Twas two days before Christmas and all through the land,
Odd socks had gone missing - they had other plans.
A good job then that Santa - would soon be on his way
With thousands of parcels all tucked up in his sleigh
With glorious paper, and ribbons and bows,
New socks are coming to warm up your toes!
But who'll pull Santa's sleigh - with the reindeer on strike!?
Will he be reduced to riding his bike?
But what's that I hear? - that familiar jingle?
Is it, can it be... the voice of Kris Kringle?
"Now Fairy...Now Wizzo...Now Witchy...Now Robber"
Socks pulling a sleigh - I've seen nothing Odder!!
So on Christmas Eve, when you're tucked up in bed
Happy and sleepy and warm and well-fed
While Mum and Dad munch on mince pies and hot toddies
Above all our heads will be flying The Oddies!!
Making sure Santa gets from the first house to the last
And on top of all that - that he does it fast!!
Lets hope they fly straight and lets hope they fly right!!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!


Merry Christmas everyone!
From all at The Oddies X

10 days to go!! My tree's going up this weekend and very excited I am too! Why not make some Oddies themed Christmas cookies to hang on your tree?! If they last that long they'll make a tasty snack for Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve! The recipe I'm afraid is plagiarised from Nigella - she who must be worshipped!! - and can be found in its original form on the BBC food website. Word of advice - and in the immortal phrasing of Blue Peter - ask an adult to help!!

Ingredients
For the biscuits
100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened
100g/3½oz soft dark sugar
300g/10½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
4 tbsp clear honey
set of Christmas cutters, or make cardboard sock shapes to cut around.

For the icing and trimmings
300g/10½oz instant royal icing sugar (made to packet instructions)
3 tbsp watergold or silver sugar balls or sprinkles
florist's ribbon or wire for hanging


Method
1. Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a clean bowl and mix together vigorously with a wooden spoon until the colour and texture of the mixture becomes pale.
3. Place the mixture into the bowl of a food processor and add the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and freshly ground black pepper. Blend the mixture. While the food processor is blending, gradually pour the eggs and honey down the funnel of the food processor's lid into the bowl until a dough has formed (you may not require all of the liquid if the dough has come together before it is used up). If the dough is too dry add a little water to the mixture. If the dough is too wet add a little flour to the mixture.
4. Halve the dough. Wrap one half of the dough in cling film, place it into a freezer bag, and place it into the fridge.
5. Place the other half of the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough, with a rolling pin, into a disc to about 0.5cm/¼in thick.
6. Using a set of Christmas biscuit cutters, cut sock shapes out of the dough. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out more shapes until the dough is used up. Remove the second half of the dough from the fridge and repeat this process.
7. With the pointed end of a small icing nozzle, puncture a hole just below the top of each decoration (through which ribbon or wire can later be threaded to hang them).
8. Arrange the decorations on a baking sheet lined with a layer of reusable silicon baking parchment and cook for 20 minutes or until they are cooked through and golden-brown in colour. Transfer the decorations to a wire rack to cool.
9. Prepare the icing according to the packet instructions (the icing texture should be liquid enough to be easy to apply but thick enough not to run off the decorations).
10. Ice the decorations using a teaspoon (use the tip of the spoon for dripping the icing onto the decoration and the back of the teaspoon for smoothing).
11. Sprinkle the gold or silver balls over the decorations and press them gently onto the icing. Cut the ribbon into short lengths and thread the ribbon through the holes in the decorations. Tie the decorations to what ever needs decorating with the ribbon.

If any of you make these, why not send me some pictures - or even better, cookies - so I can be in charge of...um...Quality control!

Merry Christmas!!
Dan.

Friday!! At this time of year that can only mean one thing - A weekend of Christmas shopping!! Crowds and queues and bad tempered Dads - the spirit of Christmas prevails!!

Well...If you want to avoid jostling with the great unwashed then why not do your shopping via the wonders of the internet!? Leave the post...Person (my posty is a very nice lady so I don't want to subscribe to gender stereotypes!) to carry your bags and put your feet up with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie!

With this in mind The Oddies have just introduced a new super fast next day delivery option on the website - www.oddieworld.com leaving you with plenty of time to get your prezzies suitably festooned with paper and ribbon and shipped off to the North Pole before Christmas!!

Still thinking of tackling the crowds?! My advice...Take a pram, great for clipping the ankles of those who dare to get between you and the last (insert most important gift on your list here)!!

Have Fun!!
Dan.

Ps. - Happy Birthday Kate and Sam, who both turn twenty something this Sunday!!

