Otto’s nursery

14 February 2010 by · 4 Comments

A few pictures from Otto’s nursery…

Some of his wall decorations have a book connection…

A Penguin poster…

My friend Lisa gave me these cards from Chronicle, and I framed four of them. They are hung next to Otto’s change table and he loves staring at the contrasting colours. Nice to think he is staring at such loving images too….

Board books don’t really belong on a shelf like this one but until Otto is ready to hold them himself, I like seeing them lined up like this. Rowan helps to choose some books from this shelf for us to read with Otto each night. Any of your favourites missing from our shelf??

Filed Under: Age 0+, Board Books, Otto

Christmas Gift Guide

16 November 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Locals may notice we are featured in this month’s Christmas Gift Guide for Melbourne’s Child/Sydney’s Child magazine… yippee!

melb-child-nov-09

We have some new Charley Harper products in store for Christmas – as well as the gorgeous board books and flash cards, we now have the Charley Harper Memory Game. Lovely Charley Harper gifts for all ages…

Filed Under: Age 0+, Board Books, Illustrators, We Heart Books Store

Borrowed and Thrifted

12 September 2009 by · 1 Comment

Book Affair in Carlton has moved, not very far, just to the other side of Elgin Street. It’s a fantastic new shop over three levels and the children’s books are in a little nook below the stairs in the basement.

There was still a lot of children’s books to unpack when I went in but I did find one gem that I love. It is a shaped board book called The Wonderful Colourful Butterfly. I can’t tell you much about the author, Gottfried Herold or the illustrator Hajo Blank because the little info I have found is in German.

The book is shaped like a butterfly and I can’t help but laugh everytime I open the book. Each page is a different butterfly illustrated comically, each with a human like face and the best expressions. My favorite is The Blue, pictured below.

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The author writes some text on the back of the book about a butterfly’s life cycle from caterpillar, to cocoon, to flying around the garden.

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There is a little bit lost in the translation from German to English I think.  The last paragraph is very cute…

‘Without butterflies, we would probably be the poorer, for it’s beauty is no more than a gentle breath.

Beauty, however, makes the world a little warmer, more liveable and miraculous.’

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Filed Under: Board Books, Borrowed and thrifted, Picture books

We Heart Books Store News

3 March 2009 by · Leave a Comment

At We Heart Books we love the idea of making art accessible to children through books – even from a very young age. One of our most popular blog posts was on books about sharing museum art with children. So we couldn’t resist the beautiful range of Charley Harper books from Ammo for the store.

Charley Harper (1922-2007) always loved nature and animals. He grew up on a farm and discovered that he enjoyed drawing and painting picture of wildlife. For over 60 years Charley painted bold, colourful, and sometimes whimsical interpretations of nature, animals and the woodland world around him. Renowned New York based designer Todd Oldham rediscovered Charley’s work in 2001, and collaborated closely with him, combing through his extensive archive to edit and design this series.

When I look at a wildlife or nature subject, I don’t see the feathers in the wings, I just count the wings. I see exciting shapes, color combinations, patterns, textures, fascinating behavior and endless possibilities for making interesting pictures. – Charley Harper

 

The Charley Harper board books – 123′s and ABC’s would make a stunning gift for a baby, especially for funky parents and bubs. The books are beautiful to hold with lovely matt pages and the vibrant colours jump off the page. The simple yet gorgeously descriptive text would make a lovely read-alound for a little one.

Charley Harper’s Flash Cards are also in our store. These sturdy cards, one for each letter of the alphabet, are gorgeous in so many ways. Beautiful for babies to look at and hold, educational for toddlers, and as a child grows, they can be used to create two different puzzles using the images on the reverse. We also think that the cards would make lovely wall art or a frieze in a nursery or child’s bedroom.

While you’re at the store, have a look at our Eric Carle softies – now on sale for the fantastic price of $10.95 (were $14.95).

||Charley Harper 123′s $19.95 at the We Heart Books store||

||Charley Harper ABC’s $19.95 at the We Heart Books store||

||Charley Harper Flash Cards $32.95 at the We Heart Books store||

Filed Under: Age 0+, Animals, Art, Board Books, We Heart Books Store

Foodie Babies Wear Bibs

15 January 2009 by · Leave a Comment

Whether or not you approve of the rise of the ‘babyccino’ in cafes around the globe,  I think urban babies are here to stay.

