Such a beautiful new print in the Petit Collage range by Lorena Siminovich. He is called Story Bear and he is a print on Maple veneer. Petit Collage will ship Internationally.

Lorena also illustrates the ‘In My‘ series of board books.

The print is also available on a tote bag…

Wouldn’t that be the perfect library bag?

The Little Fox creates dreamy and whimsical artworks many of which are book related. Including this gorgeous painting of The Owl and The Pussycat...

Drool over The Little Fox Etsy store here and read The Little Fox blog here.

Someone’s Been Sitting In My Chair

Library Day

Pop over to the My Poppet blog to see Katie’s review of this gorgeous book and to find out more about the author and illustrator Johnna Wright.

A penguin, according to Oliver, is easy to draw because they are just made up of three parts – ‘Head, Body and USELESS WINGS‘.

The Guardian continues to delight me with their devotion to reviews on children’s books and other children’s culture. They present their book section online so it is extremely appealing and engaging which is so important. The children’s reviews are insightful and they always pick great books, not high brow and not mass market just nice books.

They publish reviews by readers and have a great interactive program for children to subscribe too – a great innovation in a country where reading amongst children is on the decrease. `

This tutorial by Oliver Jeffers is part of a series they are presenting on illustration which has so far included; Nick Sharratt, Rob Steen (illustrator of the Flanimals by Ricky Gervais) and Alex Milway (author of an intermediate series called The Mythical 9th Division).

Children have been invited to send in their creations from the series and the Guardian are also featuring them online. What a fantastic concept.

We have been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. We have set up a vegie patch, planted some flowers in pots and have been enjoying the feeling of satisfaction that comes from having things grow.

I was delighted to come across the Yates May Gibbs Sweet Pea Fairy seeds and think I will have to spread some of these around. Although they won’t come up until Spring I can’t think of anything more gorgeous than a whole tribe of  little Sweet Pea Fairies in the backyard.

I think this is such a wonderful idea by Yates and the funds raised from the seeds go towards charities; the Northcott Society for Crippled Children and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. And what a lovely way to combine reading an Australian classic and learning about nature.

We are so glad that you have found these opportunities Dallas because we have seen your incredible books bring so much joy to children and adults alike!

Dallas has created the Awesome World Foundation to promote children’s literacy across the USA and the world. For every copy of his books sold the foundation donates a copy to a child in need.

You can read all about Clayton and his books and foundation on his website – Very Awesome World

We ♥ books is proud to stock The Awesome Book and The Awesome Book of Thanks

They call it a souvenir on the blurb but it’s so much more than that. Sarah has illustrated twelve of the most famous sites around London in her beautiful style that you can see more of on her website. I find her work a bit like that of Ludwig Bemelmans in the Madeline books and I have well and truly fallen in love with her.

Printed on both the front and back, Sarah’s recreation of the sites of London is simply perfect. My favourite spot and one where I have fantastic memories is the Royal Observatory…

I just want to walk into that painting and lie on that grass amongst the trees – do a bit of thinking about Greenwich Mean Time!

It is difficult to photograph this book and do it justice but you can see that this is definitely not only a souvenir, it is a gorgeous combination of innovative publishing and the most divine illustrations. The whole package is a delight, including the sturdy red box the book is packaged in and it is certainly beautiful for children but if you are like me then as an adult you’ll love it too.

If you have been to London with a child or are dreaming of a trip then this is such a lovely book to share. Ned has never been and we are dreaming but he has really loved the interactivity and intricacy of the book.

There is a New York version scheduled hopefully for around July and then fingers crossed for more wonderful cities.

P.S. Good things do come in little packages and you will not believe the price on this special little box! Check it out at your local Indie bookstore.

And here is the trailer for the film, which unfortunately I missed at the Festival and will be eagerly awaiting Madman releasing on DVD…

Beautiful new mixed media prints by Lisa Golightly using vintage children’s book pages available in her etsy store kiki and polly.