Discover the stories behind the stories Seven Stories are custodians of a unique national archive of British children’s literature
The story of Heaven Eyes Discover the origins of 'Heaven Eyes' David Almond's magical novel of adventure
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean Find out about the process behind the writing of David Almond's first novel for adults
Character descriptions and draft of a story from 'Mudpuddle Farm' by Michael Morpurgo Learn about the characters on 'Mudpuddle Farm' and read an unpublished story from Michael Morpurgo's popular series of books
First known draft of 'War Horse' by Michael Morpurgo Read chapter 8 of the first known handwritten draft of Michael Morpurgo's much-loved book, 'War Horse'
Research material for Beverley Naidoo’s ‘The Other Side of Truth’ Take a look at some of the research material and notes made by Beverley Naidoo for her refugee novel, ‘The Other Side of Truth’
Diana Wynne Jones' Awards Diana Wynne Jones received multiple commendations for the Carnegie Award and won the Guardian Award for Children's Fiction. Take a look at the related archival material at Seven Stories
Robert Crowther’s ‘Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book’ Take a peek at Robert Crowther’s most amazing process for making animal textures and patterns for fonts.
Note by Michael Morpurgo on the founding of the Children's Laureate Read the note written by Michael Morpurgo with his ideas for a Children's Laureate scheme
Research material for Michael Morpurgo's 'Private Peaceful' Explore some of the research behind Michael Morpurgo's powerful First World War novel, 'Private Peaceful'
Editorial notes and edited draft for 'The Kites are Flying' by Michael Morpurgo Discover how Michael Morpurgo's editor helped him shape the story for his novel 'The Kites are Flying'
Beverley Naidoo’s non-fiction As well as fiction Beverley Naidoo has written some very poignant non-fiction studies including ‘Censoring Reality’
Letter from illustrator Olivia Lomenech Gill about her stay in Iddesleigh Read about 'Where My Wellies Take Me' illustrator Olivia Lomenech Gill's stay in Michael and Clare Morpurgo's home village
‘The Story of Bad Grandma’, a handmade picture book by Catherine Storr Have a look at this amusing self-parody about an unruly grandmother, written and illustrated by children’s author Catherine Storr
Draft of 'The Next Tomorrow' by Michael Morpurgo Read the opening pages of 'The Next Tomorrow', an unpublished novel by Michael Morpurgo, written early on in his career
Beverley Naidoo's South African scrapbook Take a look at South African born children's author Beverley Naidoo's scrapbook of photographs from her trips to South Africa to work with schoolchildren
Drafts of Beverley Naidoo’s ‘The Other Side of Truth’ Take a look at Beverley Naidoo’s drafts of her Carnegie award winning book ‘The Other Side of Truth’
Walking the tightrope Discover the background to 'The Tightrope Walkers' David Almond's second novel for adults
Correspondence between Diana Wynne Jones and her editors Read editorial correspondence between Diana Wynne Jones and her editors
Childhood Works by Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones was a writer from an early age. Discover her early childhood works in the Collection
Writing and illustrating 'My Dad's a Birdman' Look at drafts, notes and illustrations that chart the process of making 'My Dad's a Birdman'
Typescript draft of Catherine Storr’s ‘Ingeborg and Ruthy’ Read the first few pages of the draft of Catherine Storr’s very first novel for children, ‘Ingeborg and Ruthy’, and meet the doll who inspired the book
‘Clever Polly’, a story from one of Catherine Storr’s handmade books Explore an early appearance of Catherine Storr’s much loved character, ‘Clever Polly’, in this handmade book
Items from Michael Morpurgo’s teaching career Learn about Michael Morpurgo’s time as a teacher, before he became a world famous author
Photos of the exhibition Michael Morpurgo: A Lifetime in Stories See photos from Seven Stories' exclusive Michael Morpurgo exhibition, launched July 2016
Beverley Naidoo’s banned book Read the notice issued by the apartheid South African government banning Beverley Naidoo’s ‘Journey to Jo’burg’
Items from Michael Morpurgo's time at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Learn how Michael once had plans for a very different career... in the army
Research material for Beverley Naidoo’s ‘Journey to Jo’burg’ Explore some of the research behind South African born writer, Beverley Naidoo’s first novel ‘Journey to Jo’burg’
Diana Wynne Jones Manuscripts and Typescripts Investigate Diana Wynne Jones' creative process by looking at her manuscripts and typescripts for well-loved and unpublished works
Beverley Naidoo’s ‘Baba’s Gift’ Explore Beverley Naidoo’s draft material for her picture book ‘Baba’s Gift’, co-written with her daughter Maya
Dummy book by Olivia Lomenech Gill for 'Where My Wellies Take Me' Explore the dummy book created by Northumberland-based artist Olivia Lomenech Gill for Michael and Clare Morpurgo's award-winning, 'Where my Wellies Take Me'
Illustrations by Diana Wynne Jones See two illustrations drawn by Diana Wynne Jones - one for an unpublished work and one for a work written before Jones was first published
Poetry and Plays by Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones wrote poetry and plays as well as award-winning novels. Discover them here!
