How to Make a Beetle Hotel - M. G. Leonard does a Blue Peter 'make'

If you’ve read the books and want to become a Beetle Buddy, then head over to the Blue Peter website and watch me make a beetle hotel, for invertebrates to shelter in over winter.

There’s a really tough beetle quiz to do after you’ve watched the video. How well do you know beetles? Don’t worry if you don’t score highly, just pop into a bookshop or a library, grab a copy of The Beetle Collector’s Handbook and you’ll be able to get all the answers right.

Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell

It may not surprise you to learn that I am a huge Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell fan. I was very excited to spend an evening listening to them in conversation with the whip smart Lauren Laverne talking about why Art Matters, and get my mits on their newest collaboration.

At the end of the evening there was an auction for a piece of their work, and a series of smaller lots, in support of EnglishPEN - a freedom of speech charity that helps writers all around the world who’ve been punished for their words in horrific ways. I am delighted to say that I won that auction and this glorious picture is now hanging above the piano in my study.

The whole evening was fantastic and thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can watch it on the video below. If you want to see the auction, it’s at 1hr and 40 mins, towards the end. It was joyously dramatic and something I’ll remember forever.

The Beetle Collector's Handbook is published this week!

If you live in the UK and wander into a bookshop you will be able to get your hands on my newest book, The Beetle Collector's Handbook. I am so proud of this book. It is illustrated by the amazing Carim Nahaboo and has a strong ecology message. I've made it as funny and astonishing as possible, as well as including the most amazing facts about beetles.

This is a stand alone non-fiction book about beetles, featuring sixty of the most fantastic beetles on planet earth and plenty of advice on how to keep a nature journal and plan your own expedition. It is also a companion volume to my fiction trilogy as all the beetles in this book also feature in the trilogy and this book is annotated by a few of the key characters from the trilogy.

To give you an insight into what the book is like, I have made this little video for you, reading the introduction and staring my pet beetles Beatrice and Barty.

Edinburgh Book Festival 2018

The Edinburgh Book Festival is one of my favourite festivals, but this year it was particularly special because my brand new book The Beetle Collector's Handbook was made exclusively available to attendees. It was so wonderful to see Beetle Boys and Beetle Girls clutching the book. It is a non-fiction book and a companion to the fiction trilogy with annotations from the characters. I'm very proud of it, and it completes the series beautifully, with a message about habitat preservation and the importance of learning about the environment and in particular, invertebrates.

Here is a gallery of photos from the festival. One of the highlights of coming to Scotland is that I get to do events with Callum from Cool Creatures and he always brings the most amazing live beetles for children to meet.