Nicola Davies author page

Nicola Davies biography

Nicola Davies is a children’s author and zoologist. She writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry for children, and she has written more than 50 children’s books. She trained as a zoologist, took a degree in Natural Sciences at King’s College, Cambridge, and later worked as a field biologist studying humpback whales, sperm whales and bats.

Before writing full time, Davies worked at the BBC Natural History Unit as a researcher and presenter. She was one of the original presenters of The Really Wild Show. She later became a senior lecturer in creative writing at Bath Spa University, and she runs workshops for children and adults about writing and speaking up for nature.

Her books include A First Book of Nature, Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes, Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth, The Promise, King of the Sky, Just Ducks and Extreme Animals. Just Ducks was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes won the 2015 American Association for the Advancement of Science prize for excellence in science in the picture book category.

In 2017, Davies was the first recipient of the SLA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Non-fiction. In 2018, she was Writer-Illustrator in Residence from August 2018 until February 2019, focusing on children’s exploration of the natural world. In 2025, she became Children’s Laureate Wales for 2025–2027.

The Day War Came, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb, was published by Walker Books in 2018 and is a picture book about a child forced to become a refugee when war destroys her home. The Walker Books edition dated 4 April 2019 gives its age range as 5 to 7, and the book won the Chen Bochui International Children’s Literature Award in 2019.

Nicola Davies teaching resources

• Nicola Davies’ official contact page gives workshop enquiry details and booking information for school visits, library events, literary festival events, visiting lecturer work and speaker appearances.
• Walker Books’ One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth teachers’ notes is a 15-page PDF for Years 2-4 with reading prompts, vocabulary work, geography links, time-zone activities, environmental discussion, research tasks and linked text suggestions.
• TeachingEnglish’s The Promise page provides lesson notes and student worksheets for ages 9-12 and 13-17, with a video readaloud by Nicola Davies, a Laura Carlin video interview, vocabulary work, lesson objectives, cross-curricular links and children’s-rights links.
• The Carnegies King of the Sky CLPE teaching plan is a Years 3 and 4 PDF sequence of around five weeks and 23 sessions, covering discussion, drama, storytelling, artwork, writing in role, migration, belonging, loneliness, friendship and the meaning of home.
• The Carnegie Greenaway The Promise visual literacy resource is a two-page PDF with artwork-focused prompts on colour, line, shape, space, cover clues, character development, fable structure, discussion questions, drama or music retelling and an art response.
• Eva John Literacy Consultancy’s Nicola Davies teaching-notes page hosts downloadable teachers’ notes for titles including A First Book of Animals, A First Book of the Sea, The Day War Came, The Pond, Perfect, Ride the Wind, Last, Lots and King of the Sky, with discussion points, research tasks, drama, vocabulary, writing and creative activities.