John J Manning

“Don’t ever grow up, that’s boring!”

We all mature over the years both in body and mind.

We hopefully become wiser and more knowledgeable as we age but some of us retain just a little bit of that childhood spirit!

Hidden inside are the thoughts, emotions and humour of our younger selves which is hardly surprising as these are the foundations that we laid in our early lives on which our matured selves now stand.

Some have sadly lost or forgotten their ability to have fun or see through their younger eyes.

That sense of fun, mischievousness, imagination and wit that we once shared with our peers in the playground and at home with our parents,brothers and sisters.

My story telling, humour and illustrative style allow me to communicate with young readers and create a world that we both understand and identify with.

I like to write in rhyme and love the challenge of sorting and finding the correct pieces of the prose jigsaw to fit together, creating wonderful, funny and joyfully illustrated story books.

It’s a...COVID CALAMITY! was the first book written, illustrated and published by me and isn’t just important due to the subject matter of the global pandemic but more importantly this is the first book of many!

My new book Tiger in my Garden is the long awaited second book to be published and has received the accolade of The Golden Wizard Book Prize 2024, a very proud moment for me and validation of the hard work put into creating it.