Hachette Children’s has scooped “heartfelt” picture book adaptation Nala’s World: One Little Cat’s Quest for Love and Adventure by Dean Nicholson with illustrations from Frann Preston-Gannon. 

The picture book Nala’s World has been adapted from the Hodder & Stoughton-published adult title of the same name and follows the “incredible” true story of Nicholson and his rescue kitten Nala. Nicholson left Dunbar, Scotland in 2018 aiming to cycle the world but his journey was interrupted when he found Nala abandoned near the Bosnia-Montenegro border. From then on Nicholson and Nala travelled the world together.

Preston-Gannon is the illustrator and author of The Journey Home (HarperCollins) and illustrator of I Am the Seed that Grew the Tree (Nosy Crow) which was named the Waterstones Children’s Gift of the Year 2018 and has previously been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. 

Nicholson said: “When I first had the idea to publish the story of how Nala and I met, a children’s book was the way I wanted to go. Our journey is a beautiful story to tell, but it also comes with important lessons for children of an early age and beyond …In Nala’s World, we worked with Frann to bring our story to life in an engaging way to spark the imagination and passion of young minds.”

Read the full announcement in The Bookseller.