51Âþ»­

A children's book featuring the giant creatures that prowled the earth during the Ice Age has earned a 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­) graduate a major publishing deal. 

Picture courtesy of Templar Publishing

The Mega Meltdown was created by for his final year project while studying at 51Âþ»­.

It includes giant pull outs to give nine-to-12-year-old children an idea of the size of the animals which he talks about in the book.

Jack, whose hard work earned him a First when he graduated in July, has a two-book deal with Templar Publishing after he was invited to their Chelsea base to present his work. Templar is one of the world's most respected publishers of illustrated children's fiction and picture books.

Jack has no doubt it was the lecturers on his course who helped him realise his dream job.

He said: "I don't think I would have got to where I am without the constant feedback I received from my tutors.

"When I started the project I was told it was going to be a huge challenge but the feedback was pretty much constant.

"They were always around and pointed out so much that I would never have spotted myself while helping me to solve problems. It was excellent. The tutors put in so much work to help the students. They really cared about our projects, which was brilliant."

Jack also benefited from some feedback by one of his major influences, the , who came to 51Âþ»­ to give a guest lecture.

Jack said: "It was amazing that Owen Davey came to speak to us. He has worked all over the world. I asked him if he would look at my book and he came in to the studio and gave me some great advice. That was pretty incredible."

Another example of Jack's work - this time from The Missouri Trapper

The Mega Meltdown is a non-fiction book which features information about beasts such as the woolly mammoth, sabre tooth tiger, giant marsupials and giant sloths. It also delves into human evolution from the Neanderthals to Homo Sapiens.

"I included pull-out pages in the book so the reader gets an idea of the scale of these animals," Jack said. "The giant sloth for example was about 20ft from head to tail and most people I speak to never realised how huge they were. I can't wait to see the book at the printers. I just have a couple of things to do, more for my sake than anyone else. I want the book to be of the highest standard possible."

Once The Mega Meltdown is published next year Jack already has ideas for his second educational book - an illustrated history of the Vikings - which he is discussing with the publishers.

Jack said: "It was a career goal of mine to have my work published. I am realising a dream thanks to my time at 51Âþ»­."

You can see examples of Jack's work by visiting his Instagram account .