iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 14h

Great topic and hard to choose but... Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin (18th century) Race to the Frozen North by Catherine Johnson (Artic exploration - early 20th century) Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Nazi occupation / WWII) Inside Out and Back Again (Vietnam war and aftermath) #KidsBooksFriday

Cover of Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin showing a sinister black-clad figure striding along a windswept shore.

Cover of Race to the Frozen North by Catherine showing a small ship passing between stylised icebergs.

The cover of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, all blue-washed with a blonde-haired girl and a 6-pointed star on a pendant.

The cover of Inside Out & Back Again showing the silhouette of a girl touching a tree and leaning away against a lilac sky.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

This on @thestorygraph.com made me laugh. Couldn’t have managed it if I had tried.

Chart showing progress towards reading goals. 73 out of 75 books and, more amusingly, 24999 or 25000 pages.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

You never regret it at the finish though. Really nice atmosphere and great to raise some money for a local primary school. Real #EduRunners vibe!

Abington Festival of Running medal with my feet in the background.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Might regret this #EduRunners… Everyone else seems to be quite serious. Anyway, first 10Kxin ages…

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I feel like you could just put 4 Ahlbeg books in here! This one is great for reading to babies (especially by grandparents who will appreciate the nostalgic illustrations).

Cover of Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg showing a baby peeping out from an old-fashioned pram.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Only 3 chapters in but Pure Invention by @mattalt.bsky.social alread my feels like it will be my favourite non-fiction book I read this year. The cover is superb as well.

Cover of Pure Invention by Matt Alt in 3 colours of pale red, white and black divided into panels like a manga with aspects of Japanese pop culture in each one.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Only one comes immediately to mind but it’s a corker. I Am Rebel by @mossmontmomery.bsky.social has a dog as its central character and is an exciting adventure story.

Cover of I am Rebel showing a dog with a red neck scarf in the foreground against a sky at dusk and signs of destruction in the background.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Sorry I couldn’t make it to either of these but your signed copy has arrived from Backstory and is currently being enjoyed by these very niche Ghibli characters.

A copy of Jonn Elledge’s 31 Inventions that Built our Word with Muta from The Cat Returns, 3 minor characters from Spirited Away and a soot sprite from My Naighbor Totoro.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Forgot to post this last night…I have got a new routine of a 1K brisk walk up a hill as warm up, 5K run and 1K warm-down jog.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

It’s fair to be nervous because you are undertaking a humongous future task with a significant risk that it will remain unfinished. That said, it’s just incredible. Volume 2 is probably my favourite because it has a central gripping narrative.

Spines of 4 volumes of Robert A. Caro’s biography of Lyndon B Johnson plus a bonus The Power Broker spine.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Here’s a photo from this evening which literally nobody asked for.

A cloudy and blue sky just before sunset with trees in the foreground and a ridge of mountains in the background.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I don’t have much experience of doing this so am interested to read others’ experience. However, one book which I think would be superb for older readers would be Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. #KidsBooksFriday

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I find it difficult to read a sequel if the ending is perfect but but 3 where I think the sequel is even better than the first book! #KidsBookFriday Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan Big Change for Stuart by @lissakevans.bsky.social The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell

Cover of Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters showing a boy with a sword against the background of a fierce sea.

Cover of Big Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans showing lots of tricks and magic elements in the background with an upside-down boy in one circle and a girl the right way up in another.

Cover of The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell showing two large mythical creatures at the top above a small boy and girl.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Getting in early with the obvious answers… Varjak Paw by @whatsfsaid.bsky.social The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

Cover of Varjak Paw by SF Said showing a black cat with orange eyes.

Cover of The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy showing a young witch on a broomstick with her cat clinging on behind.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Not sure who needs to know this but #Croatia is incredibly picturesque. I am not a great photographer and yet…

A building with a stone cross on top in the foreground with a wonderful blue lake and forest in the background.

Blue lake with wild cloud formation above.

A blue boat in the foreground with the setting sun shine across the water.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

No #Saturday3 this week because I am on holiday in Croatia and have been walking more than reading so enjoy this unfiltered picture of one of Mljet’s lakes. Just incredible to see close-up.

