Robin by Red Comet Press

Written by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

Illustrated by

Briony May Smith

$17.99

The story of Robin and her family of mice is the perfect Christmas tale. Robin is so keen to fit in with the mice that she fluffs her feathers into ears. But nothing can make a noisy, clumsy bird good at sneaking crumbs . . . especially when the dreaded Cat is on the prowl! Yet Robin is determined and, with the help of a friendly magpie, she finds her own way to succeed, learning that she can be true to her own bird self and a loved member of the family. This beautifully illustrated picture book is set to become an instant classic and favorite of families everywhere.

For Beth, Finn and Cori – D.O. For Jessica, Axel and Raven – M.P. For Hazel and Richard – B.M.S .

Robin Robin This edition published in 2021 by Red Comet Press, LLC, Brooklyn, NY Text copyright © Aardman Animations 2021 Illustrations copyright © Briony May Smith 2021 Moral rights asserted. First published 2021 by Two Hoots an imprint of Pan Macmillan © and TM Aardman Animations Ltd 2021. All rights reserved. ‘Robin Robin’ (word mark) and the character “Robin” are trademarks used under license from Aardman Animations Ltd. “Robin, Robin” animated feature © Netflix No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Control Number: 2021942133 ISBN (HB): 978-1-63655-009-1 ISBN (Ebook): 978-1-63655-010-7 21 22 23 24 25 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Manufactured in Serbia

Red CometPress.com

Written by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

Red Comet Press • Brooklyn

Illustrated by

Briony May Smith

Inside the egg, all was dark, but the storm was loud and close. There was a purr . . . a swoosh! The egg tumbled down, then stopped with a thump and a crack!

“What’s that?” said a small voice. “Can we eat it?” asked another. “Of course not! It’s a bird!” said a third. “A robin, I think,” said the next. “Let’s keep her,” said the littlest voice yet. “We’ll call her . . . Robin.”

“Chirp!” chirped Robin, flapping her wings. She liked that idea. “Robin Robin.”

Inside the burrow, all was warm, and the family spoke of crumbs.

“Breadcrumbs!” whispered Dad. “Pie crumbs!” murmured Pip. “Cookie crumbs!” breathed Dink. “The crumbier, the better!” chirped Robin, as she fluffed up her feathers into two mousey ears.

The best crumbs were in the Who-man house. To get them you had to be VERY sneaky so as not to wake the Cat.

“Leave no trace, go tiptoe pace, when sneaking into a Who-man house.”

“Keep to the shadows and never be seen.”

“Be quiet as a . . . MOUSE!” chirped Robin, a little too loudly.

With a C H IRP and a SMAS H and a F LU TTER and a C RAS H , Robin had woken the dreaded Cat.

“Don’t worry,” said Dad, “we’ll get crumbs next time.” “You say that every time,” sighed Robin.

Rumble went the bellies in the burrow that night, as the family dreamed of crumbs. But Robin was wide awake.

“I just need to be more sneaky,” she chirped, slipping down from her nook in the roots and stepping out into the snow. “I’ll leave no trace, go tiptoe pace. As I sneak up into the Who-man house.

“I’ll keep to the shadows. I’ll never be seen,

I’LL B E QUIET AS A . . .

. . . CAT ! ” gulped Robin.

With a C H IRP and a S MA S H and a F LU T T ER and a C RAS H , Robin jumped out of the back door SMACK! into a pair of black wings.

“Oh dear,” said Magpie. “Follow me!”

The birds hid in Magpie’s old tree. “What were you doing in a Who-man house?” he asked. “Looking for crumbs,” panted Robin. “The Who-mens, they have SO many.” “The Who-mens?” said Magpie, calming himself. “Yes . . . they have so much of everything. And all because of the Chrim-Cross Star, hey?” “Yes, the Chrim-Cross–WHAT ? ” asked Robin.

