About Top That! Publishing

Marine House PhotoTop That! Publishing Plc is an independent children's book publisher with an international reputation for producing exciting novelty books that challenge and stimulate young minds. Founded in September 1999, this innovative company has published over 1500 titles across its various divisions.

Located beside the river Deben in Woodbridge, Suffolk, Top That! employees enjoy idyllic surroundings in which to create new books. The company represents four main divisions, culminating in a varied range of both fiction and non-fiction titles that cater for pre-schoolers to adults.

Our most established division is Top That! Kids, which features numerous activity-based ranges including Fun Kits and Early Days. We continue to build on the success of this division by constantly adding new formats and series to the list each year. This division also produces licensed products, with which we have had much success – most notably with the Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl activity kits. We are excited to add Raymond Briggs' classics The Snowman and Father Christmas to the licensed product range for 2007.

Top That!, our adult division, was formed in 2003, allowing us to apply our experience of Books Plus publishing to the adult market. This imprint quickly grew and the hallmark of its success is the extensive Lifestyle series. Covering the widest range of pursuits, crafts and hobbies, from fondue to fishing, we are justifiably proud of the design and quality components of each title. Also in the range are Flick Tops and Shenanigans – novel titles with gift appeal, which come in-built with a quirkiness and sense of fun. Our new range of craft kits allows a whole new generation of nature lovers to appreciate Holden’s beautiful and delicately observed watercolours.

In May 2004, Imagine That! was formed to offer a custom packaging service to market-leading companies throughout the world. Although you won't see our new imprint on many covers, the launch of Imagine That! has been an unmitigated success. The AA, WHSmith, Marks & Spencer, Barnes & Noble, Next, Scholastic and Disney are just a few of the companies that have used our highly competitive book-packaging service in recent months.

And now for something different!

Top That! is delighted to announce the introduction of its fourth imprint, Tide Mill Press. Named after the beautiful wooden mill located next to our office (thought to be the oldest tide mill in England and much favoured as a subject for artists all over the country), this imprint brings together some of the best contemporary illustration styles to be found in Europe and America today. With easy-to-read stories and unique engineering, this line of books captures the magic so essential to a young child’s learning experiences.

Our current list includes the story of a millipede who travels through the pages on a flexible ribbon, 'eating' different coloured food items on the way (Millie the Millipede), a pop-up 'whodunit' about a small creature who has eaten the contents of a vegetable patch (Who ate all the Lettuce?) and a whole range of titles that uses various formats including magnets (Jungle Numbers, Counting on the Farm) among others.

Our Artists

Top That! is also proud of its association with award-winning illustrator and writer Charles Reasoner, who, with over 400 books to his credit, was given the Parent’s Choice Award for his series of Sliding Surprise books and has received the Newberry Award for his work in multi-cultural folktales. We pride ourselves on our strong relationships with a wide range of well-established illustrators, all who bring their own distinctive styles to each book. Among the contributors making their mark on Tide Mill Press are top British children’s illustrators Jo Parry, Karen Sapp and Daniel Howarth as well as European artists Andrea Petrlik and Dubravka Kolanovic.

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