Picture: Cub Scout Oddie

Roll up, Roll up!! Any struggling graduates out there?? - Did you know that The Oddies could be your springboard to fame, fortune and (slightly less glamorously) career stability?! Seriously though, the rolling internship programme at Oddies is a really good way to get some essential work experience whether you're looking to get into publishing, marketing or....Sock manufacture.

If you're finding it hard to break in to the career of your dreams and you're passionate about kids books then drop us a line!! It might take a while for a position to open up - no, you can't have my job!! But I can tell you from personal experience that you get taken a lot more seriously when you've got some practical work experience under you're belt!! - Notice that I don't actually have a job yet....But I am getting a lot more interest, I promise!!

So...If you're interested get in touch through the 'contact' section of the website - www.oddieworld.com or if you have any questions leave me a message on here and I'll get back to you!!

Have Fun!!

Dan.

December!!! A big candy cane shaped, gingerbread scented Christmas greeting to everyone!! I know it's a little bit early - but the first door on your Advent calendar will be opening today and anyone who's been anywhere near a shop in the last week will know that the season of good will has well and truly arrived!!

Our office Christmas decorations went up today! - which is probably why this post has such a festive theme!! - the mere sniff of tinsel and I revert to my five year old state!! Unfortunately Christmas doesn't affect us all with such jolliness!! Kate, the helmswoman of Oddieworld (if Grant's the captain!!), is apparently allergic to Christmas trees!! It's a genuine problem - the whiff of a pine scented air freshener and she's bunged up till New Year! - maybe these Grinch like tendencies mean that I shouldn't reserve a space on the mantel for her Christmas Card!!....

For those of a less Scroogey disposition have a look at the website - www.oddieworld.com for loads of Christmas pressie ideas as well as fun games and activities to keep yourself busy whilst Mums doling out the Christmas chores!! Better have a look quick or you'll be stuck peeling brussels!!

Have Fun!!
Dan.

Wrestler Oddie has been nominated for the Cybils Awards - www.cybils.com
Exciting stuff!! The list is made up of books nominated by bloggers with an interest in Children's literature - like you good people!! So a big thank you to all Oddies fans!!

Have Fun!!
Dan.

Pic - Wrestler Oddie.
Did you know that in the wrestling world the term "sock" is used to describe a masked wrestler?? Well did ya??...Random trivia I know, but bizarrely relevant when considering that our own masked Wrestler Oddie is in fact a sock!!

Now my own wrestling knowledge is pretty poor - this may go someway to explaining why I was looking at a wrestling lingo dictionary....I'm very busy really!! But quite a coincidence if, as I suspect, only hardcore wrestling fans talk in this strange vernacular!! Right I better get back to work before this turns into a slobberknocker!!

(source http://www.britain.tv/wikipedia.phptitle=Professional_wrestling_slang)

Have Fun!!
Dan

Image -Brownie Oddie

Ello Ello!! As Christmas approaches in Oddieworld (and down here too of course!!) have you asked Santa for your favourite Oddie book and socks set to go in your stocking?? If not then get cracking - have a look at the site www.oddieworld.com and pick out your favourite. Remember to be fast as Mr Claus has to get all the way to Oddieworld and back to get them to you for Christmas day!!

Buying for Mum or Dad?? Why not put a twist on the traditional christmas socks and get them some matching odd socks from Oddieworld?!....Right that's my parents sorted which ones would my sisters like....

Have Fun!!
Dan.

Hello everybody!
I'm Alexandra-well, everybody calls me Alex, so you can too- I am 25 and I come from Greece!
This is my first day in the magic world of Oddies and Sam is my magic partner and my tour guide for the day! I already have a favourite Oddie and that is the Ballet Oddie, as I used to be a young ballerina myself. What's your favourite Oddie?..
I'm more than fascinated to begin my adventure journey to the Oddieworld and I hope that we all together enjoy it!
Have fun whatever you do!
Lots of love,
Alex.

Image: Scene from Footy Oddie.

Sorry for the mundane nature of this post but there's not much to report from Oddieworld today!! We had a team lunch - Grant couldn't make it as he's busy working on a free ebook that'll be available through the website soon!! So keep your eyes peeled for that!

Our Rainbow socks arrived - we've had some problems getting them delivered but if you've got any on order they'll be winging their way to you in no time at all.

We have another new team member starting on Monday - a young lady going by the name of Alex - so welcome Alex!! Actually whilst I'm knattering about my Oddie colleagues I feel I should mention Kate, a very important lady in Oddieworld!!, and Louise the longest serving Oddie intern - now you've met us all!! Read through the other posts to find out about the rest of the team!!