“The Chrim-Cross Star!” said Magpie, delighted. “The Who-mens use it to get THINGS! Once a year, they take a spikey old tree, cover it in beautiful rubbish, put the Chrim-Cross Star on top, and make a wish!”

“Then in the morning, they get ANYTHING they want.” “Anything?” muttered Robin, dreaming of crumbs. And right there and then, she had an idea. “I’LL GET US THAT STAR!” chirped Robin.

“I’ll leave no trace, go tiptoe pace, when I sneak up into the Who-man house. “I’ll keep to the shadows, I’ll never be seen,

“I’LL BE QUIET AS A . . .

“H E E E E L P!” chirped Robin, above the sound of smashing and crashing and growling, as the Cat clawed up higher.

“F LY Y Y Y Y Y Y! ! !” squawked Magpie. “I can’t!” chirped Robin. “Never learned.”

“Flying’s easy–just flap your wings!”

And though it didn’t feel like something a sneaky mouse would do, Robin raised both her wings . . . and flapped.

With a C H IRP and a S MA S H and a F LU T T ER and a C RAS H, Robin flew out of the window!

Landing with a thump at the end of the garden, she looked back at the mess she’d made. “I’ll never be sneaky,” sighed Robin. Magpie gazed up at his Chrim-Cross Tree, now complete with a Chrim-Cross Star. He squeezed his eyes shut and squawked to himself: “I wish for things, the shinier the better!”

But Robin was quiet. She knew in her heart that her problems couldn’t be solved with even the crumbiest of crumbs. Right there and then, she had a better idea.

“I wish I were a REAL mouse,” chirped Robin.

She squeezed her eyes shut, held her breath, and waited for her feathers to turn into paws . . .

But when she opened them again, her wings were still wings. And there were no shiny presents for Magpie. Maybe the Chrim-Cross Star didn’t work after all. Then Robin heard a voice. “There she is! Robin!” Her family emerged from the brambles.

“We’ve been searching all night!” “We followed the star!” “Where have you been?” asked Dad. Robin shuffled her feet in the snow. “I went to get some crumbs, but I’m just no good at sneaking,” she said. “If anything, I just draw attention to myself.” And right there and then, she had an idea . . . “Follow me! FOLLOW ME!” chirped Robin.

Outside the Who-man house, the mice hid in the shadows while Robin stepped forward and cleared her throat. Then with a C H IRP and a S MA S H and a F LU T T ER and a C RAS H , Robin scrambled up onto the windowsill.

“Hey, over here, look at me!” she chirped, flapping and singing as loudly as a BIRD.

The Cat leapt up at the window to watch. While behind her, in the shadows, the mice filled their paws.

Inside the burrow, all was well, as the family feasted on crumbs. “Breadcrumbs!” whispered Dad. “Pie crumbs!” murmured Pip. “Cookie crumbs!” breathed Dink.

“TH E CRUMBIER TH E B ETTER,” chirped Robin.

Da n Oja r i and M i k e y P l ea s e are award-winning

animators and alumni from the Royal College of Art. Together they co-founded Parabella Studios, producing short films and music videos; their relaunch trailer for The Great British Bake Off earned the pair a Cannes Lion Silver Award for Film Craft in Animation. More recently, Dan and Mikey joined Aardman to co-write and direct the animated musical special, Robin Robin, the story of which is told in this, their first picture book.

B r ion y May S m i t h graduated from Falmouth

University with a first class degree in Illustration, and her many well-loved picture books include Little Bear’s Spring and Little Goose’s Autumn, written by Elli Woollard. Briony worked with Dan and Mikey on the early character designs for the Aardman film of Robin Robin, and her warm and detailed artwork made her the perfect choice to illustrate their picture book version of the story.

RedCometPress.com

A timeless Christmas tale for the whole family The heartwarming story of Aardman’s musical special Robin Robin, told by the film’s co-authors and directors.

$17.99 ISBN 978-1-63655-009-1

9 781636 550091

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