The Storybook Rabbit = Gorgeous
Little Big Shots International Film Festival for Kids
28 May 2010 by · 13 Comments
I was very excited to discover this year’s program for the Little Big Shots International Film Festival for Kids. Some of our favourite picture books are going to be included on the big screen! The beloved Oliver Jeffer’s book, Lost and Found AND the classic Mo Willems picture book Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Here’s a wrap-up of the book-related highlights and scroll down for a chance to win a double pass…
I missed seeing Lost and Found when it was aired here on Christmas Day last year – but now that there’s the chance to see it on the big screen, I’m kind of glad to wait! You can read more about our reactions to the trailer for this multi-award-winning animation at our previous posts here and here. It will screen at the festival as part of Big Shots, Small Packages 3 (for 4 to 10 year olds) .
The animation of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus features the voice talent of picture book veteran, Jon Scieszka and Mo Willems himself. The short film won the American Association for Library Service to Children Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Home Video. Find out what Mo Willem thought about it all on his blog. The animation will screen at the festival as part of Big Shots, Small Packages 1 (for 2 to 5 year olds).
Another picture book adaptation will also feature, with the Australian premiere of The Bake Shop Ghost, based on this book by Jacqueline Ogburn and Marjorie A. Priceman. The film trailer is just as delicious and spooky as you would expect, and stars Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives’ Karen McCluskey) and Academy Award nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace’s Vivian Johnson). It will be part of the Big Shots Small Packages 5 (for 6 to 10 year olds). Check out the trailer here:
Now that most of my film festival attendance is stymied by the necessity of babysitters, and my own sleep deprivation, Little Big Shots seems like a brilliant way to combine international cinema with parenting. The films are aimed at children aged 2 and up; perfect for sharing that other-worldly experience of cinema with toddlers and preschoolers (minus the leisuirely dinner at a funky restaurant before and drinks after …)
Each screening of the festival includes an informative introductory session, and there is access to an education kit, designed to encourage kids to think further about the films, as well as the craft of filmmaking. There is also a film reviewing competition and the top ten film reviewers are awarded a spot on the festival’s 10-member children’s jury for the following year!
Need any more inspiration to get to the festival? Check out their trailer here:
We have a generous number of double passes to give away to three of the screenings of the Big Shots Small Packages 3 (for children aged 4 to 10). To win, leave a comment on this post with the title of a picture book that you would love to see adapted for the big screen…
Double passes will be for screenings at Melbourne’s Fed Square on Wednesday 9 June at 10am, Thursday 10 June at 1.15pm or Friday 11 June at 11.30am.
A world tour of children’s bookshops: more bookshops added!
25 May 2010 by · 1 Comment
We’ve had some fantastic suggestions for our world tour of bookshops – so many beautiful bookshops of the world have been nominated. Here are a few more…
Nominated by Sally, who says ‘this is the type of bookshop you dream of as a child’, I really really love the look of this shop. The vision of shop founder Tamara MacFarlane is to make reading fun – if you have a minute to watch the video on the website you will be glad you did. I really love the passion that Tamara has for making the bookshop a place that children love to visit and an environment that encourages them to choose their own books. Hop on over to their Facebook album to see some of their really beautiful themed windows. Next time I’m in London I am definitely making this a must-see.
Canadian nominations flowed in thick and strong very early – I hope this a reflection of a thriving industry in Canada?! Cathy told us about her specialist children’s store, The Flying Dragon, in Toronto. The photos of their storytime sessions and visiting authors show such a cosy looking space – so lovely. I would love to hang out there. They have had a wonderful array of authors visiting their store and their website and blog reflect a lovely fantastical feel, appropriate for their name.
7) Kidsbooks
With three locations,Kidsbooks seems to be a Vancouver (Canada) institution, and one that really prides itself on its knowledgeable staff. And it has so far received more nominations for our world tour than any other bookshop! Holly loves the great selection, the staff, and the comfy red chairs, while Sara fondly remembers some fantastic events she attended – a performance by Eoin Colfer, reading by the fantastic Philip Ardagh and a memorable midnight Harry Potter party. Anne Marie told us about an amazing list of kid-friendly shops in the same street – Melonheads (a kids’ hair salon), Just Imagine (a kid’s costume shop), plus great bakeries and coffee shops and even a cupcake store!
