The story behind How the Platypus Became

In 1998, I was ten years old and knee-deep in a school project about animals. While most of my classmates created posters or fact sheets, I decided to write and illustrate a story: How the Duck-Billed Platypus Became. It was a hand-written, hand-bound little book that I proudly gifted to my younger sister. I don’t remember if I thought it was any good at the time but I do remember being excited to share it with her.

My fascination with the platypus had begun even earlier. My auntie (who is Australian) and my uncle once brought me a chocolate called a Yowie. It came with a toy figure inside and mine was a platypus. From then on, I wanted to know everything about this impossible animal. But this was the 1990s, before I had access to the internet, so I was reliant on what I could find from others, books from the library and my own imagination to fill in the gaps. The more I learned, the stranger and more wonderful the platypus seemed.

Like most childhood creations, my little book was eventually packed away and forgotten (but never thrown out!). For years, the original “edition” sat in a dusty box under my old bed, tucked alongside other school relics and drawings of unlikely animals.

The cover of the original How the Platypus Became

Then, not long ago, my dad stumbled upon it while digging through that same box. Like many parents, my dad thinks that anything created by his children must be a masterpiece. So he said to me, “You should publish this for your sister and Sebastian.” Sebastian, my sister’s son and my nephew, had just turned three. At first, I laughed the idea off. A dusty, felt-tip pen story about a platypus? Surely not.

But the idea stayed with me. One quiet afternoon on a family trip to St Ives, sitting in a café overlooking the Cornish coast, I reread that old book. And something clicked. I opened my laptop and started typing. By the time the coffee had gone cold, I had the bones of a new version; one that kept the heart of the original but grew it into something more complete and hopefully more suited to the curious young readers I hoped it might one day reach.

Here is a sneak peak into one of Ffion's early sketches...that mushroom looks suspicious?!

Once I had this new version of the story, I began sharing it with publishers and literary agents. While a few were kind enough to respond, and even provide feedback, I wasn’t able to find a publisher willing to take it on. But by then my mind was made up - I was going to publish it myself!

Not long after that, I connected with Ffion Evans - an incredibly talented illustrator whose vibrant and energetic illustrations (and excitement about drawing lots of platypuses) made her the perfect partner. We were both excited by the platypus, this curious creature that feels like it shouldn't exist, but absolutely does. Ffion's early sketches brought the story to life in ways I hadn’t imagined.

Now, after months of collaboration, edits, and excited emails, How the Platypus Became is ready to meet the world. The story that began as a school project (sparked years earlier by a little toy inside a chocolate monster) will soon be something I can once again gift to my sister - only this time, she can read it to her sons.

I really hope that you will enjoying reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it, both when I was 10 and again as an adult!

Thank you for being part of the journey and if you'd like to learn more about where to find How the Platypus Became you can can do so here.