Books by Miriam Elia

In series 2a of the latest Dung Beetle guide, Mummy, Peter and Jane go through an indefinite period of self isolation at home during the Lockdown. In this solitary time, the children will be forcibly adapted to the 'new normal', where they have no real life fiends, no purpose, and are conditioned to see their peers as portable germ vessels. Dung Beetle is doing this for the benefit and care of the terminally ill.

Book 2 of the Dung Beetle Learning series: Mummy takes John and Susan out of their local school to be re-educated at home, and introduce to their young minds a new, alternative world viewIn We Learn at Home, Miriam Elia's follow-up to last year's hit We Go to the Gallery, Mummy takes John and Susan out of their local school to be reeducated at home--though not before tagging the walls of St. James' Primary with the words "Fascist Scum." In order to introduce their young minds to a new, alternative worldview, Mummy will ground all learning in a feelings-based outlook, free of any actual facts or skills, and reevaluate core subjects such as mathematics, religion, philosophy and art. John and Susan burn the Union Jack, debate and learn to paint their inner children. Key vocabulary for young readers includes terms such as "Marx" and "Buddha." Pocket-sized, printed in bold colors and written in clear, simple English, the Dung Beetle Learning series pays tribute to and skewers the much-loved British Ladybird early learning children's books of the 1960s, with our child protagonists learning about contemporary art and politics rather than helping their parents around the house. In We Go to the Gallery, Susan found that the decay of Western civilization smells like rubbish, John learned that some toys are only for venture capitalists and the siblings discovered that God is dead. What new lessons will Mummy teach?

Following the success of "We Go To The Gallery", this continues the "Dung Beetle" series of mock children's guides, which 'inspired' the recent Ladybird guide bestsellers. In these two books, Mummy takes John and Susan out of their local school to educate them at home; and she takes them on an exciting day trip to London.

Trapped in a cage with a wheel that taunts him with its meaninglessness, Edward records the existential ennui that is the sum of his short life. His diary is an extraordinary work, filled with profound meditations on the nature of captivity, the emptiness of life, and the irrational will to live. This revised edition is imbued with new meaning in a post pandemic world. Edward is not just a hamster - he is a state of mind.

In the 2022 Dung Beetle Books Calendar, Elia has brought together 'The Best Of' the 'Dung Beetle New Words Reading Scheme'. Twelve of her favourite and most popular pages from Dung Beetle Books (2014-2020) have been handpicked and are showcased through the months of the year 2022, with handy spaces to record your plans.

In book 1d of the Dung Beetle Learning series, Mummy, John and Susan are taken on a thrilling Christmas adventure. By interrogating Santa Claus and exposing his ''vicious programme of indoctrination,'' Mummy proceeds to strip Christmas of all its magic and meaning, for the benefit of mankind. Originally based on the Private Eye Christmas special, this book will joyfully ruin the Yuletide festival period for children and adults alike.

A satirical take on the much-loved ladybird books of the '60s. John and Susan visit an art gallery with Mummy and discover the real meaning behind contemporary works of art such as empty rooms, giant vaginas and inflatable dogs.