Inspired by the life of Rose Bertin, Katherine Woodfine’s stunning Little Gem is written with an evocative sense of period furthered by fresh and beautiful full-colour illustrations by Kate Pankhurst.

Young Rose dreams of sewing beautiful dresses for the women of Paris. But when a chance encounter with royalty changes her life, Rose must draw on all her skills to create the most breathtaking dress of them all Based on the life of Rose Bertin, the woman credited with creating haute-couture, this is a story to inspire bold girls and boys everywhere.


Sophie Takes to the Sky

by Katherine Woodfine

Published 4 September 2019

Take flight with a truly inspirational tale of courage and self-belief, inspired by the incredible life of Sophie Blanchard, the world’s first female hot-air balloonist

Scaredy-Cat Sophie is afraid of everything! So when a balloonist comes to the town fair, Sophie is left behind while everyone else goes to watch him fly in his marvellous balloon. She's far too frightened of the crowds, the commotion and even riding in a horse-drawn carriage.

But Sophie longs to watch the hot-air balloon sail across the blue sky. If she could just be brave enough to face her fears, who knows where her journey might take her …

A touching tale for young readers of learning to overcome anxiety and follow your dreams.


Painting brings joy in a moment of grief in this moving and ultimately uplifting story inspired by the childhood of French portrait artist Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

Elisabeth loves to paint, just like her papa. She spends hours making her own pictures of everything she sees – and the more colourful, the better!

But when she goes away to school, she finds herself in a world of grey: grey buildings, grey uniforms, grey rooms. She misses Papa and all the colours of home. And one winter morning, she gets some terrible news that makes her days darker than ever before. Will Elisabeth be able to find the colour and joy in her life again?

A touching tale about friendship, family and finding joy in the darkest of times. Inspired by the childhood of French portrait artist Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.