chart number one position for 18 weeks and held the overall market number one for eight weeks during 2021. 

Walliams’ picture books, which include seven collaborations with illustrator Tony Ross, have sold in more than 20 territories internationally and shifted 1.1 million copies in the UK alone according to Nielsen BookScan.