One of the famous lakes of Mljet island.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Getting in early on #KidsBookFriday because will lose reception later. Currently reading the second Crookhaven book by JJ Arcanjo and love the community shown by the children in these books.

Cover of Crookhaven: The Forgotten Maze showing three black-clad figures, one of which is just under the surface of some water with the other two standing.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

4 classics (even if 2 are relatively modern). Watership Down by Richard Adams The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

Cover of Where The World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean showing a boy hanging from a rope over the mouth of a cave with gulls all around.

Cover of Watership Down by Richard Adams showing a rabbit silhouetted against a blue and violet sky.

Cover of The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell showing a girl in a red cape riding a wolf across a snowy landscape.

Cover of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett showing a girl from behind who is looking at a beautiful garden.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Ditto. You have probably both read but I loved Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

Cover of Murakami’s What I Talk About When I talk About Running.featuring an image which both has a man running and looks like a fountain pen nib.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Lots of great choices already so have had to think hard. Here's my mixed-age selection. #KidsBooksFriday For younger readers - Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf (a classic that kids still love as a read aloud). Middle grade - Land of Stories / Percy Jackson (crowd-pleasers!) Teens - Song of Achilles

The cover of Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf by Catherine Storr showing a young blond girl making daisy chains with a large wolf.

Anniversary edition of The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer showing lots of fairy-tale characters against a dramatic sky

The cover of Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller showing the title on a Greek-style helmet against a blue background.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Since everyone is doing “where was I when Brexit happened”, I was on South Korea’s slowest train on the way to stay at a hotel that looks like a cruise ship on the edge of a cliff.

South Korean hotel looking exactly like a cruise ship but perched on a cliff high above the beach.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I actually started to doubt myself and had to bring up the excellent Tim and Zoe Paramour’s The Grammar Book to satisfy myself that it was optional and I hadn’t been teaching kids wrong for years.

An extract from The Grammar Book confirming that a comma is optional before the “and” in:

“I walked up to the door, and I stepped inside.”

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

So a quick mini-thread on the @teachertapp.bsky.social social media survey carried out yesterday. Here are the headline numbers for teachers use of social media for *work-related purposes*. Pretty much as I expected. (Figures also in alt-text)

Results of the Teacher Tapp survey of teachers using social media for work-related purposes.

Figures:

Facebook - 19%
Instagram - 13%
LinkedIn- 10%
Pinterest- 4%
TikTok- 5%
X - 11%
YouTube - 34%
Threads - 1%
Reddit - 1%
Bluesky - 3%
Substack - 4%
None of the Above - 39%

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Loads of great choices in the thread. A couple of book covers that called to me across the bookshop for #KidsBookFriday. Monstrous Devices by Damien Love (the new cover is also great - this book needs more attention!) Letter for the King by Tonke Dagt (the new cover is not a patch on this one.)

Cover of Monstrous Devices by Damien Love with a black background showing a silhouetted cityscape and a stylised outline of a robot in the foreground amongst lots of favourable quotations.

Cover of The Letter for the King by Tonke Dagt with the title in an oval against a red background. At the top, there is a richly-turreted black and white castle. Lower down, there is a bridge over a wide blue expanse. At the bottom are men on horses silhouetted against spiky white mountains.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Not sure if these @teachertapp.bsky.social results are just for primary or are also secondary but it’s a disappointingly low score for visualiser. (Even more so if it is just primary).

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

👀 (maybe not a surprise to teachers)

Teacher Tapp chart showing that 57% found their previous career “much less demanding” than teaching.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

One quirk of living in Laos is that I am always reading months-old @economist.com magazines. Anyway, even though it dates back to January, I make no apology for posting this obituary of Nuno Loureiro, pioneer of fusion energy.

The Economist obituary of Nuno Loureiro.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Can’t see this badminton brand catching on in the UK.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I would definitely be rushing to get anything by: @whatsfsaid.bsky.social #KatherineRundell @peterbrownstudio.com and have just read the amazing Boy in the Tower, I am certainly going to be looking out for the next #PollyHo-Yen #KidsBookFriday #KidLitUK

The cover of Phoenix by S F Said showing a white outline of a boy with a fiery trail behind him with a black night with stars and behind him and a swirly red design around the edges.