I'm busy writing a nomination for The Independent Publishing Awards - which isn't very exciting but we could win something shiny!!

Anything else?.... I'm making Christmas pudding this weekend, Delia says I need barley wine but I can't find it anywhere - any ideas? ....hmmm.....perhaps it's best I finish there!

Have Fun!!
Dan

Picture: Young author Sana Khan, writer of Rainbow Oddie, with Oddies creator Grant Slatter.

Fancy being a published author?? Not you Mum or Dad - this is kids only i'm afraid!! Did you know that Grant Slatter, creator of 'The Oddies', has so far worked with 8 budding authors to get their stories on bookshelves nationwide!!

The young writers all got involved with 'The Oddies' through our annual 'Read With Me Week'. So if you've got an imagination that makes people look at you funny then why not get involved!!

What you have to do is get your School, Library, Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows or Brownies to sign up for Read With Me Week - www.readwithme.co.uk and join the 200,000 other children having fun with 'The Oddies'.

Have fun!!
Dan

Sock it to me!! Have you seen the Oddies' socks?? These friendly faced foot warmers can be purchased with their stories on the website - www.oddieworld.com
Great for keeping your feet toasty, although I can't guarantee that they wont try and escape back to Oddieworld!!

Mum and Dad feeling left out?? (You know that you are!) Why not get yourself some adult sized socks and make a style statement all of your own - good for Dad's who enjoy embarrassing their kids, which is all Dad's isn't it?! Currently available in Super Hero, Cubs Scout, Beaver Scout, Rainbow and Brownie characters! - More characters to follow so keep checking back!!

Have Fun!!
Dan

Firstly I just want to say thank you to all the fans of the 'Oddies' who visited us at 'The Spirit of Christmas Fair' last week!! You kept us entertained over a very long five days!!

Secondly.. A quiz!!

What would your feet say about you?? Hmmm?
So you stick your socks in the washing machine - chug chug, whir, chug chug, whir and their soon zooming into space on route to Oddieworld - with me so far??

The question is - what character would your sock be and what special skills would it bring to Oddieworld? Are you a good Oddie or a bad Oddie? Right - answers on a postcard please! What are you waiting for?

Me? - well it'd have to be something that reflected my most prominent characteristics; good looking, intelligent, funny, modest.... leave it with me!!

Before I go can I ask you all to join me in a quick goodbye and hello?! Guy - one of 'The Oddies' team has returned home to Switzerland where he will no doubt continue to spread the word on all things Oddie!! Bye Guy - we will miss you!!

But... Guy has been succeeded by another very pleasant chap called Sam - who has come to weave his own brand of Oddie magic!! So - Hello Sam and Goodbye Guy! If you're not waving at the screen then please start!

Have Fun!
Dan.

Who feels like a singalong? Hurry up - practice your breathing, get your vocal chords warmed up!! Ready? - Right, this is the Oddie theme tune and a catchy little number at that! If you want to hear it to music go to the games section of www.oddieworld.com and turn up your speakers!!

Okay - I'll count you in....one....two....three

'Where Do All The Odd Socks Go?'

Where do all the odd socks go?
Listen up its in the tune
Far away behind the moon
Oddieworld is where the odd socks go?

Where do all the odd socks go?
When they’ve finished with your toes?
With Witchie, Fairy and Wizzo
Oddieworld is where the odd socks go

When you put the powder in the washing machine
Discover an adventure while you make your clothes clean

Where do all the odd socks go?
They’re not like your other clothes
They say goodbye they say hello!
Oddieworld is where the odd socks go

Every day you hear the whirring washing sound
Close the door and all the clothes spin round and round

Oddies!! Oddies!! Oddies!! Oddies!!

So if there are some bubbles and a magic swirl
You’ll know your sock has flown through space to Oddieworld

Where do all the odd socks go?
The story started long ago
They go round fast they go round slow
Oddieworld is where the odd socks go

Where do all the odd socks go?
Listen up its in the tune
Far away behind the moon
Oddieworld is where….
Oddieworld is where the odd socks go.

Have Fun!

Dan.

New Books!! Check out these new additions to 'The Oddies' series!! They're both available now and can be ordered through the website!! - www.oddieworld.com (What are you still doing here?!)

Wrestler Oddie - He might look mean but Wrestler Oddie is on a mission to help Wizzo survive the dastardly tag-team of Witchy and Robber Oddie! But is Wizzo strong enough for this rumble in the tumble(dryer) - a bit vague I know!! A must for all young wrestling fans - and anyone who's ever doubted that wrestling is anything but real!!

