I came across this awesome poster while reading one of the best mummy blogs around - Babyccino. The post, written by Parisian Emilie is about a kid’s nightclub party organised by So Chic Kidzin Paris.  The poster is instantly recognisable as being by one of our fav illustrators Marc Boutavant. What could be more fitting for a funky party, in a PARIS nightclub!!! Wish I could have gone.

There are books I just long to see and own – The Heart and the Bottle is one of those. I will be on the door step of the local indie bookseller on the 1st of March to grab a copy.

This is the current blurb about the book…

‘There is a wonder and magic to childhood. We don’t realize it at the time, of course . . . yet the adults in our lives do. They encourage us to see things in the stars, to find joy in colors and laughter as we play.

But what happens when that special someone who encourages such wonder and magic is no longer around? We can hide, we can place our heart in a bottle and grow up . . . or we can find another special someone who understands the magic. And we can encourage them to see things in the stars, find joy among colors and laughter as they play.’

Oliver Jeffers is my all time favourite illustrator and author. The enjoyment of his picture books transcends age as they contain such beautiful messages and from reading the blurb above this one will be no exception. Watch this wonderful clip and be fascinated by the world of Oliver Jeffers…

I have always said that the gorgeous Charley Harper flash cards would be perfect for wall art and neglected the Charley Harper Memory Game. Then I came across this spectacular photo and post on the awesome blog Made By White

These memory cards are so beautifully made, on strong, durable card and the reproduction of Harper’s art is so vibrant that they just beg to be used like this.

Thank you to Kelly from Made By White for the permission to use her photo.

We are definitely in the midst of the ‘Why?’ phase with Rowan. Seems like it has already been going on for a while and friends tell me that it keeps going for a lot longer again… I know it’s healthy, but sometimes I just like to get through a page of a book at bedtime without five questions about the story and the illustrations.

So last night I could hardly believe it when Rowan sat absolutely absorbed and completely silent as I read him for the first time A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and illustrated by Jim La Marche.

The book tells the story of a friendship between a bear and a woman who lives for a time in a woodland cabin. The bear stumbles upon the cabin and sees the woman reading. He is very curious about the square object that she holds, which at times makes her laugh, and at others afraid or pensive. Day by day the bear gathers courage until he is able to lie close to the woman. For the shortening days of summer, and until the leaves change colour, she reads to him. And although the bear can’t understand her words, he feels the emotions conveyed through her voice. Her words make a story: a story for her bear.

I’m not sure which aspect of the story was so captivating for Rowan – it could have been the idea of a wild bear meeting a human for the first time, or perhaps the bear’s perspective, learning about the existence of books and the power of storytelling. Whatever the reason, it was wonderful for me to share a book with him that is very special to me – it was Lou who gave me my copy and I think it is such a beautiful story about the wonders of reading.

I also love Jim La Marche’s illustrations – I reviewed another beautiful book of his, Albert, here. He has such a talent for illustrating light and shadow, and this is done so beautifully again for the woodland scenes in A Story for Bear.

||A Story for Bear is available in the We Heart Books store||

Jeremy Holmes’ gorgeously quirky version of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is now in stock in our store.

Such a macabre rhyme and beautifully executed by Holmes. Since we first saw the book in early December, we haven’t got tired of turning to the closing page to see the old lady’s eyes closing for the final line, ‘She died, of course.‘

You can purchase your copy here.

The trailer is mesmerising and sets the mood perfectly…

Isn’t this ring by illustrator and photographer Nan Lawson just beautiful, I just bought it! I’m excited, I love her illustration of Max with his wolf ears sticking out from the top of his crown. Check out Nan’s Etsy store where you can buy prints of this Max image and she also has a very beautiful blog.

It’s really, really hot here today and we are trapped inside. Ned and I have enjoyed this little book trailer immensely and we will probably watch it a couple more times before the day is out. It looks gorgeous animated so it will be really interesting to see the book.

The author/illustrator, award winning designer, Michael Hall includes 300 hearts in his stunning illustrations and readers are encouraged to try and count all of the hearts at the end of the book. It is due to be published in Australia next month and you can see inside the book more on the Harper Collins website.

Also have a look at some deleted scenes from the book on the newly created blog Under the Greenwillow devoted to celebrating the publishers 35th birthday – this will be a blog to watch.

Thanks to Fuse #8 for pointing me in the direction of this great book trailer. Also check out their review of Cosmic, an intermediate novel by Frank Cottrell Boyce – one of my all time favorite authors.

Also discovered today is this awesome new blog, this is definitely going to be one that I am going to be addicted to. A whole blog devoted meticulously to ‘recommended inappropriate books for kids’. The research, the writing and the images are just incredible and will give you a giggle as well as providing some incredible info.

As I have mentioned before in ‘When We Were Little’ posts (here and here) we lived for a time in England when I was little. Rupert the bear was another of the English characters that is indelibly linked to my memories of our time there. I still have a copy of a Daily Express Rupert Annual, which I think was given to me one Christmas.

Having now done some research into the Rupert story, I am blown away by the endurance of this ever-so-English little bear.

Rupert Bear first appeared in 1920 in the Daily Express comic strips by Mary Courtel. In an incredible feat of longevity for the world of the print media, the Rupert Bear strips continue to this day. The artist has changed several times, and one of the most significant storytellers and artists responsible for Rupert was Alfred Bestall, who held the reins from 1935 to 1974. Each year, a Rupert Annual is published, and my copy is the 1981 hardcover edition.

One of the most distinctive aspects of the Rupert stories is the story-telling format. This is not a regular cartoon comprising pictures and speech bubbles. A complete Rupert story is told over several pages of an Annual. Each page consists of a simple heading and four or five illustrations, and the illustrations are captioned by four pairs of verse. At the bottom of each page, a paragraph of prose repeats the story again, which means that the story can actually be read on four levels.

As a reader, it’s a slightly unnerving format, and the verse is often slightly ‘off’. But it is interesting – and means that children of different ages can enjoy the story. These days the first thing I think of is what a nightmare this must be to copywrite and edit – how restrictive must those word limits for each written element be…

Rupert himself is said to epitomise traditional British public school values. He lives in an idyllic English village and, with his friend Bill the Badger, has a series of unexpected  magical adventures. With their gorgeously distinctive outfits and occasionally their leather rucksacks, Rupert and Bill always get home safely to Mrs Bear, who never seems the slightest bit perturbed by their adventures.

Clearly, the character of a newspaper comic who has been around for nearly ninety years is iconic. Paul McCartney’s inspiration for the song ‘We All Stand Together’ (the ‘Frog Song’) was apparently his realisation that something he loved so much as a child was also a favourite with his own children. The clip includes animation of Rupert Bear. Deservedly Rupert has a fervent fan group, the Followers of Rupert Bear, and there is also a Rupert and the Frog Song website…

I have enjoyed watching the clip below more than once this weekend. Anyone who loves books and the handmade will really appreciate John Carrera’s passionate journey to compile such a beautiful book.

Pictorial Webster’s: Inspiration to Completion from John Carrera on Vimeo.

One of the most beautiful things, I think, that arrived in our store at the end of last year are the Pictorial Webster’s Wall Cards – another piece of gorgeous publishing by Chronicle Books. Seeing the clip about Carrea’s process in making the book has only made me love them more.

See what Ohdeeodoh said about the cards last year here.

After seeing this gorgeous pattern on Etsy I think I may need to learn to crochet in 2010!