Spring has really arrived in Melbourne today and Ned and I have had a lovely day. It makes me happy and so does reading lots of lovely blogs this week talking about children’s books.

Jennifer from Minor Details, one of my very favourite blogs has today posted about one of her latest projects which is a room for Cookie mag using inspiration from The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers - one of the bestest picture books EVER. I can’t wait to see what she has created.  

Also check out these other wonderful blogs talking about their love of Irishman (he was born in Western Australia though) Oliver Jeffers work; here, and here and check out the handsome man himself here. His website is also very special.

Jeffers has a new book called The Great Paper Caper due this November in Australia, that will be on the Christmas list. I love the funny lumber jack bear on the jacket.

I love illustration and was very excited to find a blog called Artista, Irisz is an illustrator from Hungary who’s art is just pure joy.

Found via the stylish Tutus and Turtles also this week was a fabulous Thing One and Thing Two themed baby shower for a mother having twins. See pictures at Stem and Hostess with the Mostess.

And finally swissmiss wrote about gorgeous new bookshelves from Dwell Studio - love them.

A guest post by Clare, auntie to Rowan, 2 years.

On my recent travels to Europe I spent a few days in some of Paris’s famous art galleries. Wandering through the gallery bookshop at the end of my tour I was surprised to find a huge collection of art books aimed at children. Many of these books were gallery-specific – but not always - and it struck me that they provided a great way to introduce children to art and to help foster an understanding and appreciation of artwork. It’s a tricky subject, mostly because many of us have mixed feelings about how we were introduced to art as children. Whilst I love art now, I still remember feeling bored in galleries and confused about some aspects of modern art – why would anyone bother painting “ugly” boxes in brown? (Picasso’s cubist series) and “why won’t my art teacher let me paint two stripes of red on the page and call it art?” But I don’t remember the type of books that I saw recently being available when I was little.

Here are my top 5 children’s art books, inspired by my recent art-infused travels:

1. I Spy series (Lucy Micklethwait)
This is a great series of books for toddlers and pre-school aged children, although parents will no doubt love the paintings as well.  Using familiar themes in I Spy Animals, I Spy Shapes, I Spy Transport, Lucy Micklethwait takes us on a journey through famous paintings from around the world and throughout the ages. These are great books for getting children used to looking in detail at paintings and could also be a starting point for ‘art’ conversations. Age 2+

2. Mon petit Orsay (Marie Sellier)
These books are really aimed at the European market but I have spent many hours looking through them in the last few weeks at museum bookstores in Paris. Translated into several European languages, they take children through the masterpieces of the Musee d’Orsay, Le Louvre, George Pompidou Centre and Versaille.  What is behind the walls of these great buildings?  Paintings and statues come alive.

3. Dog’s Night (Meredith Hooper)
Once a year the dogs at the National Museum in London are allowed out of their paintings for a party.  This year they descend from their paintings to discover the leftovers of a great feast.  As the clock strikes midnight the dogs are giddy from too much party food – they climb back into their paintings only to discover that some of them are in the wrong ones  Dog lovers of any age will love this book and its beautifully illustrated pooches.  The challenge toward the second half of the story is to work out which dog belongs where and how are they going to get back into the right painting? Ages 3-8 years.

3.    Roy and Matilda the Gallery Mice by Susan Venn
This series focuses on Australian galleries, and I first discovered the original book through my younger sisters. This beautifully illustrated and narrated story, introduces Roy the Mouse, who lives in the Australian collection of the Victorian National Gallery (now housed in the Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square). Roy moves through paintings such as Tom Roberts’ Shearing the Rams and David Davies’ Moonrise, where he meets Matilda. They fall in love, marry and create a home in the walls of the gallery. This is a wonderful book to read as both an introduction to the gallery and as a bedtime story in its own right.  For me, one of the best parts about this book is that the Victorian Gallery created a “real” Roy and Matilda Mouse Door in a corner of one of the rooms. As a baby-sitter taking my younger sisters through the gallery one holidays, the quest to find Roy and Matilda’s house allowed us to walk through many rooms we might not have otherwise discovered. It also provided ample talking material – I will never forget the delight of my youngest sister when she turned a corner and discovered the painting where Roy and Matilda first met! Thanks to the success of this first book, Edwina Publishing has gone onto publish books with some of Roy and Matilda’s family for the NSW and Queensland museums. Age 2+

