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 …
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 …
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 …
Jake Alexander(Two Hoots)When Rosa finds herself bored during the holidays, her dad suggests going to the library to borrow some books. But when they get to the library, they find it to have closed down. Faced with this injustice, Rosa, with the help of her sister Maria, decides that she can’t stay silent. Can they …
You Can’t Take an Elephant on Holiday (Bloombury Children’s Books) is the latest instalment of Patricia Cleveland-Peck’s and David Tazzyman’s “You Can’t Take an Elephant … ” series, which has sold over 200,000 copies!Crazy scenarios of what might happen on a summer holiday are wonderfully depicted thanks to David Tazzyman’s zany artwork and Patricia Cleveland-Peck’s …
Today I want to highlight an absolutely amazing campaign that begins today! #StandByIndies is a great way to support a small publisher, your favourite independent bookshop and get a great book as well. What’s not to like? 20 April – 10 May 2021 After preparing #StandByIndies for more than a year, picture book publisher Book …
Today is Library Mice’s stop of the blog tour for Tom Tinn-Disbury’s My Summer with Grandad (New Frontier Publishing), a wonderful story of inter generational bond between a little boy and his grandad. Eric is learning to fish with his grandad and is finding it tricky. When a young seagull gets caught in a fishing …
I have always loved feminist fractured fairy tales, of which there are plenty published. But Gender Swapped Fairy Tales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett (Faber) is an anthology like no other. Rather than fracture and rewrite the traditional tales, what the creators have done is ‘simply’ switch the genders in each story. Nothing less, …
As soon as The B on Your Thumb (Frances Lincoln) appeared in the mail, it grabbed my attention. The book consists 60 poems written by Colette Hillier which all play on language and spelling. As a non-native speaker of English, I was instantly drawn to it because it highlights with humour, but a gentle touch, …
