Children's book author
Anna McQuinn
  • Home
  • MY BOOKS
  • Articles
    • ARTICLES & TIPS - Starting School
    • Article - ZEKI LUNCH backstory >
      • Article -LEO LUNCH backstory
    • ARTICLE - ZEKI Rise & Sleep
    • ARTICLE - LEO Rise & Sleep
    • ARTICLE - Kanga
    • Articles about specific books
    • Articles about Inclusion
    • Articles about WRITING & PUBUBLISHING
    • Articles about CHILD DEVELOPMENT
  • ACTIVITIES
    • Activities - Zeki MARKET
    • LISTEN! >
      • Éist!
    • Activities about PETS
    • Activities about Flowers
  • Banned Books
    • My statement on Banned Books
  • Blog
  • Talks, Workshops and Author visits
  • Appreciation Page
  • illustrators / co-authors
  • Prizes
  • About
  • Contact me
    • Links - other
  • Information for writers
  • More about Zora's Bees
    • Index to BEE topics

Just published!

Picture
Zeki, let's go to the market!
The stalls are a feast for the senses: spices for Zeki to smell, honey buns to taste, belly butter to touch and oodles of noodles to take home.
It's a busy and tasty day!

Warm, cosy and inclusive,
the Zeki books are one of
my favourite picture book series
for the very young"

Charlotte Eyre,
Children's Previewer
The Bookseller

Zeki Goes to the Market, is published in the UK & Ireland by Alanna Max! Click on the cover to read more.
To read my BLOG about the book, click here. And for activities to try out, click here..

Lulu Meets the BEES is having a moment!

It is on the UK's Summer Reading Challenge Collection!
Picture


Picture
Find out how to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge here.
Lulu Meets the Bees is published in the UK & Ireland by Alanna Max! 
Read more here. Click here for the BEE crossword.
Click here for LOTS of information pages about bees for parents, EY professionals and educators.

It's also on the Books for Topics Summer Reads Recommended Reads
Picture

The US edition is on the Kentucky Bluegrass Award longlist!
Picture
Picture
Published in the US by Charlesbridge.
Read more here!
Click here for the bee crossword.

And there's LOTS of information pages about bees for parents, EY professionals and educators here.

AND it's a 2025 Growing Good Kids Award Winner for Excellence in Children's Literature
Picture

Children's Book Council, USA - 15 Best New Board Books

Picture
"The Children’s Book Council is a leader in providing expertly chosen lists for use by teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents of the best new books for kids and teens in many categories. This summer, we are focused on the best new board books for family reading and sharing; the book experts at Ingram Book Company chose the new board books for CBC’s 2025 Building a Home Library.

Recently published in the
US & Canada

Picture
Published in the US by Charlesbridge Inc
Click on the cover to read more.

Recently published
in Sweden

Picture
Published in Sweden by SOMABooks
SomaBooks is an independent micro publishing house focussed on bilingual books for children and young adults with a special interest in translating children’s literature into Somali.

Books for Topics - Recommendations for teachers

"We highly recommend the Lulu series, which gently reassures preschool children about all sorts of scenarios from getting a pet to planting flowers to starting school and shows them how to tackle new challenges head on"
– Books for Topics
Picture
​To read more about how to prepare children
for starting preschool or big school click here.
Picture
Read more background information about bees; watch videos to see them forrage in close up and read about Black beekeepers here

My statement on Banned Books is here

To buy my books

Please support independent bookshops and buy my books from them whever you can.
Local bookshops employ local people and pay taxes.

If the title you want is not on the shelves,
most bookshops can order the book for you. They can look it up on their system.

Some of the titles are available in hardcover and paperback and some (for little kids) are printed on card or board. If you have the title and format you want in advance, that will speed up the process. All the details are on the Publishers' websites.

Find your local bookshop here.

If you are struggling to find the books locally,
you can still order from an independent bookshop in the UK here
​Support an independent bookshop here.
Picture
Guess who made it on to the Essence 50 Must-Read Black Children's Books of the Past 50 Years! Yes, it's our girl Lola! Look at what amazing company she's in! Just wow!
UK & Ireland: Alanna Max - their website is here.
​USA & Canada: Charlesbridge - their website is here.

About me...

I feel lucky to have a life 100% dedicated to books -
I write and edit books for little kids
and their families.

I'm best known as the author of the Lulu/Lola books, though I've written over 65 picture books.
Picture
More...

My media

Click to follow me on Twitter
Click to visit my Facebook page
Click to visit my Goodreads page
Click to visit my Instagram page

Click on the Articles tab above
or here to read more about writing inclusively, or for specific pieces about my books, or for add-on activities for carers and educators.

Click here for the blog.

As well as writing, I'm editor-at-large for Alanna Max (see below); I have been a mentor for the Jericho Prize for the past two years; and with Creative Access numerous times in the past.

Publishers

In the UK and Ireland, the Lulu and Zeki books are books are published by Alanna Max.

In the US and Canada, Lola and Leo
books are published by
Charlesbridge Publishing.

The Lulu & Zeki books are also published in
Denmark by Forlaget Arvids,
Netherlands by School Support,
Brazil by Pallas,
Sweden by EPIX, and Soma,
Korea by Glburri and Froebel
China by ICP.


My books are also published by Barefoot Books, Chicken-House/Scholastic,  Little Tiger, Annick Press and O'Brien Press.



Picture
Picture
committed to diversity
in everything it does

As well as writing, I am Editor-at-Large at Alanna Max
For more, click here.

We were extremely proud to be shortlisted for the inaugural Independent Publishers Guild's The Alison Morrison Diversity Award


Judges' comments "Alanna Books* receives its first ever shortlist place at the IPG Independent Publishing Awards this year.
Set up in 2006, it is committed to diversity in the characters and storylines of its books for children and parents.

Judges admired its efforts to make its books commercial as well as critical successes, and liked its imaginative partnerships and events. Alanna Books is small but perfectly formed, and committed to diversity in everything it does”.

*
Alanna Max was originally called Alanna Books


Proudly powered by Weebly