Bethan Woollvin(Two Hoots) Erik and Ivar are off on a quest to catch a monster and their little sister Bo wants to join them but the brothers are having none of that – Bo is, apparently, too little! Once the boys are on their way, Bo decides to go on an adventure of our own, …
When Stars Are Scattered – the power of graphic novels in building empathy
Here is a trailer created by the book’s American publisher: The graphic form is particularly successful at telling stories of the refugee experience and there have many published in the last few years. The structure of the medium has a lot to do with how effective graphic novels are at conveying such themes. Very much …
The Illustrators: Dick Bruna
Today, Miffy celebrates her 65th birthday. Dick Bruna, his wife and their young son had been at seaside during a holiday when they witnessed a little rabbit (konijntje in Dutch) playing in the sand dunes. Later on, the little rabbit made its way into the bedtime story Bruna told his son. That day was 21st …
There’s a LION in the Library
Dave Skinner (text) & Aurélie Guillerey (artwork)(Orchard Books) With her darling dimples, charming freckles and an adorable button nose, Lucy Lupin is as sweet as pie … or is she? Little Lucy might look like butter wouldn’t melt, but she likes a good prank, particularly when visiting the library. But lying and being naughty always …
10 Day Picture Book Challenge
I have been taking part in the 10 Day Picture Book Challenge over on Twitter (you can follow other entries with #10daypicturebookchallenge ).Here is the compilation of my choices, with the 3 words I chose to describe them. If you are interested in reading more about them, I wrote about some of the following on …
The story behind the Art: Régis Lejonc and “The Garden of Inside-Outside”
Régis, thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions about The Garden on Inside-Outside. Could you tell us how you came to such an unusual project? “The editors from Les Editions des Eléphants , Caroline Drouault and Ilona Meyer, contacted me directly, having thought of me after seeing Chiara Mezzalama’s text. I was surprised …
Will Eisner Week: Graphic Novels in the Curriculum
As well as being World Book Day week, the first week of March is also a time to celebrate Will Eisner Week. Will Eisner Week is a Worldwide Celebration of Comics, Graphic Novels, Sequential Art, Free Speech and Will Eisner’s Legacy. As part of this celebration, organisers encourage people to read a graphic novel. …
The Illustrators: Judith Kerr
Joanna Carey (Thames & Hudson) Part of The Illustrators series (whose consultant is Sir Quentin Blake), this is a wonderful celebration of one of Britain’s most beloved and cherished picturebook makers, Judith Kerr. In this tome, readers are given access to a extensive selection of Kerr’s art, including very early drawings saved by her mother as they …
Picture Book of the week monthly recap: October 2019
The Fate of Fausto Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children’s Books) There was once a man who believed he owned everything and set out to survey what was his ….” So begins Oliver Jeffers’ latest picturebook, a longer narrative, which despite being originally written in 2015, sadly resonates very true in today’s world: Fausto is greedy, throws …
BLOG TOUR: “Michelle Obama: The Fantastically Feminist (and Totally True) Story of the Inspirational Activist and Campaigner” by Anna Doherty
I loved The Brontës, which was the inaugural title for Anna Doherty’s series Fantastically Feminist series and was really pleased to find out that there was to be a new volume on Michelle Obama: The Fantastically Feminist (and Totally True) Story of the Inspirational Activist and Campaigner (Wren & Rook). You don’t really get more empowering and inspiring …