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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)

@maudiesmith.bsky.social
425 followers 324 following 74 posts

Children's book writer with a side of veg and flowers. Based near the Bath www.maudiesmith.co.uk contactanauthor.co.uk/Author/17/mau…

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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Blaise Ulysse Bernard Collins @wittywebhandle.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
I am once again thinking of the French girl attempting to say "Burger".
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Jonathan Emmett @jonathanemmett.com · 23/02/2026
🏹 Notts followers! 🏹 📝 If you know anyone age 14-25 that might be interested in a writing career, do let them know about this WRITING FOR LIFE event at Wollaton Hall. 
I’m one of 4 writers that will be speaking at the event. More info at wollatonhall.org.uk/writing-for-... #WriterSky
Writing FOR LIFE
Creative Careers event for ages 14-25
Tuesday 10th March 2026
4.00-7.00
Wollaton Hall f2.90 includingbooking fee
Parking charges apply
To book your place visit
https://wollatonhall.org.uk/writing-for-lifeJonathan Emmett has written over 70 books for children. His work has been translated into 40 languages and has won several awards both in the UK and abroad including The Week Junior Book Awards 2024, Children's Book of the Year: Animals and Nature for The Tyrannosaur's Feathers and the Junior Design Awards 2025, Best Pre-Schooler Book for One Cat, Two Cats.
jonathanemmett.com.
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Lovely to see my Mum book in a Mother's Day selection at my local village shop. #Mums
Mother's Day goodies displayed, copy Of My Must-Have Mum included
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Scoobiesue2 @scoobiesue2.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Today's review...'The Map of me' by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Olga Shtonda #KidLitUK Out on the 29th January, this is a very special book. throughthebookshelf.com/reviews/the-...
throughthebookshelf.com
The Map of Me — Through the Bookshelf
When a little girl moves home, everything feels strange and unfamiliar. With her mother’s help, she creates a map of the new area, but some important things are still missing so she makes the map bigg...
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Nebullama @nebullama.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
My Brain: "Psst, here's a great idea for your book." Me: "I'm busy. I'll write it down later. I'll remember it." Morgan Freeman: "But he did not remember it, for his brain soon moved on to wonder how cottage cheese gets made." #WritingCommunity #BookSky #WriteSky
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Rutger Bregman @rutgerbregman.com · 25/11/2025
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Jonathan Emmett @jonathanemmett.com · 13/11/2025
📢FELLOW AUTHORS📢 I've seen several social media posts from authors who have replied to AI phishing emails, either with responses along the lines of “Please remove me from your contact list or I'll report you for fraud" or more humorously. Here's why REPLYING TO SCAM EMAILS IS A BAD IDEA. … 🧵
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Matt Leys @mattleys.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
For Armistice Day, here's a letter my great uncle wrote to his old school in 1914 about the Christmas truce
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Scoobiesue2 @scoobiesue2.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Today's review...'Swanfall' by Sophie Kirtley @kidsbloomsbury.bsky.social A fabulous read! www.throughthebookshelf.com/reviews/swanfall
throughthebookshelf.com
Swanfall — Through the Bookshelf
Pip lives with his family at Keeper’s Cottage on the wetlands where his mum works on environmental conservation. He particularly enjoys the swanfall every autumn where Arctic swans return home and wat...
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jane Ray from Anya‘s Quest, the story, based on Hindu mythology, of a girl trying to save the planet. By Jasbinder Bilan, Walker Books 6 Nov. Ravishing and magical use of colour and decoration and fantastical Hindu imagery. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social @janeray.bsky.social
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Jonathan Emmett @jonathanemmett.com · 26/10/2025
A great story about the ability of reading to transform lives, from my hometown of Nottingham. #ReadingForPleasure www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
'Book swap with stranger saved me from the streets'
Rob Toon says he turned to reading after his phone was stolen while homeless in Nottingham.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Rónán Hession @ronanhession.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
I'd watch breathless marathon runners as a kid & thought you just had to gather enough air beforehand. I loved feeling the wind through the open window when driving. My father said if I kept my mouth open I'd get enough air to run a marathon. Great way to quieten a talkative child on a family drive.
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
A lovely giveaway!
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Do you have a dad that needs a story read to him today? Here's an oldie but I like to think a goodie, read by me www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr4g...
youtube.com
The Dressing-Up Dad | Oxford Children’s Books
YouTube video by Oxford Education
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Thank you for including My Must-Have Mum! 💕
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Dom Conlon @domconlon.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
I’m not seeing much about this book but it’s easily one of the most uplifting and compassionate poetry books for children and adults that I’ve read. It should be winning the prizes and selling like crazy @graffegbooks.bsky.social
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
No pudding for Russia then. Or there probably will be... they know you're just bluffing
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Matt Leys @mattleys.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
This is really good. Quotes my mate Ali, who produced the brilliant Phoenix Rise just a couple of years ago. It's absolutely desperate out here
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
First school visit this week. Waiting to go into the class, a child turned round and shouted, ARTHUR! I turned round too, but... no one was there...
