The first thing one notices about Britta Teckentrup’s latest book The Swing (Prestel Publishing) is the object itself; it is much longer than traditional formats (160 pages) and a much smaller size too (a square, 22 centimetres, give or take). The size in itself promises a different kind of reading experience, and this continues as …
“Apropos of …” is a new section of Library Mice which is more opinion piece (sounds a bit self-important but I can’t find another term really) than review. I wanted to keep it slightly separate because it might be more broadly about reading and not necessarily just about picturebooks or indeed children’s literature, as is …
Thames & Hudson have long been at the forefront of publishing books on the arts and design, but they are also one of the few publishers who continue to publish books about illustration as an Art form. In the last few months they have released two volumes which will undoubtedly delight and fascinate picturebook enthusiasts. …
What better way to celebrate Bookshop Day than with a book that follows the long journey of a picturebook from printing press to reader’s hands via, of course, a lovely independent bookshop? This is exactly what Special Delivery: A Book’s Journey Around the World (Nosy Crow), written by Polly Faber and illustrated by Klas Fahlén, …
Karrie Fransman & Jonathan Plackett(Faber Children’s Books) A couple of years ago I wrote about Gender Swapped Fairy Tales as part of the blog tour celebrating its release and the fascinating algorithm used by the book’s creators to literally swap one gender for another , with fascinating insights into how such tales might affect our …
Caryl Hart (text) & Emily Hamilton (artwork)(Bloomsbury Children’s Books) “Whenever I am feeling sador life feels hard or wrong or bad,I focus for a little whileon little things that make me smile…“ When my children were little, reading Caryl Hart’s rhyming texts was a regular and joyful occurrence in our house. Doing rhyming properly in …
Júlia Sardà(Walker Studio) When Franca, the eldest of three sisters is suddenly overcome with feelings of restlessness and is and lured by the dark forest beyond the garden, there begins a strange adventure full of unusual encounters and fantastical occurrences. So is the premise of this unique and fascinating picturebook; a pinch of the absurdism …
Until this coming Friday (24th September), members of CILIP can nominate titles to put forward for the 2022 Carnegie and Greenaway medals. In order to be eligible for the 2022 Medals, books: – must have been published in the UK or Ireland between 01 September 2020 and 31 August 2021. – which have been first …
Today I am absolutely delighted to support the blog tour celebrating the release of Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates by Mark Bradley (Hodder Children’s Books), a new graphic novel series about two adorable best friends. Bumble and Snug are Bugpops, little monsters with big feelings. When they decide to go on a picnic, …
Emma Perry (text) & Rikin Parekh (art)(David Fickling Books) Alfonso the Alpaca loves nothing more than relaxing with a good book. And many a books he has! But all he can see in those books is bears. Bears, bears and more bears! Where are the Alpacas? Alfonso thinks Alpacas also deserve to be heroes too, …