5.  How to talk to Children about Art by Francoise Barbe-Gall
Whilst this is really a reference book, rather than a children’s art book, I think it is a fantastic tool for helping people explore are with children. The first chapters of the book briefly, and simply, discuss cognitive development and broadly outline ways to introduce art and galleries to children. Although some of the advice is a little obvious “don’t spend too long, your children’s attention spans are not as long as yours”, there are some great gems. The rest of the book is devoted to approximately 30 different masterpieces from around the world.  Using three different age groups (6-7, 8-10, 12+) it suggests questions you might pose to children to help spark conversations about the paintings that are age appropriate.

I have just ordered this most beautiful looking book from Amazon, called Come on, Rain!. It is the picture book companion to Karen Hesse’s Newbery Award winning intermediate novel Out of the Dust. The extract and description on Amazon has me writing this with tingles, isn’t it amazing when books do that?

A creeper of hope circles round my bones.
“Come on, rain!” I whisper.

Apart from Karen Hesse’s beautiful poetry, this book is illustrated by one of my favourites, Jon J. Muth. Muth’s book Zen Shorts is a New York Times bestseller and was awarded an honor for the 2006 Caldecott Medal. Zen Shorts is in fact more than a picture book, it is actually a fable, or three. Three children wake up one morning to find a giant panda called Stillwater sitting in their backyard with a red umbrella. Stillwater tells each child a story, a meditation, that is based upon Zen and Taoist tales that have been told for centuries.

Muth has so cleverly and softly melded these ancient teachings into a gorgeous modern picture book that is so beautifully illustrated with the most amazing watercolours. They make it absolutely a book of art.

There is a beautiful collectors’ edition of Zen Shorts available on Amazon too, which comes in a slipcase and a plush version of Stillwater; I’m so tempted!

Zen Ties is the new book and again stars the wise and gentle Stillwater but also introduces his nephew Koo a haiku-speaking panda. What is so lovely about both these picture books is that they are not patronising or forceful, children can take from the stories what they want and it will probably be something different each time.

I also have one of Muth’s other picture books, The Three Questions which is a retelling of Tolstoy’s short story of the same name. All of these books are special so much so that I even handle them differently, I find myself runnning my hand over the page wanting to touch the beauty and the creativity. True love!

One of the things I used to love about working in bookstores was when new boxes arrived from publishers. It was like Christmas every month, the anticipation and the joy of finding out what was inside.

Now I get that feeling when I walk into a bookshop to see what is new on the shelves and also when I’m browsing the internet, checking out other peoples blogs for new and exciting books.

A couple of days a go I came across Suzy Lee on Amazon. The book is Wave and it is wordless.

Suzy Lee is amazing and I must now have Wave on my bookshelf; have a look at her website here to learn more about this very gorgeous artist.

Wordless picture books are of course an art because the whole story must be conveyed convincingly in the illustrations. They are very important in education for prompting children to learn how to interpret stories and also to recognise a beginning, middle and end in story telling. Wordless books are great at home as well; younger children can enjoy explaining what is happening in the illustrations and older children can take it further by imagining alternate endings and additional plot lines. Wordless picture books are rewarding.

weheartbooks top 5 wordless picture books

1. Up and Up (Shirley Hughes)

I love Shirley Hughes and one of my favorite books as a child was Dogger, or David and the Dog as it is known in the USA (I’ll post about that one another time). She is one of the best known children’s author/illustrators in the world. Set out in comic strip style Up and Up consists of black line drawings against a sepia background. The story of a little girl who longs to fly, it is purely magical as you follow her journey: she gets her wish and off she goes up and up. Her personality is infectious and she always makes me smile as she drifts along until she is finally rescued by a man in a hot air balloon. There is so much to look at in this book which makes it a great tool for encouraging children to make up their own stories. It doesn’t even have to be about the main character, you could make up different stories for the others she meets along the way. Ages 3+