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Elle @elleisanisland.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
All I saw was sandwich for at least 15 seconds
Professional soccer player holding up a new sports shoe. The shoe is dark beige, the base pink, then green. It looks like a sandwich with tomatoes and lettuce
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Protestors met JD Vance in Vermont when he went to vacation there today. This is a good one:
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
It's been obvious since January 6 that he was an enemy of the USA, the UK & the whole of the free world. Everybody still in his camp understands this as completely as everybody against it. They just prioritise personal interest over the national & international. And they know it. They all know it.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Scoobiesue2 @scoobiesue2.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
oday's review...'The Appletree Animal Agency' by Katya Balen, illustrated by Gill Smith @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social A little bit of joy for a rainy day! throughthebookshelf.com/reviews/the-...
throughthebookshelf.com
The Appletree Animal Agency — Through the Bookshelf
Wishing on a shooting star for the puppy she desperately wants, Mattie knows it won’t happen as her Dad just doesn’t believe she is responsible enough yet to properly look after one. However, when she...
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Dr Joanna Nadin @joannanadin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this cover, by Anna Morrison who did Anne Enright’s The Wren, The Wren. Out May 15th but you can preorder a signed and dedicated copy from @mrbsemporium.bsky.social mrbsemporium.com/shop/uncateg...
A drawing of a woman in a pink minidress holding onto to a lamppost against a green background. The title of the book is Birdy Arbuthnot’s Year of Yes. The tagline is ‘In Soho anything can happen, and frequently does.’Back cover blurb reads: ‘1960 is knocking on the door, and eighteen-year-old Margaret ‘Birdy’ Arbuthnot, presently of Surbiton, wants more than her current existence in the dull suburbs. She wants to LIVE – in capital letters! Could Soho, with its bright lights and dark corridors, hold the key to a life more novel-like and less… Surrey? (Even if Mummy thinks it is a square mile of vice, full of men with overly shiny shoes.)

At the cusp of the new year, Birdy resolves to only say ‘yes’ to everything for the next twelve months. She can’t possibly realise that her biggest ‘yes’ will launch her directly into the London orbit of the aristocratic Mannering family, and transform her life into one worth writing novels about.’
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Peters @peters-books.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
1 WEEK UNTIL PETERS CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR! 🎉 If you work at a school or library and haven't yet cast your vote, you've got until the end of Friday this week to choose your favourite. Whoever is crowned, it will be because of you! Vote before 28 Feb: peters.co.uk/pboty2025-vote
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
M. G. Leonard @mglnrd.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Reading is such a wonderful thing to do with your children. It gives me great pleasure to celebrate it on @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social which is next week! 😃
M G Leonard reading with her young son.
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KE Salisbury @kesalisbury.eurosky.social · 26/02/2025
Another zinger from Brian 👏
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Golden Hare Books @goldenharebooks.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
There's only a few days left of @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social's #ReadItForward campaign with @booktrust.org.uk and @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social where 10% of all Children's book sales in February go towards vulnerable families across the UK. 📚 Browse our recs here: uk.bookshop.org/lists/staff-...?
uk.bookshop.org
Staff Recommendations (Read It Forward 2025)
Our recommendations for Read It Forward! Throughout February, 10% of every Children's book sale goes to Scottish Book Trust and Book Trust to help raise funds for vulnerable families. Every child, no ...
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
www.thebookseller.com/comment/non-... Anonymous Writer makes some good points here - just as we're yanking on our performance faces!
thebookseller.com
Non-optional extras
Not all children's authors love school visits – and we shouldn't have to pretend otherwise, says anonymous author.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Word of the Day is ‘ingordigiousness’ (18th century): extreme greed at the expense of principles.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Amanda @pandamoanimum.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Just to cheer up your day, here's a video of two baby pandas trying to get into a hammock, which I added the Benny Hill theme tune to.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Fleur Hitchcock @fleurhitchcock.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Here with the magnificent @maudiesmith.bsky.social @rachelwardbooks.bsky.social @hapfairy.bsky.social and many more. #Bathlibrary #Banesfestival
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Ellie Freeman @ellief.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Writers of middle grade fiction! Join us on Saturday 10th May in the inspiring grounds of @arnosvalecemetery.bsky.social for our first #Writers Day for adults. With workshops, panel discussion and chat, meet @racheldelahaye.bsky.social Ash Bond, Emma Reed, Sophie Kirtley, @joannanadin.bsky.social
Starry background. Text says: Storytale Futures. Writers' Day - connect with creativity. 10th May, Arnos Vale. Fuel your journey towards publication.
