Angus and Julia Stone play on high rotation at our place at the moment, and I learnt today that the beautiful cover artwork of their latest album comes from children’s book illustrator, Caroline Pedler. Caroline also drew the illustrations for the animation of the band’s video for their song ‘The Beast’.

I discovered (via Sleevage) that the band’s initial idea for the cover artwork was inspired by a children’s book that Angus and Julia found in a family house that they visited as kids. The book cover pictured three people standing at a sign post which pointed in the directions of Fairy Island and Pirate Island. This image struck them as a symbol to represent the band and their journey. I love the idea of an adult picking up a children’s book and being transported in time by the illustrations, finding resonance in their adult life… I wonder what book it was…? Any guesses?

I wish I could have a copy of this…

This is one of five copies in existence of a book hand penned by J.K. Rowling called Beedle the Bard. Auctioned at Sotheby’s for £1,950,000 it is now owned by Amazon.com. There are extracts and reviews on their site. It’s an amazing looking book.

Rowling is donating all the proceeds to her charity The Children’s Voice Campaign to help institutionalised children in Europe.

Ned and I spent a lot less today at Alice’s Second Hand Bookshop in Rathdowne Street. It is such a beautiful little shop and probably one of the best second hand bookshops in Melbourne. They only have a little section of Children’s books but it is all in great condition and they have shelf upon shelf on any other subject you can imagine. We bought a copy of The Whistle Stop Party by Nan Hunt (illustrated by Craig Smith) for $5.50 - what a bargain. No longer in print I can remember reading these books to my little brother in the 80’s. There are three in the series; Whistle Up the Chimney, An Eye Full of Soot and Ear Full of Steam and The Whistle Stop Party; all really worth looking out for in Op Shops or Second hand book shops. All three are so much fun especially for train lovers with jaunty rhymes and great train noises throughout - Clicketty Clack Clicketty Clack.

I finally bought a copy of this book that I have been admiring for ages: When You Were Small by Sara O’Leary and illustrated by Julie Morstad.

This is my kind of picture book: the narrative gets right into the head of a little person, calling on a childlike, seemingly uninhibited imagination; the illustrations have a beautiful vintage feel and the quality and design of the book production is impeccable with its gold-embossed chocolate cloth spine and egg-shell blue cover.

Henry asks his father to tell him about when he was small, and in response, his father tells him about a time when he was a miniature person: “When you were small we let you sleep in one of my slippers. The left one. You used a fuzzy wash cloth for a blanket and a tea bag for a pillow.” It is a beautiful, whimsical story, conveying a lovely sense of affection between a dad and his little boy.

Author, Sara O’Leary and Julie Mortsad each have their own sites. The book is published by Simply Read Books, publisher of many beautiful and quirky children’s books. I have particular respect for them as the US publishing home of the iconic Australian illustrator and author, Shuan Tan, among other Aussies.

I found this still from new movie Dan in Real Life and it made me giggle. Anyone with a sense of humor loves this Japanese picture book and all children seem to have an inbuilt sense of humor when it comes to talking about bodily functions. The message of the book is that all living things eat so all must poop (or Poos depending on your hemisphere). This Japanese style of illustration is beautiful, it has a lovely innocence and the colours used are glorious. In the same series and along the same topic is also The Gas We Pass by Shinta Cho; the story of farts.

Some other great but slightly gross picture books;

My favorite - The Fly (La Mosca); How a Perfect Day Turned into a Nightmare -Fly goes for a swim in a porcelain pool (loo) until something very large falls from the sky , Splash! Sick? Yes very but the collage illustrations are fantastic and it is funny.

Walter the Farting Dog

And of course the classic - The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it was None of his Business - you can’t get much better than a mole with poo on his head.

The Kid’s Republic Bookstore in Beijing spotted on Coolhunter. Unbelievably gorgeous, I’d love to visit here but I probably wouldn’t want to leave.

Apartment Therapy Ohdeedohhave been conducting a HOT OR NOT poll on this Pillow Light. I think it’s a definite hot! Created by designer Oh Sehwan from Korea, to aid reading in bed - it leaves your hands free to turn the pages - how cool is that.

I have been taking down Ned’s first birthday cards today but couldn’t bring myself to put this one away. It’s called Calico Puppy and is by Lark handmade. I love it because it reminds me of old 1950’s picture books. Lark also make the most gorgeous bookplates; I think I had some like these when I was little…

Lark creator Allison Jones lives in Daylesford and writes this beautiful blog about the things she loves.

I saw the Lark collection of products when I discovered Five Boroughs in Brunswick but there is a huge list of shops where Lark is available on the website.

Ned received some beautiful get well presents this week after having a little op in the Children’s Hospital. His gorgeous mate Oscar gave him a copy of this lovely fold out counting book, Zoo!…

The text is rhyming and it has such lovely bright illustrations; the animals fold out of the book essentially making a four page spread and the paper is a heavy card that feels like it has a laminate on it so there won’t be any rips! Each animal has a rhyme and also an accompanying question to count objects on the page which will be fantastic for Ned when he’s a bit older. Is written by Lori C. Froeb and is published by Five Mile Press .

On the afternoon we came home from the hospital there was a parcel in the letterbox from Ned’s cousin Charlotte which was a copy of Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French in the new board book format. Illustrated by Bruce Whatley this is the gentle tale of a wombats observations of the human family she wants to live with. It is a funny, adorable and subtly informative little book, it is pure joy.

And then today mummy had a present in the mail too. A present to myself from this fantastic etsy store, hownowdesign. A gorgeous necklace…

I am also coveting these vintage blocks from the same store..

I think Bing is the cutest rabbit in print. Created by author/illustrator Ted Dewan, Bing is the classic toddler; cute but testing. He explores his world with fervor but watch out when things go wrong! Toddlers love these books because they can relate to Bing and the challenges he faces, they love the bright illustration style that mixes drawings with photography of everyday items and Bing even has a toy he can’t live without called Flop - I’m sure this sounds familiar. As the reader I find them hilarious and they are such beautiful little hardcover editions that are just lovely to hold. Our favorite is Bing: Yuk, in which Bing will NOT eat a tomato.

Bing.com has a blog with gorgeous photo’s of children from around the world appreciating Bing as well as some pics of some very well loved Bing books and Dewan has even included a page of downloadable images of Bing for use as iron on transfers.  

A highlight of my mum and sister’s recent visit to Europe was a chance encounter with an amazing bookshop in Porto, Portugal, called Lello. I was gobsmacked by their photos…

I would love to visit this shop, can’t get over the beautiful art deco decorations, the red staircase, the rails for the book cart… Sigh!

Also came across this great blog, the Bookstore Guide - ‘an amateur guide to book shopping throughout Europe’. What a fantastic concept for a blog! Perfect for any booklovers travelling to European cities, you can search by city - big and small. (Although can’t say many of these bookshops look pram-friendly!) Their post describes the place and history of Lello in some detail.

Photos by my mum and sister, (c) 2008