The cover of Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell showing a boy and girl jumping from roof to roof of some stylised houses.

Copy of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown showing a stylised robot standing on some rocks with some sea in front and a forest of conifers behind.

The cover of Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen showing a black tower block surrounded by blue geometric shapes against a yellow sky with silhouetted birds.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

New appropriate shirt for Pint of Science Laos 🇱🇦 Day 2! #pint26

A middle-aged man (me) wearing a bright chemistry-themed shirt inside at at Corebeer.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Approximately kitted out for Pint of Science Laos! #pint26 @pintsworld.bsky.social Should be a fun evening of interesting talks!

A middle-fed man (me) holding a #pint26 placard outside Pint of Science Laos.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Which are these 5 councils who haven’t counted yet? #LE26

BBC local council results from 131 of 136 councils.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

OK, got to admit that I am quite shocked that 2/3 of teachers didn’t know the answer here.

Results of a Teacher Tapp poll which asked. Do you think the following statement is true or false? Buying a share in a single company usually provides a safer return than an equity fund. Only 32% answered correctly False, with 2% True, 3% Refuse to Answer and a whopping 63% for Don’t Know.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Two each from my children (when they were younger). A bit more popular than my usual! Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan Diary of Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinnell Adventures on Trains series by @mglnrd.bsky.social and Sam Sedgman

Cover of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streafeild showing a red-haired girl performing ballet in the centre with a design of stems and flowers around the outside and locket-style portraits of 2 other girls in the top left and top right hand corners.

The cover of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan with the silhouette of boy from the back fighting a gigantic minotaur.

Cover of The Highland Falcon Third by M G Leonard and Sam Sedgman featuring the front of a large red steam train with lines indicating speed and a white boy in a yellow coat and striped t-shirt leaning out on one side and an Asian girl in a red t-shirt and dungarees leaning out on the other.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Excellent social media advice from The Explorer. #KidLit #KidLitUK

You thought. Are you so grotesquely lacking in self-control that you cannot let a single idle thought pass through your mind without acting on it?

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

4 quirky teams for #KidsBookFriday: The Roman Mysteries series by @carolawrence.bsky.social Brightstorm series by Vashti Hardy All The Things That Could Go Wrong by Stewart Foster The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo

The cover of All The Things That Could Wrong by Stewart Foster. It has an orange background with with the title in a series of bubbles. "THINGS" and "WRONG" are in white capitals against a scribbly black bubble whilst the other words are in black against a white bubble. There are two small white silhouettes sitting on the WRONG black bubble.

A composite graphic of 6 books in the Roman Mysteries series - namely The Thieves of Ostia, The Secrets of Vesuvius, The Pirates of Pompeii, the Assassins of Rome, The Dolphins of Laurentum and The Twelve Tasks of Flavia Gemina.

The cover of Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy showing a quirky airship against a blue background. There are two children - a boy and a girl - in the foreground sitting on a rooftop.

The cover of The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo featuring a girl with shaved head in a monk's habit and a goat standing in front of a tree.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Although personally I would mention Katherine Rundell’s The Explorer, arguably her finest work (amongst many superb books).

Cover of The Explorer by Katherine Rundell, showing jungle foliage, a small plane and a large river running through the middle of it.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Literally standing in front of some adventure books when I saw this! This is from the pile of books that my kids didn’t want to throw out. The Laura Marlin books by Lauren St John were popular but the Young Samurai books by Chris Bradford would be their top pick. Fantastic historical adventures!

A huge pile of Young Samurai books and with some Laura Marlin mysteries at the bottom.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Some fantastic books on kindness already done in #KidsBooksFriday and as usual many of my favourites have gone. A couple of slightly less obvious ones where kindness is still a major part of the story. The Bubble Boy by Stewart Foster The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow Both great books! #KidLitUK

Cover of the The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow showing a boy standing on a school playground with angel wings coming out of his back.

Cover of the The Bubble Boy by Stewart Foster with a typeface where the O in Boy is represented by a bubble. There is a boy in a red t-shirt sitting inside the bubble holding up a hand. Underneath the bubble are some stylised buildings and underneath them is a yellow banner stating:

"NOT ALL SUPERHEROES WEAR CAPES"

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

If you happen to see someone with a hand and wrist covered with threads like this then it’s highly likely that they have just come from Lao PDR. It’s a sign that they have been involved in a baci ceremony which the Lao use to celebrate major events.