Typescripts of works by Enid Blyon 'Last Term of Malory Towers', 'Mr Tumpy's Caravan', 'The Secret Seven' and 'The Mystery of Holly Lane'
'Where is Zami?' draft material Explore draft material for Beverley Naidoo’s picture book for very young readers, ‘Where is Zami?'
Draft introduction for Michael Morpurgo's 'Why the Whales Came' Compare the first page from three different draft introductions to Michael Morpurgo's 'Why the Whales Came'
Ella Grey, Orpheus and Ouseburn Find out about the origins of David Almond's 'A Song for Ella Grey', set in the Newcastle neighbourhood of Ouseburn
‘Naughty Sue’, a handmade book by Catherine Storr Take a look at an entertaining tale of mischief written and illustrated by children’s author Catherine Storr
Article by Beverley Naidoo on the depiction of South Africa in children's books Take a look at Beverley Naidoo’s article ‘South Africa: Whose Reality’ from the journal Dragon's Teeth
Unpublished ‘puppet play’ version of 'Jack and the Beanstalk' by Catherine Storr Read an unpublished puppet play adaptation of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, by children’s author Catherine Storr
Early notes for Michael Morpurgo's 'Private Peaceful' Read Michael Morpurgo's early notes with his ideas and plans for his book 'Private Peaceful'
‘S is for South Africa’ by Beverley Naidoo and Prodeepta Das Find out how Beverley Naidoo planned her text and worked with photographer Prodeepta Das for this South African-themed alphabet book
Draft of ‘Stories for Sophia’, an unpublished book by Catherine Storr Read the first of a short collection of unpublished stories in a notebook belonging to children’s author Catherine Storr
Draft outline for 'Why the Whales Came' by Michael Morpurgo Discover how Michael Morpurgo's ideas for his story 'Why the Whales Came' developed from his original plan
Michael Morpurgo's notebook draft of 'Kensuke's Kingdom' Explore Michael Morpurgo's different drafts of the opening paragraph of 'Kensuke's Kingdom'
Drafts of Beverley Naidoo’s ‘Journey to Jo’burg’ Compare the opening pages of Beverley Naidoo’s early drafts of her classic South African novel ‘Journey to Jo’burg’
'Mrs Noah's ABC 123' by Judy Brook See Judy Brook's process of making 'Mrs Noah's ABC 123', from the dummy book and text samples to original artwork
Talks by Diana Wynne Jones Read Jones' thoughts about the fantasy genre, former tutors C.S Lewis and Tolkein, as well as the impact an adult can have on children's literature
Illustrations by Marjorie-Ann Watts for three of Catherine Storr’s books See a selection of illustrations by Catherine Storr’s friend and long-time collaborator, Marjorie-Ann Watts
Items from Farms for City Children Find out about the charity set up by Michael and Clare Morpurgo in 1976