Rainbow Oddie - When all the color is stolen from Queen Oddies' castle Rainbow Oddie is on hand to work her Rainbow magic! But with Queen Oddie a hard customer to please and Wizzo sticking his wand in where it's not wanted this quickly starts to resemble a bad episode of Changing Rooms!! Can Rainbow rally the troops and get the royal residence looking fit for a Queen?! Take a look!!

Have Fun!

Dan.

Meet the ... author!! This Ladies and Gentlemen is none other than Grant Slatter, creator of 'The Oddies', himself!! And even though you can't see his feet I guarantee he's sporting a pair of odd socks!!

Grant first dreamt up the odd sock utopia of Oddieworld and its colorful inhabitants to quench his own children's desire for new and exciting stories. Grant's children enjoyed his stories so much that they encouraged him to share his characters with others - and so 'The Oddies' was born.

If you fancy getting your hands on some signed Oddies books why not come along to 'The Spirit of Christmas Show' from the 1st-5th of November (see below) where Grant will be signing books and answering questions on all things Oddie!!

Have Fun!

Dan

Take a look at Oddieworld!! Give the map a click for a larger image.
Where would you like to live?? Among the lush greenery of the Oddie Orchard or are you more likely to feel at home in the dark dank Verruca Woods? Myself? Well I'm a bit squeamish around ugly feet - if you saw my sister's you'd understand! So I'd definitely try and stay on Good Oddie Island - whether or not Fairy would let me stay or not is another story!!

The exact location of the planet Oddieworld is a big secret, I don't even know! In fact I'm not even sure Grant, creator of the Oddies, is that sure himself. Unless you're an Oddie there's not much chance of finding out either. But if you do happen to look up and notice an Odd sock whizzing into space on its way to Oddieworld try and catch a glimpse of where it's heading!!

Have Fun!
Dan

Fancy meeting Grant Slatter, creator of 'The Oddies', in person? As well as me and the rest of 'The Oddies' team of course!! Why not come along to the Spirit of Christmas Fair?? It's running from the 1st-5th of November at London Olympia. As well as 'The Oddies' (as if that wasn't enough!) there are loads of fun gift and foody Christmas ideas!! You're guaranteed to emerge cinnamon scented and feeling fuzzy!! Scrooges need not apply! www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk

Have Fun!
Dan

Meet Fairy, Witchy and Wizzo - I'll leave you to figure out which one's which! This family of socks were the first inhabitants of the planet Oddieworld and quickly split it into two factions; Good and Bad Oddie island!!

Witchy - Naughty to the core. Witchy whips around Oddieworld on her broomstick causing mischief everywhere she goes!! Founder of Bunion Town, home to all the bad Oddies (with the exception of the Pirates who prefer to stay afloat) Witchy's delightful neighborhood includes Pus Pond and Callus Caves - Yum!!

Fairy - Witchy's sister, Fairy, is her opposite in every way! Fairy has made it her mission to keep the peace in Oddieworld and she regularly conjures up visitors to help her foil Witchy's cunning plans!

Wizzo - The Father of Fairy and Witchy doesn't share their natural magical ability! In fact his clumsy attempts at magic often make bad situations a lot worse! Full of good intentions Wizzo should retire from all this wand waving business - the problem is everyone else realises it except him!!

To read more about the three founding members of Oddieworld and their exciting journey to this far flung planet check out the first story in the series - 'The Story Of Oddieworld' available through the webpage at www.oddieworld.com

Have Fun!
Dan

Firstly welcome!! Hello, how are you? Nice to make your acquaintance!! Etc. Right, pleasantries done with, what's this all about I hear you cry!!(humor me.)

Well for the most part my intentions are to make all you good people aware of a series of children's books I am lucky enough to be involved in. The Oddies!! You may have heard of them and if you hadn't then now you have - which is kinda the point of this blog.
Mission accomplished - bye!

Or maybe not...

The series is really great for young readers, in fact your kids may have already used them at school as part of 'Read With Me Week' - not sure what I'm talking about? Look here - www.readwithme.co.uk
and get your kids school/nursery/library/Cubs/Brownies/Rainbows/Beavers etc involved!! Really any group that revolves around educating and entertaining kids can take part for free!! And at the end of it there's a chance for them to become published authors - fame and fortune here they come!

Hmmm, what else?? Keep checking back to keep up to date with all things Oddie, I aim to put up some character profiles and story info to tantalise your tastebuds!! In the meantime take a look at the website - www.oddieworld.com where there are loads of games and activities for your kids to enjoy in a safe environment as well as loads of info about the books!!

Have Fun!
Dan.