Wow! If Books of Wonder was ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ in You’ve Got Mail, then could The Scholastic Store be ‘Fox Books’? This enormous children’s bookstore has all the bells and whistles. At 6,200-square-feet, it has a full range of books, as well as toys, games, and educational software. Scholastic characters feature, including a larger-than-life Clifford in a massive kennel, and a ten-foot-long Magic School Bus that littlies can pretend to drive and a giant dinosaur from the Jane Yolen series. An auditorium hosts frequent events, and there’s a glass windowed event room for themed birthday parties. Media Macaroni‘s Amy nominated this store, and her daughter had a party there, must have been so cool.
Many more nominations have been submitted via comments, visit our Google Map for our expanding list of beautiful bookstores. We’d love to add more to the list – to nominate, add your comments to this post. I’ll be back with more highlights…
The Owl and the Pussy-cat
24 May 2010 by · 2 Comments
‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’
Printspace have teamed up with the Wall Sticker Company and so you can now get their gorgeous illustration of the Owl and the Pussycat from the Edward Lear poem to now transfer onto your wall. I think this photo of it is just stunning, what would be more perfect for the nursery or bedroom of a lit lover?
Printspace will be at Mathilda’s Market with us this weekend at Malvern Town Hall.
A world tour of children’s bookshops
15 May 2010 by · 34 Comments
View We Heart Books children’s bookshop world tour in a larger map
Needless to say, we love a good children’s bookshop here at We Heart Books. And since overseas travel is more of a dream than a realistic proposition for me at the moment, I’ve been pondering a round-the-world trip of the world’s greatest children’s bookshops… Wouldn’t that be decadent and cool?!
Here’s your chance to help compile a list of the best children’s bookshops in the world. Nominate your favourite children’s bookshops anywhere in the world… and spread the word if you know others who might like to have a say too…
How to take part…
In the comments of this post, nominate a bookshop to be included on the itinerary of a world tour of the most amazing children’s bookshops. Include the address and website, and a short description or review of it – your reasons for the nomination. If you know of a good child-friendly cafe or restaurant nearby, feel free to mention that too, and we’ll include it on the itinerary, all this travelling is going to be hungry work…
Guidelines…
Any nominations taken, but we’ll lean towards specialist children’s bookshops, rather than generalist stores. It needs to be worth going out of your way for. Children’s bookshops attached to museums are OK too, as long as they stock a wide range of children’s books and fulfill the above. You don’t need to have actually been to the shop either (I haven’t been to any of the ones below…)
To chart the book tour, I’ve started a Google My Maps – pop over and take a look. I’ll be adding to it as we receive nominations and when we’ve finished we’ll have a Google Map charting an itinerary for a tour of the Greatest Children’s Bookshops in the world!
Here’s a few to start us off…
1) Books of Wonder, New York, USA
Billed as the children’s bookshop of all bookshops, this shop has been called the real life (and bigger) version of ‘The Shop Around the Corner’ from the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’. It’s known for its amazing range of children’s books, as well as a unique selection of rare and collectible signed and first editions. Check out the post from Vintage Kids Books My Kid Loves when they visited. You can read more about it here and here.
2) La Soupe de l’Espace, Hyeres, France
I first heard about this bookshop via Adolie Day, a favourite French illustrator. I really love the look of this bookshop and their beautiful window displays. And if Adolie adores this shop, it MUST be good. And who can complain if our itinerary takes us to the French Cote d’Azur…
3) Kid’s Republic, Beijing, China
Lou first posted about this incredible space here. It is one of the coolest children’s spaces we have every seen – with so much colour and movement in the shelves, it makes such an inspiring and inviting space for kids to explore books. The focus of this bookstore on children’s picture book artwork and on activities around children’s books is unique and somewhat revolutionary in China and they have done an amazing job.
4) Woods in the Books, Singapore
I have been following this relatively new bookshop on Facebook for some time, and I love their approach. Specialising in picture books for both children and adults, their quirky and arty selection is right up my alley. They also have space for exhibitions.
Please nominate away and spread the word… look forward to hearing about some special and favourite places…
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