2. The Arrival (Shaun Tan)

Well I just think this award winning book is incredible, in fact Shaun Tan is incredible. The Arrival depicts the journey of a man who leaves home for a strange, fantastical land in order to support his family. The hundreds of drawings Tan worked on for this stunning book are partly a reflection of his own father’s journey to Australia and his struggle to fit into an alien culture. More than a book The Arrival is an awe-inspiring artwork; every time I pick it up I find new and amazing elements that I had missed before. Ages 8+

3. The Snowman (Raymond Briggs)

Regarded as a cult classic this picture book tells a story in pictures - 175 frames to be exact - of the one night friendship of a boy and his snowman. The boy lovingly creates the man out of snow and when he looks out of his window that night he discovers the snowman is alive. They take each other on a tour of their worlds, the boy of his house and the snowman of his wintery world. In the morning when the boy wakes up the snowman is gone, he has melted and all that is left are pieces of coal. This book is all about the joy of exploring and discovering new things, it is about new friendships and then the fond memories of those friendships. This book really does give children the opportunity to imagine their own ending to the story. 4+

4. Sunshine and Moonlight (Jan Omerod)

These are favorites of mine from childhood, I can remember borrowing them from the school library numerous times. In the last few years they have been re-published and are just as beautiful as I remember them way back in primary school. Sunshine follows the progression of a little girl’s day as she gets up out of bed and begins her daily routine. My favorite scenes are when she hops into bed with her parents while they read their morning papers; everyone in this house has a routine and they all fit into each other’s. Toddlers can compare their routine in the morning before childcare/preschool with this little girl’s. Jan includes so much detail that this is perfect for beginning discussion with children about their own routines. Sunshine won the Australian Children’s Book of the Year Award in 1982. Moonlight is similar to Sunshine but of course follows the routine on the other end of the day; cleaning teeth, bathtime and bed. Ages 2+

5. Tuesday (David Wiesner)

Reading Tuesday is like watching an M. Night Shyamalan film; it is weird, quirky, funny and enthralling. On this particular Tuesday around 8 in the evening a strange thing begins to happen, suddenly frogs/toads start to invade the town levitating on lily pads and seemingly having a great time. The frogs eventually return to their rightful homes BUT the big surprise is what is going to happen on the following Tuesday? Tuesday won the prestigious Caldecott Medal and Wiesner’s amazing speech is here. I love this quote from that speech

Fortunately, kids know funny when they see it. If, after reading Tuesday one evening before bed, they look out the window and see frogs flying by—well, we should all be so lucky.

Wiesner’s art is incredible and I can guarantee that parents will love this as much as their children. Ages 4+

Although we have used some very classic choices here there is also room for a special mention for the fantastic wordless books by wonderful Australian illustrator Gregory Rogers, The Boy, the Bear, the Baron and the Bard and sequel Midsummer Knight. Ages 6+

Like Sarah I also have Alison Lester as one of my favourite author/illustrators.

Her stunning art as well as her very personal, funny and warm stories are pure magic. Before Ned was even born (he was in my tummy) I went to see Alison at a signing at Readings and she signed a copy of Are We There Yet? for him.

It says, “For Ned, happy travels and best wishes, from Alison Lester”. I’m sure that he is going to love Are We There Yet? when he is old enough and I really hope that one day he and his dad and I can take a trip around Australia just like in the story.

Books Illustrated in Middle Park have beautiful limited edition prints of Alison’s art for sale that would be perfect for a child’s room or a family room.

Just discovered this gorgeous Eric Carle fabric via 123O’Leary. I HAVE TO have some!!

