OK so this might be a little early but we are starting to think about Christmas. Last year we had such fun with Christmas books on this blog. We found that so many people have such lovely traditions around Christmas involving reading  books – you can revisit  the posts we did last year here.

In our little store last year Olive the Other Reindeer was the runaway bestseller and we now have it back in stock in two different editions.   

We also have a new and very beautiful Christmas hardcover in stock called Hurry! Hurray! Have You Heard? that would make a lovely family keepsake. Here’s the book trailer, it’s very pretty. You will recognise the illustrations – they are by Jane Dyer who illustrated Time For Bed by Mem Fox.

Watch the store for more new Christmas stories that we will be receiving from the around the world in the next couple of weeks.

I bought this gorgeous little picture book exclusively for me, although Ned may like it in a couple of years.

This is one of those books that is deceptively simple and communicates so much, I only had to read it once and knew I had to have it. The characters are a rabbit called George and a cat called Oscar who are so very simply drawn but are yet so expressive. George and Oscar are best friends, they love being together and one beautiful sunny day they text each other to meet in the park and eat jellybeans.

After eating a sky blue jellybean George starts to wonder about the sky and if there is a heaven – up there.

‘Will we go there too – both of us?
I’m going if you’re going, that’s for sure.’

This is not a story about the existence of heaven it is the story of friendship and the bond between Oscar and George who want to be friends always. It is a gentle introduction to death for children but I don’t really think that is even the main theme.

These simple little line drawn characters just convey so much. They worry about what will happen when they get to heaven – will they be able to find each other?

Maybe they should arrange a meeting spot. “…what if it’s really big and you never bump into anybody?”

And then the big question – will they know each other when they do meet?

Thoughtful, George answers “then we just become friends all over again”

This is definitely one of those special picture books that transcends age. Incredibly simple but the emotions and thoughts it evokes are amazing and it could be given as a gift to an adult or child. Picture books like this are rare and I’d really love to hear about books that others think fall into this category.

 Sylvia Van Ommen is a Dutch author/illustrator who has a beautiful website where you can see more of her fascinating little characters. She has also made a cartoon that features George and Oscar, here is a teaser trailer for the English version…

There were so many comments on Katie’s When We Were Little Post about Judith Kerr’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Everybody remembers that book with so much fondness.

There is an amazing museum in the UK called Seven Stories that is devoted to children’s literature and the latest exhibition is of Judith Kerr’s work.

Although I’m not planning a trip to the UK any time soon – unfortunately! Seven Stories is a lovely website to visit for anyone who loves children’s books.

This beautiful picture is called On Books and is by Melbourne artist and illustrator Charlotte Lance. Charlotte has illustrated many children’s books and you can see more of her art on her website here.

Her art is whimsical, graceful, warm and expressive.

Charlotte  illustrated one of my favorite intermediate novels Wiggy and Boa by Anna Fienberg. I also love her children’s t-shirt range  called BOYGIRL which is available in selected stores in Melbourne – you can find out more here.

The detail in this beautiful screen print of an original papercut called a Squirrel Village instantly reminded me of the lovely posts Katie has done in the past of Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse and the Alison Uttley books. 

Artist Cindy Mindy Pindy has some beautiful work in her Etsy store here.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is one of those books that I don’t recall having on my bookshelf as a child, but it nevertheless made a big impression on me and I remember it very fondly. It has been on my mental wishlist for ages, and when some colleagues gave me a bookstore gift voucher before I went on maternity leave last month, I used it to buy two picture books. One had to be a beautiful hardback edition of this book.

Rowan is into tigers in a big way at the moment – he is obsessed with David Attenborough documentaries – so we have both loved reading this book together.

A little girl called Sophie opens the door one day to find a big, furry, stripey tiger on her doorstep. When the tiger asks if he can join them for tea, Sophie’s mummy invites him in. But the tiger turns out to be very, very hungry – he not only eats all the food and drink on the tea table but proceeds to raid the kitchen, eating all the food on the stove, in the fridge, and even all the water from the taps.

Eventually the tiger leaves, and Sophie and her mummy are left to figure out what to do – there is nothing for supper and Sophie can’t even have a bath because all the water has been drunk from the taps…

First published in 1968, The Tiger Who Came to Tea is gloriously old-fashioned. Taking place in the days of the milkman and the grocery boy, it is a time when daddy’s supper was prepared in time for his arrival home and going out for dinner was practically unheard of. I love Sophie and her mummy’s outfits; Sophie’s purple pinafore and checkerboard tights are perfect!

I think one of the reasons I loved this book was the fact that it presented elements of fantasy as real. The scenario of a tiger appearing at the door appears perfectly reasonable, as is the idea that the water can be drunk from the taps. When Sophie and her mummy go to the supermarket to replenish supplies, they make sure that they buy a big tin of tiger food. What else do you buy in case a tiger were to stop by?!

The text is beautifully understated – I especially love the page showing the family walking down the High Street on their way out to supper. You can tell how special the outing is to Sophie, how rare it is for her to be out in the street after dark…

So they went out in the dark, and all the street lamps were lit, and all the cars had their lights on, and they walked down the road to a cafe.

Judith Kerr also wrote the series of picture books about Mog the cat, and I only realised tonight that she was author of a young adult novel that I dearly loved, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. If you are familiar with her books, you should definitely read this lovely interview with Judith published in the Telegraph.

||The Tiger Who Came to Tea is available from Amazon||

The complete original text with pop up illustrations = lovely.

||Available at the We Heart Books store||