A little something extra for Christmas.

(Spoiler: the "something extra" is this newsletter.)

Greetings ye who are highly favoured!
I am favouring you with this extra-special extra newsletter, which probably seems a meagre gift to you, though it’s a whole day’s work for me.¹

First, I’ll distract you with a picture:

A toasty little flashback to December last year.

Now I’ll give you the bad news:

I do not have a recording for you of my Gingerbread House Garland-making Drawing Play-Date. You probably weren’t expecting a recording, and I hadn’t planned to record it, so this might not be a surprise to you… but let me start at the beginning:

I don’t record my Drawing Play-Dates because that would complicate things technologically for me, and maybe put more pressure on people, and increase the critical voices in our heads that we want to banish. Therefore, the Drawing Play-Date on Monday was not recorded.
Great. Everything is going to plan.
However, there were a few people unable to make it at the last minute, my sister and niece included. My daughters were highly involved in the call and were disappointed to not have their cousin there.² And thus my great idea: let’s call them the following day to draw some gingerbread houses together as a family.
Lovely. That’s all arranged.
However, I also thought it would be extra-nice to record the call so that those people who were unable to attend could follow along in their own time and enjoy the familial madness that would inevitably ensue.
And that’s where it all went wrong.

There is a video, but it is only of my desk. And there is audio, but it is only of my own voice.
It is, therefore, a complete write-off.
Ah well, this was one of those things that apparently had to be learned by trial-and-error. Like I always tell my kiddies:

as humans, we tend to have to make a big mess of things before we really learn anything.

So, from this mess, I’m going to learn how to record calls properly, and I hope to make them a feature of The Scribble Club next year.

But here’s some good news:

Instead of a video, here is a different gift:³ I have a few children’s book recommendations for you, as recommended by my very own childrens. They have meticulously compiled a list of their favourite books of all the books they read this year.⁴

This is an abridged version. If you’d like to read the more detailed version, with pictures, it’s on my blog.

A & J’s list of the best books of 2024:

(Full disclosure:⁵ I’ve provided links to each book, in case you happen to want to buy one immediately. They all link to UK websites, and the ones that take you to Bookshop.org might also earn me⁶ some money one day,⁷ because I’m an affiliate.)

And the winners are:

Best Picture Book for Story:
Here Be Dragons by Susannah Lloyd and Paddy Donnelly

Best Picture Book for Illustrations:
If You Run Out Of Words by Felicita Sala (awarded 10 stars by my children)

Best Picture Book Overall:
Where to Hide a Star by Oliver Jeffers

Best Short Chapter Book:
The Pirate Captain’s Cat, the first book in the Nine Lives of Furry Purry Beancat series by Philip Ardagh.

Best Long Chapter Book:
The Green Ember by S. D. Smith

Best Christmas Book-to-read-every-year Because it’s a Tradition:
The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton

My 10 year-old daughter’s Overall Favourite Book of 2024:
The Promise and the Light by Katy Morgan

My 7 year-old daughter’s Overall Favourite Book of 2024:
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald.
(Sorry I can’t find a link to one that’s actually in stock, but his books are now in the public domain, so you can read them online for free. We also recommend The Light Princess. It’s hilariously absurd and beautiful.)

Here are a few things to look forward to in January:

• My wedding anniversary and my birthday! (You don’t have to look forward to those, but I will.)

• The first of a series of interviews, which I mentioned last time. This one is a video interview with

  Citlaflor
  where she recorded it, so that nothing went wrong. I’ll share it in January’s newsletter.

• Not one, but two, Drawing Play-Dates: the regular one on the 20th - where we’ll be putting faces together using simple, fun shapes and marks - and also a special birthday party Play-Date! I’ll bring the snacks and games.⁸

There’s no Word of the Week today, because this was supposed to be a short newsletter…

Therefore, in conclusion, here’s the bit at the end before I say goodbye until next year:

I’ve closed commissions for Christmas, but if you would like any illustrations for 2025, do get in touch via this handy form, or email me: robyn@robynhepburn.com
I’ll be replying to emails and sending out orders again from the 6th of January 2025.

As a reminder:

• My stickers are for sale in the Ko-fi shop.

• The Scribble Club is always accepting new members.

• My next Drawing Play-Date is taking place on Monday the 20th January.

• If you’d like to receive nice free things in the post, do send me your postal address. From next month this will only be available to Scribble Club members, but if you’ve already given me your address in 2024, you’ll still receive little gifts in the future.

Goodbye until next year!
I hope you have a beautiful, warm, loving, joy-filled Christmas.
With love,

1. I should probably think of some ways to be more efficient in this area…

2. They live 6000 miles away, so we don’t see them as often as we would like.

3. If you want a video as well, I’ll be live on YouTube on Sunday the 22nd, for my church’s carol service. You’re welcome to watch. I’ll be one of the people singing. (Hint: I’m not the guy playing the piano.)

4. Though not necessarily published this year.

5. Don’t you love the word “disclosure”? It’s so satisfying to say out loud. I feel fancy and formal every time I say it. “Disclosure.”

6. Well, if any money comes from these book recommendations, then I’ll give it to my girls. After all, they did write the list.

7. If someone were to buy 11 copies of, say, Stanley Tucci’s What I Ate in One Year by following that link, then I would get £20. It’s unlikely, but it could happen…

8. I’ll share the games, but I’ll eat the snacks myself. Technology has not yet progressed enough to allow me to share my snacks via video call.