Imagine a patchwork quilt or pyjamas made from these?! Keep an eye on this Flickr group, where crafty people are invited to display their creations using the fabric. There is a 10% discount on the fabric available through the museum website if you order before April 30 and mention where you heard about the special. For Australian readers, I found out shipping will be $25 for 2-4 yards.The museum’s mission is “to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book”. I like the sound of that. I’d love to go to one of their art workshops in their studio…Ned has the hungry caterpillar hand puppet – check it out at Lou’s post here.

Last week I bought this absolutely divine little picture book for Ned and for, well, ME!

Ollie is the main character, a beautiful childlike zebra who loves to dance (I Love To Dance) and in the companion book loves to sing (I Love To Sing). Everything about this little book is pure joy, from the size and the way it fits in your hand perfectly, to the end papers illustrated with scribbly drawings that it looks like Ollie drew himself.

The text is very simple and joyful making it fun to read aloud “I love to dance like jelly and shake my wobbly belly”. I can even act the wobbly belly out to Ned!

Anna Walker has created such an endearing character in Ollie that when you see his smile you will smile too. She is an amazingly talented artist and I so look forward to seeing more of her work soon and of course more of Ollie.

While having a peek at Anna’s website I also came across the book The Miggy Tree (Hardie Grant)that she has stunningly illustrated. I hadn’t heard of it before but I really need to get a copy. The author of this book which is actually a poem died at only 33, his wife decided to publish this poem for their two year old son and for their son’s grandmother. It sounds beautiful and the website is gorgeous. From the website you can order the book, there is also adorable children T-shirts for sale as well as prints of Anna’s illustrations and greeting cards.

Detail from the Miggy Tree illustrated by Anna Walker

We spent a lovely morning in the park this morning in Carlton with Ned’s mate Oscar and his mummy. It was a little windy!

After our play and a lovely coffee from Tre Bicchieri, Ned and I went to visit my favorite shop Belki in Rathdowne Street. It’s a gorgeous gift shop that is just filled with the most beautiful collection of goodies; bags, jewelery, ceramics, baby things and more.

I couldn’t go past buying this little beauty for myself…

It’s a lined notebook made by Library+, designed and printed in Australia. They have created some gorgeous characters to decorate their stationary range that includes notepads, book marks and even library bags (I need one of those also). I fell in love with the jacket because of the parliament of owls on the jacket. I have always been fascinated by collective nouns and I quite love owls. Not sure why but I think they are pretty cute, maybe it’s because they are wise and bookish.

What I wasn’t aware of was that inside the cover of the book is a little library card in it’s own little pocket. Irresistible.

Then in their children’s section I found another gem. A picture book called Little Hoot about, yes, owls. I just had to buy it for Ned as an Easter present. The illustrations in this book are just divine, I’m just so glad I have discovered illustrator Jen Corace. It is published by Chronicle who design the most beautiful books perfectly.

The author Amy Krouse Rosenthal has created a story that is a twist on the usual getting children to bed routine. Little Hoot goes to school, plays with his friends and then wants to go to bed at a normal time like his non owl friends. However his mum and dad have different plans for him, of course he must stay up late and play like a good owl. Poor little Hoot is very grumpy indeed and counts down his play time until he can go to bed. It is such a fun take on reverse psychology I’m sure it is going to be read in our house many times.

I often wish I could draw or paint, it is such an amazing talent to have but I just have to be content with appreciating others work instead. Etsy is such a magnificent treasure trove of art and craft available world wide, I can spend hours looking at all the amazingly creative products people have for sale. Here are some stunning illustrations available on Etsy that look like they have come straight out of a picture book, perfect for framing and hanging in a nursery, playroom or my living room.

Chance Encounter

Belle and Boo

Hiding Spot

Ashleyg

Sensible Owl

John W. Golden

Beautiful collage by artist Lorena Siminovich currently listed in her etsy shop Petit Collage. I love how this photo shows her art being used as a gorgeous book end on a shelf. She uses maple plywood as a base and then collages with vintage and recycled paper, she is also releasing a children’s book this year. There are more details on her website here and also a list of some Aussie shops that stock her work, unfortunately none in Melbourne town yet.