An Unexpected Thing is a beautifully illustrated, touching children's picture book about facing fears, dealing with anxiety and learning to explore the world.

Fred is afraid. Of everything. He spends his days jumping at loud noises, recoiling from scary shadows and hiding from new people. So you can imagine how he felt when a huge, menacing spot appears as if from nowhere. Too terrified to do anything else, Fred hides away from the spot and imagines all the awful things it could be...

Luckily, Coco isn’t afraid of anything! She loves exploring new things and sees the best in every new experience that comes her way. When Coco sees the spot she knows that it must be something wonderful. And she’s going to find out what it is. And this time, Fred is going to come with her and face his fears once and for all.

This is a story of different perspectives, overcoming those feelings of worry and uneasiness, facing your fears and finding out that the world isn’t such a bad place afterall of all if you’re ready to explore.

Ashling Lindsay is an illustrator from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first book she illustrated was called The Night Box and was written by Louise Greig. It has sold in 10 territories, been nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Illustration award, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Klaus Flugge Prize for illustration, Teach Primary Book Awards and AOI illustration award picturebook category. Ashling is currently working towards her MA at Belfast School of Art and authoring her own picture books. Ashling’s clients include: Egmont, Little Tiger Press, Schwatz & Wade and many more.