The Tale of the Propeller Man & other stories

by Lizzie in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

The Tale of the Propeller Man & other stories

Total raised £1,305

£2,000 target 52 days left
65% 26 supporters
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 24th January 2025 at 11:00pm

Support us in publishing a dark collection of cautionary tales for children.

by Lizzie in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Our book is a modern collection of humorous cautionary stories, offering a new approach to the classic genre in the vein of Dr Heinrich Hoffman’s Der Struwwelpeter and Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales For Children

We are raising funds to self-publish this children's book with Troubador Publishing.

About the book...

Written as poems, the stories detail the lives of a collection of children who meet dark endings as a result of their mean, foolish, or naughty ways. From the girl whose tongue is chopped off by the propeller man for her lies to the boy whose messy room turns against him to the child who turns into the chair he sits watching TV in, the stories are cautions to the modern child for indulging in ill-behaviours.

Each story is accompanied by a different illustration to visualise the dastardly ends of each child. The octopus snatching the girl who wee’d in the swimming pool or the boy being eaten by a shark after swimming out too far, are imprints that make sure the stories live in the memory long after they have been read.

Child Who Wee'd in the Swimming Pool

The collection is aimed at older children but adults would also enjoy this book, in the same way that many adults enjoy the darker children’s tales of Roald Dahl or the works of Edward Gorey.

About us...

This is a British-Peruvian collaboration between three creatives – written by Lizzie Shannon-Little and Gerard Lewis, based in Oxfordshire in the UK – and illustrated by Alexandra Ricketts, who lives in Lima in Peru.

The collection of stories... 

  • The Child Who Lied or The Tale of the Propeller Man  
  • The Child Who Talked Relentlessly
  • The Child Who Held in His Wind and Suffered For It
  • The Child Who Watched Too Much TV
  • The Child Who Swam Too Far
  • The Child Who Sun-bathed Too Long
  • The Child Who Wee'd in the Swimming Pool
  • The Child Who Put His Fingers in an Electrical Socket
  • The Child Who Wouldn’t Tidy His Room
  • The Child Who Ripped Pages Out of Books

Want to read these tantilising stories? Support us in our ambition to self-publish this work! Thank you. 

 

Rewards

This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.

£20 or more

5 of 300 claimed

£20 Reward

A physical copy of the book from the limited edition print run.

£50 or more

5 of 300 claimed

£50 Reward

Special dedication in the 'Acknowledgements' section of the printed book; AND a physical copy of the book from the limited edition print run.

£100 or more

2 of 300 claimed

£100 Reward

Invitation to the UK book launch; AND dedication in the 'Acknowledgements' section; AND a physical copy of the book from the limited edition print run.

£200 or more

0 of 30 claimed

£200 Reward

Unique book reading and signing, plus donation of 10 copies of the book. This reward can be gifted to someone else, or donated to a local school. [UK or Peru only.]

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