Wisp: a Story of Hope Zana Fraillon & Grahame Baker-Smith (Orchard Books) One evening, a Wisp of air floats in a refugee camp. A little boy called Idris notices it and with his help, the Wisp visits inhabitants of the camp, helping them to remember life before the camp. Out of those memories, Hope grows …
Anatomy of the picturebook: Covers
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Are we not always telling children this? Yet the intended audience of picturebooks are, for the majority, pre-literate and as a result particular care is given to designing covers and other peritextual elements for picturebooks (defined more or less as anything other than the narrative, such as dust jackets, endpapers, title and dedication …
BLOG TOUR: Mick Inkpen’s “The Blue Balloon” is 30 years old!
The Blue Balloon (Hodder Children’s Books), Mick Inkpen’s classic picture book, is 30 years old this year! A favourite of so many families, which uses innovative use of flaps and fold-out pages, it is a true celebration of the importance of play and the power of the imagination for preschoolers. It also highlights how easily it …
Some reading for International Women’s Day
In the last few years there has been a huge surge in children’s books about inspirational women, and as a result there is now a lot of choice on library an bookshop shelves. Here are some recent releases you might want to consider. In Fantastically Great Women Who Worked Wonders (Bloomsbury Children’s Books), the …
The I Wonder Bookstore
Shinsuke Yoshitake translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot (Chronicle Books) Today is World Book Day and to celebrate a day which is primarily aimed at encouraging young readers to visit their local bookshops, it seems apt to showcase this zany latest title from Japanese illustrator Shinsuke Yoshitake. Yoshitake has become renown here for his picturebooks …
Picture Book of the Week monthly recap: February 2019
When Sadness Comes to Call Eva Eland (Andersen Press) Sometimes Sadness comes to visit. There might not be any reason for its appearance, but suddenly it is everywhere, wherever you go, whatever you do. But what would happen if rather than fight it, you embraced it? With a limited colour palette and lots of white …
BLOG TOUR: The Light in the Night
A newcomer last year with the gorgeous Red and the City, Marie Voigt is back with a new and very different picturebook, The Light in the Night (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books), which is Library Mice picturebook of the week: Betty loves night-time because with the dark comes the time for stories! But Cosmo, the bear in her favourite book, …
Picture Book of the Week monthly recap: January 2019
The Hug Eoin McLaughlin (text) & Polly Dunbar (artwork) (Faber & Faber) Hedgehog is feeling very sad, and could really do with a hug. But no one is willing to oblige, worried about the prickles on its back. Tortoise is also feeling very down and is not having much luck either, because of its hard shell. …
BLOG TOUR: Steve Antony’s Amazing
Today is Library Mice’s turn to host a stop of Steve Antony’s blog tour for his latest picturebook Amazing, which is Library Mice Picturebook of the Week this week! I am delighted to welcome Steve back to Library Mice (you can see an earlier, guest post, with his childhood Fabulous Five, here) and he has got …
Picture Book of the Week monthly recap: December 2018
Silent Night Lara Hawthorne (Lincoln Children’s Books) Two classic Christmas traditions are brought together in this book: the text consists of the lyrics of the Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’ while the artwork tells the story of the nativity. This mix works surprisingly well, and is a great way to introduce either traditions, or both! The …