My hand festooned with white threads tied
around the wrist.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Another great #KidsBookFriday idea. For nearly all of my wider family's children, this was their dystopian book era! Popular choices: The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins Mortal Engines series by @philipreeve.bsky.social The Giver by Lois Lowry The Enemy series by Charlie Higson

Cover of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve showing a steampunk style hot air balloon with two figures in it above a scuttling traction city set against a red and orange sky.

Cover of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins with white text against a black background and a gold colour brooch featuring a stylised bird above a thin arrow.

Cover of The Enemy by Charlie Higson showing a figure in the distance walking along a dashed white line in the middle of the road with London landmarks in the distance and what appear to be smudges of blood all around the cover.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

So I found this business card for a posh private members club incongruously inside a secondhand copy of @whatsfsaid.bsky.social’s Tyger and am just giggling at the thought of assorted kids taking vids of themselves going 6….7 outside it whilst the doormen fume.

A copy of SF Said’s Tyger with a business card for 67 Pall Mall on the top.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

OK, #EduSky football fans, who do we think the Premier League manager is? (From a NY Times profile of Dusty May working with Doug Lemov)

Lemov has worked with two recent
NBA championship franchises and an English Premier League manager. But May remains an outlier, obsessed with the tiniest details of teaching.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Still thinking about this #KidsBookFriday on Saturday and how Kate DiCamillo seems to have a new illustrator with every book and they are all fabulous. I already mentioned Bagram Ibatoulline but also look at Timothy Basil Ewing, Yoko Tanaka and Sophie Blackall!

A view of the back of a girl holding a beautifully dressed toy rabbit.

A tiny mouse with big ears pointing a needle at a rat with a spoon on his head.

At the bottom of the picture, there is a caption:

"Don't move," said Despereaux. "I will kill you."

Cover of the The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Yoko Tanaka showing a large elephant standing next to man dressed all in black with a cape and a top hat and carrying a wand.

Cover of The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, showing a young girl with a shaved head, clad in a purple monk's habit with a goat alongside her. The girl is holding a red book and stroking the goat's ear.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Some superb #KidsBookFriday choices today! 3 I haven't seen. Bagram Ibatoulline - illustrated Edward Tulane but his work in The Matchbox Diary is even better. Then two author-illustrators. Brian Selznick for The Invention of Hugo Cabret and, you guessed it, Jakob Wegelius for The Murderer's Ape.

The front cover of The Matchbox Diary showing an elderly man with a small girl above various matchboxes including one which sticks out saying "The Matchbox Diary".

A copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret showing the colourful front cover and black and white spine showing a half-face of a boy.

A black and white picture of an ape beneath a sign entitled "Sally Jones First Engineer". The ape is oiling an old-fashioned typewriter.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Dominating a public square, you say?

Photo of Gwangmahung Square being dominated by the free BTS concert

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

So many iconic ones have already gone. Here's a few more! Lucretia Cutter from Beetle Boy by @mglnrd.bsky.social Count von Viscount (and another!) from the Ruby Redfort series by Lauren Child General Rakov from The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell Boggis, Bunce and Bean from Fantastic Mr Fox

Cover of Beetle Boy featuring a boy with sticky-out ears and a rhinoceros beetle on his head.

The front cover of the The Wolf Wilder featuring a girl in a red cape riding on a black wolf.

The cover of Ruby Redfort - Look into my Eyes by Lauren Child featuring a pair of eyes drawn in black and white, hair held back with a clip and insect over a green cover

Cover of Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl featuring a large fox with a sack carrying chickens with their legs sticking out and a little fox carrying a flagon of cider.

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Mark Goodrich @markgoodrich.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Just took the new Bus Rapid Transit scheme in Vientiane! Will live sleet the experience…Bus is full - equally split between schoolchildren and saffron-robed monks! #LaosLife

A live timetable showing the BRT bus route from National University of Laos to Morning Market (Talat Sao).

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