Benji Barkley

Residents of Wells, watch this space!

I'm offering free proofs of "<Child> Steps into Art" so you can see what your child will look like in the artwork. Decide after you see it whether you want to buy the book. Click "Customise" at benjibarkley.com/products/steps… benjibarkley.com/products/steps…

My new personalised book is out! Your Child Steps into Art, with name & illustrations customised from photos you upload in 12 different styles! Free custom proofs available now at benjibarkley.com/products/steps…

I've been quiet recently, but here's a peek at what I've been working on since Christmas.

Thank you for following along through Advent, Christmas and the New Year. Time for me to get back to planning where Patch loses the pages next.

Twelfth Night. Feels like the right moment to let Santa and Patch have a long rest until next December.

If your child took one of the books into school for show and tell, I hope it went down well - I always enjoy hearing those stories. benjibarkley.com

Back to school for many today. Good luck to all the small people and the tired adults doing the school run.

Box in the dark, with the Box tunnel and the house lights glowing in the background, is still one of my favourite images from this run of books.

Sunday again. If you are doing the last bits of homework and uniform sorting, a ten minute story break is allowed.

Lost Presents of Wiltshire still works as a wintry story even after Christmas - it is really about dashing around familiar places together.

The decorations will start coming down soon. In our house the Christmas books stay out a little longer - they feel too sad to pack away straight away.

If your school or nursery would like a small Lost Pages corner about your town or county, feel free to send a message.

First morning of 2026. Fresh notebook, same mischievous dog in my head running off with pages.

Whatever you are doing tonight, I hope the year ahead brings you time for stories and little local adventures. Happy New Year when it comes.

New Year’s Eve - feels like a good day to say thank you again to everyone who has bought, borrowed, gifted or shared the books this year.

If you are travelling back home, books are still some of the best car and train companions, especially for small people.

Two days left of the year. Have you had a favourite children’s book discovery in 2025 - Lost Pages or otherwise?

If you are visiting family around Wiltshire or Somerset this week, it can be fun for little ones to take the matching book and see what they recognise.

Wiltshire evenings at this time of year are all dark lanes and lamp light - exactly the sort of places where a page might slip away unseen.