Between 2011 and 2015, I published a number of children’s books under the moniker, BerryTime Books.
The first was The Pendulum Swings. This was technically my first novel, written as a trilogy between 2000 and 2008, reworked as a single novel for publication in 2011. The Pendulum Swings is targeted at children aged 10 and above.
Around the same time, I started working with illustrator Emily Harper on a series of children’s Christmas books called The East Pudding Chronicles. Aimed at younger kids (age 6+), these are inspired by Roald Dahl’s books and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and give alternative origins for all our favourite Christmas traditions.
The Pendulum Swings (2011)
The peaceful village of Sarakkai is attacked by an army of fierce creatures with mirrors for faces called Deep-End-Ents. All the Grandfather Clocks are stolen. Four friends – a Human, a Dwarf, a Midriff and a Dragon – must go after the Deep-End-Ents, track down the last Wizard in the kingdom and get the clocks back. There isn’t much time before the clocks fall into the hands of a much more powerful villain lurking in the shadows…
The East Pudding Chronicles: The Christmas Monster (2011)
In the first book in The East Pudding Chronicles, we meet sworn enemies Mumble and Murmur and we learn why Santa Claus visits us on Christmas Eve and leaves us presents in our stockings. It all kicks off with Murmur’s ultimate plan to wipe out Christmas in East Pudding, which involves an evil elf called Atnas and a race of creatures called Toe-Eaters…
The East Pudding Chronicles: The Merry Mrs Mistle (2012)
In the second book in The East Pudding Chronicles, we meet Mrs Mistle, who is half-human, half-plant and charms the village of East Pudding with her Jolly Holly Pudding and raspberry kisses. That is, until Murmur vows to bring her reign of happiness to an end, and we discover the real reason why people kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas time…
The East Pudding Chronicles: Tale of the Twinkles (2013)
In the third book in The East Pudding Chronicles, we follow Murmur’s evil plans to rid East Pudding of Timothy Twinkle, the village sweet maker and joke teller, and Tiberius Twinkle, the village toy maker. First she tries to dispose of them using her ‘Ultimate Blender’. When that doesn’t work, she resorts to drastic action, which leads to the creation of the first ever Christmas cracker…
The East Pudding Chronicles: Plight of the Witch Watchers (2014)
In the fourth book in The East Pudding Chronicles, we learn about the ‘alternative’ origins of the Christmas tree. Mumble decides to spy on Murmur with the help of a team of ‘Witch Watchers’, so he visits Troglup the Dragon Queen of Crumple Dimples and recruits the fairies. What he doesn’t count on is Murmur having spies of her own…
The East Pudding Chronicles: The First Christmas (2015)
In the fifth and final book in The East Pudding Chronicles, we follow three sisters, Mary, Maz and Chris, who journey up the Sky Tree to find out why it won’t stop snowing. They meet the Lady of the Skies, a magical creature harbouring a sad secret about the village of East Pudding. What the sisters do next is the ‘real’ reason why we celebrate Christmas…
C.R. Berry 