Back to the Storks

An adorably mischievous picture book about naughty babies.

Otis was a very loud baby. He would scream and shout and bang things together.
One day, when his mommy and daddy couldn’t take it any longer, they said, ’That’s it! We’re sending him back to the storks!’

When word spreads across town that parents can send their naughty babies back to the storks, the storks’ village is suddenly inundated. But are these babies really naughty, or do they actually have some special skills that the clever storks can put to good use? And what happens when the parents start to miss their naughty little babies? Perhaps their little babies aren’t so naughty after all ...

From sparkling new duo Cressida Gaukroger and illustrator Andrew Joyner comes this hilarious tale about naughty babies and their exasperated parents learning to get along - with a little help from the storks. Perfect for any household with a new arrival, and for fans of I Want My Hat Back (Jon Klassen), Back to the Storks is uproarious fun for the whole family!

’(A) wickedly funny book. It’s bonkers and joyous and you should get it.’ -Tim Minchin, Matilda the Musical.

Cressida Gaukroger (rhymes with ’Dork-roger’) is a Melbourne-based philosopher and ethicist, a policy advisor, and a parent to three wonderful children. She has a PhD in Philosophy from the City University of New York, a Masters in History and Philosophy of Science from Cambridge University, and lectured in Practical Ethics at Oxford University until 2019. Back to the Storks is her first picture book and it’s about terribly naughty babies.

Andrew Joyner is the illustrator and author of numerous children’s books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Dr. Seuss’s The Horse Museum, The Pink Hat, and The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky. His books are now published in more than twenty-five countries. He lives with his wife and children on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia.