Muffin the Scilly Puffin

Muffin, a young Atlantic puffin, after being at sea for three years, follows his natural instincts to return to where he was born to breed.Muffin embarks on an exciting adventure to find the Isle of Annet amongst the beautiful archipelago of the Isles of Scilly twenty six miles off the Cornish coast.On his journey Muffin meets some fascinating indigenous and unique creatures on the different islands. A gannet on St Mary's, a red squirrel on Tresco and a fat hungry seal on St Martin's. They all witness his terrible landing skills as he bounces and bumbles his way from island to island. Will Muffin survive the close attention of predators, find his home and be reunited with his mother?The story contains stunning illustrations and rhyme and repetition to draw the reader into Muffin's memorable journey.Muffins can-do attitude, perseverance and bravery shines through. Humour and warmth guide the puffin to his hero's welcome.The illustrations for Muffin the Scilly Puffin have been exclusively made for each page of the book. The illustrations are created with felt which is a versatile art medium that gives texture and detail. Wet and needle felt elements have been used. They photograph and reproduce extremely well to create unique, colourful pictures.

Claire works in education in Cornwall and has a passion for sharing the special environment in which she lives through stories and tales. Claire shares these with her daughter, encouraging her to embark on adventures of her own. Her reason for writing this book, to bring laughter into homes and classrooms around the UK, sparked an idea in Anne's mind to put her felt art skills to use to illustrate the text. Claire partnered with her Grandmother several years ago, creating a publication of poems about Cornwall. These were written by her Grandmother, Claire photographed local iconic landscapes and buildings to support the themes of the book.Anne's felt art works were initially inspired by a visit to one of her favourite counties, Yorkshire. Dan (her husband) and Anne were on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales and visited a gallery where they saw paintings using the medium of wool. Now, creating felt pictures, from wool fibres, became an idea that Anne wanted to pursue. Since then, Anne has created many pictures of landscapes, plants and animals. To illustrate a book, with the main character  a colourful puffin was an exciting challenge. Anne has held a solo exhibition at the Heartland Gallery in Cornwall and sells her work throughout the UK. She has also been sponsored to participate in a six week art residency in Coimbra, Portugal, teaching and working with local artists.