She might have been born without hair, but Amy, the heroine of Daddy Hairdo by Francis Martin and Claire Powell (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books), certainly makes up for it as she grows up. Soon she has hair so long and luscious it would have Rapunzel green with envy. But with such long hair comes …
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BLOG TOUR: I Am the Seed that Grew the Tree
With the first hints of autumnal weather, a magical time comes upon us: it is the season of gift books and other beautiful editions (part of Jólabókaflóðið, as Icelanders would call it), ready for shoppers who seek Christmas gifts. You will be hard pushed this year to find a more beautiful specimen than I Am the Seed that …
FABULOUS FIVE: Bethan Woollvin presents picturebooks with fearless girls
Hansel and Gretel (Two Hoots), the third fractured fairy tale retelling from Bethan Woollvin, takes readers to the woods once more where they come across Willow, a kind and gentle witch who lives alone in her Gingerbread House. Willow is the heroine of this story, rather than the eponymous siblings, a popular motif of twisted fairy …
The Day War Came: the story behind the art with Rebecca Cobb
In April 2016, the British government refused entry and shelter to 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children. Hearing this devastating news, Nicola Davies, who had already been left devastated by the story of refugee children being turned away from schools because there were no chairs for them, wrote a poem which was published in The Guardian, and the …
FABULOUS FIVE: Daisy Hirst presents five fabulous books starring mice
Daisy Hirst’s latest book I Do Not Like Books Anymore! (Walker Books) is the second title featuring sibling monsters Natalie and Alphonse and in this new adventure readers find out just how much they love stories. Whether they are being read to or recreating them or even making them up, stories bring them joy. Natalie cannot …
BLOG TOUR: “You’re Safe with Me”: The story behind the art
Chitra Soundar (text) & Poonam Mistry (artwork) (Lantana Publishing) It is a dark and stormy night in the Indian jungle and the baby animals are anxious. The wind huffs and puffs, the thunder clatters, the rain falls; no one can sleep, and everyone is a little frightened. Thankfully Mama Elephant is here to console them, with her wise words and …
BLOG TOUR: The House with Chicken Legs
I am a big fan of fairy tale retellings, whether in picturebook form or in novels, and therefore I was intrigued by the idea of Sophie Anderson’s The House with Chicken Legs (Usborne), particularly as I knew very little of Baba Yaga and Slavic fairy tales. It did not disappoint. The House with Chicken Legs tells the …
BLOG TOUR: Rose’s Dress of Dreams
The Little Gems collection is I think my favourite collection from Barrington Stoke. The text in each book is clearly printed, broken down in small, manageable chunks thanks to the chapters and each is also highly illustrated, not only breaking the text further but also supporting the child’s reading and creating a lovely bridge between …
The miracles of small things in Bob Graham’s illustrated world
Bob Graham’s latest picturebook, The Poesy Ring: a love story (Walker Books) takes readers on a journey from 1830s Ireland to 1960s New York, following the inadvertent voyage of a ring. It opens with with a woman riding away, with only the hint of her heartache mentioned in the text: “salt tears dried on the rider’s face”. A …
GUEST POST: Lucy Rowland talks about the Magic of Books
When I first read Little Red Reading Hood by Lucy Rowland and Ben Mantle (Macmillan Children’s Books), I knew that it would be the perfect World Book Day book. Lucy Rowland has created a wonderful fractured version of Little Red Riding Hood, swapping Red’s basket full of goodies for an overdue library book, Grandma for a librarian, …