Aren’t these Jonathan Adler book ends gorgeous. Nothing like a long dog to hold up your books. 

Comical and cute; Dachshunds are great little characters for children’s literature. The quintessential Dachshund character being Pretzel by H. A. and Margaret Rey the creators of that other quintessential little animal character Curious George.

Pretzel is a love story that begins and ends with puppies (if you know what I mean!).  First published in 1944, the story is by no means out of date but still has that lovely innocence of books from that era. 

The beautiful 24 minute film based on the book Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Caste was nominated for a BAFTA and shortlisted for an Oscar last year. You can buy the book from we heart books and find out more on the film at the studio aka website here.

This really is a very important book and film, it’s message is something special to share with our children as our environment continues to be something we all strive to protect.

One of the most beautiful self published books I have seen has arrived in our store. I Hear Two Birds is a counting book and a work of art written and illustrated by Brisbane local Kathy Panton.

Kathy has a Bachelor of Visual Art, and has recently given up her job as a special education teacher to be a fulltime artist. She told us … ‘I really believe in following your passion and that is why I am an artist.’

‘I can’t say I have any specific influences, but I have long studied the work of other artists who illustrate children’s books. A lot of people say my work is like Eric Carle’s, and that is a great compliment, as I think he was a real innovator in children’s book illustration.’

Kathy actually paints first and then cuts up her work which she uses in a collage technique to make her exquisit pictures. We are so lucky to have these photos of Kathy’s studio to share…

You can see here where she keeps her cut up paintings for use in her pictures…

I believe that Kathy has really captured the essence of what all the great, classic children’s books have. I Hear Two Birds works on so many different levels, it has beautiful flowing, rhythmic text, counting, recognition of colour, shape and everyday objects including animals and nature. It truly is a stunning book and we are very proud to have it.

Kathy also sells her beautiful prints, which are perfect art for a child’s room, from her Etsy store here.

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…

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…

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.

Our Christmas tree this year is not a perfect specimen. It is asymmetrical, slightly bushier on one side, and has a decidedly wonky top. But I love it because it is an Eco Christmas Tree! It is a real living tree in a pot, and we have hired it for December. I though this concept was brilliant as soon as I heard about it – with tree delivery and collection included, you also get the satisfaction of knowing that a healthy tree continues to grow and thrive all year round.

When I was growing up we always had our Christmas tree in a pot. My mum and dad bought a small living Christmas tree for my first Christmas as a baby and every year for 20 years we continued to bring the same tree into the house. In the end it was so tall that it touched the ceiling. I really loved thinking of the tree and I growing alongside each other.

When Rowan was born, I intended to create a similar tradition for our household. But I soon learnt that my mum is a better gardener than I because I was unable to keep our little tree alive for the year… But Eco Christmas Trees provides the perfect service for someone like me. They even offer to deliver the same Christmas tree to you next year!

I do love Christmas tree traditions, and one of the Christmas stories Rowan and I are enjoying at the moment is Mr Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry.

The story starts with the delivery of a very tall Christmas tree to Mr Willowby’s grand house. The tree is the biggest he’s ever seen – so big that it can’t stand up straight in his parlour! Mr Willowby asks his butler to chop off the top of the tree so that it will fit better. The butler cuts the top, but instead of throwing it away, he decides to offer the cutting to Miss Adelaide, the upstairs maid. Miss Adelaide gratefully accepts her ‘tree’, but discovers the tree-top is too tall for her attic room, so she too trims off the top… And so the story continues, and the tree-top is gradually shortened and shared with smaller and smaller animals.

I love the idea that a tree can become lots of mini-trees, as well as the wonderful sense of sharing in this book. The final illustration of Mr Willowby with his tree in the foreground, with the detail of a tiny mouse-hole and the mice and their miniature tree is so lovely.

What about everyone else? What Christmas books are you enjoying at the moment?

||Mr Willowby’s Christmas Tree is available in the We Heart Books store||

Ned’s dad and I were watching At the Movies the other night when Margaret and David reviewed the new animated – Performance Capture animation - film version of A Christmas Carol. We both agreed that we thought the story was very dark and not really appropriate for little kids, although maybe many people will be drawn in by the fact that it is animated – so beautifully. I guess it is the same question about audience that has been debated with the Spike Jonze film version of Where the Wild Things Are.

A Christmas Carol is a dark and grim story that I have never really related to Christmas even though that is the theme of the novel. There have been countless film adaptations of Scrooge and his redemption and my main memory is of the Disney charcter version with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

Today I saw this book trailer for a version of A Christmas Carol illustrated by the amazing Brett Helquist.

I cannot think of a more appropriate illustrator for this classic story, his Scrooge reminds me a bit of Count Olaf! Having not ever owned a copy of the Dickens story (although this one is an adaptation) I think this will be the version I lash out and buy this Christmas because although it’s grim I think it’s one I should have.

Marc Boutavant is one of our very favourite new illustrators. We were first introduced to him through Around the World with Mouk, a true visual feast of quirky characters and amazing colours.

So we were very excited to hear about not one but two new books illustrated by Marc – Lou first posted about For Just One Day here and he has another new release called All Kinds of Families.

The cute concept at the heart of All Kinds of Families is that you can find a family in all sorts of everyday objects – the food in the fridge, buttons on a shelf and fingers on a hand! Dozens of types of families are mentioned in the text, and the graphic genius of Marc Boutavant contains even more to spot.

Gently and in cute rhyming verse, this book sheds light on the concept of a family in a beautifully child-friendly way…

For Just One Day also has a strong concept at its core – asking the reader to imagine a day in the life of a variety of animals. Marc Boutavant’s illustrations really shine, as he cleverly gives animal features to his human characters and quirky human elements to the animals.

The matt pages and funky colours will make this book, like Mouk, an object of desire for lots of adults as well as littlies. I really adore this book!

||All Kinds of Families and For Just One Day are available in the We Heart Books store||