Urban Babies Wear Black series

Michelle Sinclair Colman started a lovely series of books chronicling new age babies, when she wrote Urban Babies Wear Black in 2005. With stylish and stylised illustrations by Nathalie Dion, the books were a success, and a series was born. I love the concept: as board books, these are meant to be read to babies, and it’s the babies who are the focus of the illustrations (the adults’ faces are never visible). But the text and illustrations are pitched firmly at the adult reader, poking fun at us parents of the ‘noughties’ and cleverly playing with double-meanings.

Eco Babies Wear Green

When you’re the parent of a baby, a book that provides a bit of entertainment for you is much appreciated.

Beach babies dig their daddies

The next two books in the series were released in 2007, Winter Babies Wear Layers and Beach Babies Wear Shades. And hot off the press are two more, Eco Babies Wear Green and Foodie Babies Wear Bibs.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia, we have a copy of each of the Urban Babies books to giveaway. To enter, jump to our Win! page.

||Urban Babies Wear Black series available from Readings||

||Urban Babies Wear Black series website||

Filed Under: Age 0+, Board Books

Haiku Baby

19 November 2008 by · Leave a Comment

Recently I was discussing the books I loved as a child with my mum, getting some inspiration for When We Were Little Sunday, when she told me that when I was a baby she actually borrowed books of Haiku poetry from the library to read to me.

I thought this was really lovely and then I found this little board book called Haiku Baby by Betsy Snyder and I have fallen in love with it. 

Flower

In tickly-toe grass,
a buttercup offers up
yellow nose kisses

The little blue bird on the jacket flits across the pages of this sweet book visiting his animal friends. Each gorgeous illustration is accompanied by a haiku celebrating an element of nature.

When I read this book I realised what a perfect form haiku is for reading to a baby; it is simple but melodic and soothing. I just find it really nice to find something different to all the other board books available and to find a book that has been so lovingly produced.

I am looking forward to sharing this gorgeous book with my new baby niece or nephew next year.

The author/illustrator Betsy Snyder is a blogger herself and recently mentioned we heart books on her blog, along with another of our favorite books Around the World With Mouk. The book Haiku Baby also has a really spectacular website, which even sings to you, it’s really worth a look.

||Haiku Baby available online from the we heart books/store||

||Betsy Snyder’s Blog||

||The Adventures of Mouk available online from the we heart books/store||

 

 

Filed Under: Age 0+, Animals, Bedtime, Board Books

Goodnight noises everywhere

13 August 2008 by · 4 Comments

I’m a little ashamed to say this, but we didn’t have a copy of Goodnight Moon on our shelves until I bought a copy for Rowan this week. First published in 1947, I’m actually not sure whether this title was very prominent in Australia when I was growing up. It isn’t one I remember from my childhood, or even from my early bookselling days. Don’t know if I was under a rock – maybe other Aussies can shed some light…

I’m confident the same couldn’t be said of US readers, as the book seems to be have been a hugely popular classic there. It is of course very popular here now too. Numerous ‘celebrity mom’ citings of Goodnight Moon verge on the off-putting (especially if you have a perverse streak like me). Anyone from Hilary Clinton to Tori Spelling seems keen to mention Goodnight Moon. Even ‘our’ Cate and Naomi are fans.

At first reading, the text of Goodnight Moon may almost seem a little glib. But you soon realise its charm. The rhyming, lilting text is mesmerising and the repetition of the words and illustrations is just so comforting. It is the quintessential bedtime story.

The book got a resounding nod of approval from Rowan. He is going through a stage at the moment when he often resists new books, especially at bedtime when he refuses anything unfamiliar. But he picked up Goodnight Moon with some curiousity and happily listened to a first reading and then requested THREE further readings.

There’s a lovely post over on Collecting Children’s Books discussing the identity of the ‘quiet old lady’ who features in Goodnight Moon. Worth reading, especially if you remember the story from when you were young.

Filed Under: Age 0+, Bedtime, Board Books, Rowan
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