Emily Brown and the Thing - Tapa dura

A fantastic tale. (North West Evening Mail)

Imaginative, funky (Daily Mail)

Rascally bedtime fare (Booklist Online)

The illustrations are often dark and complex but they are entirely appropriate to the story (School Librarian)

Cowell's narrative is both deeply rooted in the conventions of folk tale...and yet refreshingly contemporary and colloquial in tone. Such layers of richness are confidently matched by Layton's brilliantly anarchic illustrations...Emily Brown and Stanley are most appealing characters and, like Sendak's Max, more than a match for wild Things (Books for Keeps)

A warm-hearted and witty take on the classic theme of being scared of the dark (Family Interest Magazine)

A simple story, imaginatively reflected in wildly wonderful artwork, that will delight both old and young readers (Carousel)

This is a wonderful story about a small girl dealing with a very high maintenance monster called the Thing. It's funny, it's got twists and turns and shows us, among other things, that we can spend far too much time nurturing our fears rather than trying to conquer them (The Guardian)

A warm-hearted and witty take on being scared of the dark (Guernsey Press & Star)

Gold Winner (Nestlé Children's Book Prize 2006)