Pippa Goodhart - Editor
Pippa Goodhart is the author of over 140 picture books, early readers, and MG novels.
Pippa began her children’s book career as a bookseller and advisor to publishers, working with top children’s book editors. She worked for Oxford University Press on novels by Jacqueline Wilson, Tim Bowler, Helena Pielichaty and Geraldine McCaughrean.
For the last quarter century, Pippa has combined writing her own books with teaching and critiquing to develop writing for children skills in others.
As an author her best known books include the You Choose picture books, illustrated by Nick Sharratt, with sales well over a million copies, and awards from York Libraries and Mumsnet. The well-known Winnie the Witch storybooks are all written by Pippa under the name of ‘Laura Owen’. Pippa has had novels shortlisted for the Kathleen Fidler Award, the Smarties Prize, and The Young Telegraph Book of the Year. The Great Sea Dragon Discovery won the Young Quills Award for best children’s historical novel, 2019, and in 2025 she won The Bizziebaby Gold Award for You Choose Bedtime,
Through Jericho Writers Pippa has worked with writers such as Pip Jones and Catherine Emmett.
Find Pippa on Twitter here: @pippagoodhart
If you’d like to work with Pippa, get in touch with our Writers Support team; tell us about your book and what you’d like support with, and we’ll help you identify your next steps.
Testimonials
- Lyn S
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- Jason B.
– Sarah P.
- Ben S.
- Lucy S
Naomi D
Why we love Pippa
Pippa is a fountain of knowledge on all things children’s books. However, picture-books, in particular, are her forte. She has worked with us for over a decade and is one of our most trusted editors. We love working with Pippa. Her reports are methodical, comprehensive and packed full of market-centred advice. Experienced with all routes to publishing, she perfectly caters her advice to your publishing aims and dons her ‘creative writing tutor’ hat to help hone your writing skills further. Indeed, sufficiently prepared for any picture-book project that comes her way, Pippa’s reports are always expertly executed.
What Pippa says about editing
Children’s books are important. They can turn children into lifelong readers, they open children’s eyes to the lives of others, developing empathy, they comfort, the inform, they entertain. And they are very hard indeed to write well. It’s a privilege to help writers develop the skills.
I have many years of experience as a writer for children, and I’m still very much an active writer now. I’ve also got experience in the worlds of publishing and bookselling. And I enjoy teaching!
Working on picture books is a particular passion. The results can look so simple, and yet the business of using few words to interact with a series of images can be very tricky to get right. It isn’t just a matter of telling a story, it is bringing the visual story to audible life. And it’s also a matter of suiting your story to the current market.
What Pippa works on
Manuscript Assessment
Developmental Editing
Agent Submission Pack assessment
Line-editing
Opening Section Review
Genres Pippa specialises in
Pippa's published books
The Great Sea Dragon Discovery
Set in a Cambridgeshire village in 1860, this is the story of a boy who discovers an important fossil just when ideas about evolution are developing fast.
Winner of the 2019 Young Quills Award for best children’s historical novel for 10-13 year olds.
You Choose
A catalogue of a picture book, offering a mass of choices of possible places to live, characters to live with, clothes to wear, food to eat, and so on. Illustrated by Nick Sharratt.
Best Picture Book awards from York Libraries and Mumsnet. A huge loyal following, with over 400 five star reviews on Amazon.
Fair Shares
Bear and Hare try to reach some juicy pears, but they need some help. Hare finds three chairs, but is it fair that Hare has two chairs and Bear only one? When they have the same, Hare still can’t reach the pears! So a little friend teaches them that fair isn’t always everyone getting the same thing … with hilarious results! A beautifully simple picture book that considers, what is fair? The answer is not always as simple as you’d think.
Stop the Clock!
When Mr. Khan asks the children to paint what they saw on their way to school, Joe notices his baby sister is crying in the picture. He stops the clocks and goes back to the street to find out why… This sweet story reminds us to slow down, take a breath and notice the small details in our busy everyday life.
The Twisted Threads of Polly Freeman
It’s 1838. Polly is sent from a London workhouse to Quarry Bank Cotton Mill. The family who own Quarry Bank care for their apprentice children better than most mills do. But Polly is owned by the mill just as the slaves in America who grow the raw cotton sent to the mill are owned. Can Polly and her friend Min escape? What surprises will Polly discover about her own family? A life or death adventure in which Polly Freeman learns who she is and what she wants.
Just Imagine
Just imagine what it would be like to be as small as a mouse; or as big as a house. Imagine exploring the depths of the ocean, travelling into the past or the future – or something even stranger… This wonderfully inventive and interactive book allows a child to tell their own story, combining new elements each time. And with intricately detailed illustrations for parent and child to pore over together, this really is a book to share time and time again.
All Sorts
In a world of endless colours, sizes and shapes it’s easy to get a little dizzy. But can there ever be order amid the chaos? Join one little girl on her journey to find out just what makes the world a beautiful place to be in.
When Frankie begins sorting out her toy box, she decides not to stop there. She organises her bedroom, her classroom, even the bathroom. Perhaps people can be organised too? But how? Frankie quickly realizes that the variety and diversity of life on Earth is perhaps what makes it the most beautiful of all.
My Very Own Space
A little rabbit is trying to read his book in peace, but there’s so much going on around him! Maybe he needs some space just for himself. . .
Daddy Frog and the Moon
When Frog becomes Daddy Frog he wants to show little Baby Frog just how much he loves her but his search for a gift to show his love is leading him to miss out on time with Baby Frog as she develops from newly hatched tadpole to small frog. Daddy Frog realises that he doesn’t need to prove his love for Baby Frog, just be there for her.
Dragon Magic
A magical story about friendship and difference by Pippa Goodhart for Egmont’s red banana series. Jess and her blacksmith father have a dragon called Huff to fire the forge. They live in a mountain town, fenced to keep out the valley people. But it has no gate. The King charges Jess’s father with making a strong gate for the town. Huff is getting too old to provide enough fire, so they get a new, red dragon, who they call Puff. They work day and night to finish the gate for the King. Then Puff becomes ill, and it’s only with the help of a boy from the valley that Jess learns how to heal her and, excitingly, how to fly on her! Told in simple, engaging language, this fun, magical story is perfect for developing readers.
Little Monster’s Day Out with Dad
The perfect Father’s Day gift and the second title in an interactive pre-school picture book series by the creators of the bestselling You Choose and Just Imagine. Join Little Monster and his dad on their big day out, filled with cars, buses, trains, trucks and more! Dad and Little Monster are going to the fair, but the car breaks down and the rescue truck gets stuck . . . Will they be in time to ride the ghost train?