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Reposted by Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag)
Tree House Second-hand Bookshop @treehousebookshop.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
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Fleur Hitchcock @fleurhitchcock.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
If you haven't - please do fill this in. If you are a creative of any sort. The ALCS guidelines are very useful as the questions become more impenetrable. Also - you don't have to answer it all. www.alcs.co.uk/news/your-ri...
alcs.co.uk
Your rights are under threat from AI. It’s time to have your say!
The Government recently launched a consultation on AI and copyright. Now is the time to have your say and make sure that legislators hear the concerns of creators.
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Went for a lovely walk. Him Indoors talked savings and pensions while I pointed out flat rats and and other deceased wildlife. Catkins were also available
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Half term coming up. You and your little ones can join me in Chippenham for stories,fishy craft and some dramatic antics with hats!
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Debbie Ridpath Ohi @debbieohi.com · 08/02/2025
If you have a #KidLit book launching Feb.10-16, reply with book cover (use alt text), title, author & illustrator, publisher, launch date, LINK where people can find more info. Pls add good karma to universe by helping to boost! It's a tough time to launch books. #KidLitLaunches #Edusky More 👇
Promo for children's books launching the week of Feb.10-16, 2025, with instructions to reply with book info. Background illustration shows books joyously exploding into the air, with a blue heart in the corner with the week dates. Art is by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.
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RachelWardbooks @rachelwardbooks.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Something wonderful happened yesterday. My still life painting has been accepted into the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London (26 March - 5 April)! It's beyond my wildest artistic dreams! Up to and including then, I will be walking on air!
A watercolour painting of a quirky collection of objects, mostly blue and white china on a blue and white cloth, but with an orange and some orange-handled scissors included too.
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Maudie Smith (aka Amanda, Mands, Moobag) @maudiesmith.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
I bet Donald Trump doesn't buy fair trade bananas Back story, I just ate one 🍌
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MꙬse Allain @mooseallain.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
We’ve been watching Wolf Hall, a fascinating study of how the fragile male ego of a fickle, greedy despot creates a culture of deep cruelty and mistrust, where everyone lives in fear of saying the wrong thing. Thank goodness we’ve moved on from those times.
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Anne Thompson @librarylady.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
It's been a busy month in the world of children's books. Here's your chance to catch up with what you may have missed. My Reading Matters round up includes book awards, free events, resources and new books to tempt you. #UKKidLit alibrarylady.blog/2025/02/01/r...
alibrarylady.blog
Reading Matters – Children’s Book News
Hello and welcome to this month’s round up of what has been happening in the world of children’s books. With January behind us many are looking forward to discovering what February hold…
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Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
Excellent piece on BookBrunch about the importance of books to pre-schoolers and in early years. www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/free-ar...
bookbrunch.co.uk
Almost half of parents believe it's not their job to teach children how to use books
BookBrunch - The publishing trade's daily news magazine
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Matt Leys @mattleys.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Quite tricky to use this poo bin, but I managed to cram it in eventually
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RachelWardbooks @rachelwardbooks.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
If your New Year's resolution is to write a crime novel next year, my book Write Your Cozy Mystery is a sensible, easy to follow guide with lots of writing exercises to help you on your way. amazon.co.uk/Write-Your-C...
Two books rest on a blanket next to a cup of tea. The top book is Write Your Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ward. The other is The Missing Heirloom Mystery.
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Abie Longstaff @abielongstaff.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
The @societyofauthors.bsky.social is calling for celebrities, publishers and agents to acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly for children societyofauthors.org/2024/12/09/c...
societyofauthors.org
Call to acknowledge all writers behind celebrity books - The Society of Authors
The Society of Authors is calling for celebrities, publishers and agents to acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly for children
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Dapo Adeola @dapsdraws.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Make sure you tune in folks. ☺️
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Jason Hazeley @jasonhazeley.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
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Gareth P Jones @garethpjones.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
I'm looking for London bookshops/libraries to host my show, Fairytale Musical Mash Up next February Half Term. Ages 4+ In the show, we turn one of these picture books into a big smash hit West End Musical using a ukulele, a keyboard, a trumpet & the audience. Drop me a line to discuss how it works.
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BooksForTopics @booksfortopics.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
When global news is full of worrying things, let's remember to teach children to see the good right in front of them, too. 👀💛 Our new COMMUNITY-themed booklist features stories about togetherness, kindness, helping out and the value of communities: www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/to...
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