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FOLLOW THE SWALLOW: Book-signing with Julia Donaldson & Thomas Docherty

FOLLOW THE SWALLOW: Book-signing with Julia Donaldson & Thomas Docherty

by | 7, May 2025

To celebrate the beautiful new edition of Julia Donaldson’s picture book Follow the Swallow, with vibrant new illustrations by Thomas Docherty, we are thrilled to be hosting an after-school book-signing on WEDNESDAY 4th JUNE with both Julia Donaldson AND Thomas Docherty. Grab your chance to meet Julia Donaldson and Thomas Docherty and get a copy of Follow the Swallow signed by both author AND illustrator! Follow the Swallow is a delightfully funny story about friendship, seasonal change, and the wonders of bird migration.

ABOUT THE BOOK-SIGNING

  • PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE – 1 ticket per family group
  • Your £7.99 ticket = a paperback copy of Follow the Swallow, and allows entry of one family group (of up to 5 people) to the book-signing.
  • You’ll be able to purchase more copies of the new book and all Julia’s previous books on the day, from the Steyning Bookshop, and we will have copies of Thomas Docherty’s other books, too.
  • Julia (and Thomas) will sign AND name-dedicate all books either pre-ordered or purchased at The Steyning Bookshop that day.
  • We regret that we will not accept books from home or books purchased elsewhere for signing.
  • The book-signing begins at 4pm and is split into 3 x 30-minute time-slots to reduce queue times, with 20 family groups in each time slot.
  • The signing will take place mainly outdoors, under cover in the beautiful back garden of the Steyning Bookshop, Julia’s local bookshop.
  • There will be activities & refreshments for children while you wait to meet Julia and Thomas.

Book online via our TICKETSOURCE page via the button below, or by phone on 01903 812062.


Book now

ABOUT FOLLOW THE SWALLOW 

Chack the blackbird and Apollo the swallow are friends. But when Apollo tells Chack that he will soon be flying to Africa – Chack doesn’t believe him. And when Chack tells Apollo that the blossom on his favourite tree will one day turn into orange berries – Apollo doesn’t believe him either! But as the seasons change, Chack and Apollo are both in for a big surprise …
This gorgeous story of seasonal change was previously available as a slim chapter book and as a picture book illustrated by Pam Smy (now out of print). This new picture book edition features vibrant, lively illustrations by the wonderful illustrator THOMAS DOCHERTY, whose previous books include The Knight Who Wouldn’t Fight, The Bear-Shaped Hole, and Superwolf. Thomas also illustrated Julia’s two plays: Bombs and Blackberries and Chariots & Champions.

Julia Donaldson Book Signing with POSTMAN BEAR! February 2019

Julia Donaldson Book Signing with POSTMAN BEAR! February 2019

by | 21, Jan 2020

BOOK SIGNING AND CHARACTER MEET AND GREET. Saturday 1st February from 11.30am. Booking Essential. 

To celebrate 20 years of the Acorn Wood books, we have a very special visitor on February 1st! Postman Bear will be making an appearance at the Steyning Bookshop, accompanied by his creator, Julia Donaldson! We will have Acorn Wood themed games and  activities, free refreshments for children, and of course Julia will be meeting fans to sign books purchased at the shop.

To book your place, either call the shop on 01903 812062, pop in, or use our NEW ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM! This event is essentially free – with a book purchase. To allow for online booking, we will charge £7 per family group. A family group can consist of either 1 or 2 adults and up to 3 children. This will entitle you to a confirmed place at the signing. Your £7 payment will be deducted from the price of the Julia D book/s that you purchase on the day. The Steyning Bookshop will have a full range of all Julia’s books on sale for signing, including of course, all the lovely Acorn Wood books! We regret that attendees are not permitted to bring books purchased elsewhere to be signed by Julia. Booking will be in timed half hour slots, starting at 11.30am.

The 11.30, 12 and 12.30 slots are full, we are booking into afternoon slots now. Please give us a ring on 01903 812062 if this link does not work or the slot has sold out without us noticing!

Book now2 pm slot.

Book now
2.30pm slot

The delightful Acorn Wood series are some of our very favourite picture books for pre-schoolers. With their simple rhyming stories, charming illustrations by Axel Scheffler and fun flaps to peek under on every page, they are a perfect introduction into Julia and Axel’s world. The original four stories are Postman Bear, Fox’s Socks, Hide and Seek Pig, and Rabbit’s Nap, which have all been re-issued as smart new anniversary editions by Macmillan to celebrate 20 years in print! Even more excitingly, Julia and Axel are creating four new stories set to be published in 2021 and 2022.