Watch this incredible clip of Shaun Tan talking about his collaboration with Andrew Ruhemann on the film of his beautiful book The Lost Thing which recently won the Grand Prix for Best Short Film at the Melbourne Film Festival (among many other worldwide awards)…
And here is the trailer for the film, which unfortunately I missed at the Festival and will be eagerly awaiting Madman releasing on DVD…
It feels to me like we’ve had a particularly cold Winter this year. It puts me in the mood for reading a book just like this one… Singing Away the Dark. I adore Julie Morstad’s illustrations. And with this book, she got me at first sight of silver birch trunks on a dark teal background…
Sadly we have to wait until the Northern Hemisphere Winter to see it. But meanwhile, these gorgeous sneak previews can whet your appetite…
||Julie Morstad’s Flash cards and previous books are available in the We Heart Books store||
I finally had a chance to do some baking with some of our fabulous Moomin Cookie Cutters. As usual, the batch got eaten before I had a chance to ice them, and while these two probably aren’t the finest specimens, but I was lucky to rescue them for the photo.
The characters of course come from this book. Magical, whimsical, philosophical – and universally acknowledged as a great read-aloud – Finn Family Moomintroll is perfect for snuggling up with to read together… I really love this production too – check out these beautiful endpapers and the exquisite drawings by Tove Jansson.
The We Heart Books store also has limited copies of this stunning Moomin picture book – the first published by Tove Jansson.
The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My has recently been re-released by uber-cool Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly. Luxuriously thick pages have beautiful die-cut pictures, tantalisingly revealing a hint of what’s on the next page. This is one of those books that’s so gorgeous that you want to use as a display piece on a shelf or mantlepiece!
||All these treasures are available at the We Heart Books store.||
A friend asked me a while ago if I remembered the Barbapapa books and where she could get some… Of course I do remember this lovable family of characters, who are absolutely quintessential 1970s fun.
Originally published in French by Parisian couple Annette Tison and Talus Taylor, they were published in many languages. The French editions are still in print, but the English ones are not, to the benefit of eBay sellers! It’s hard to score a copy of one of these small staple-bound volumes here for under $40… I was lucky to pick up this copy of The Egg and Barbazoo recently for less – but a lot more than the price on the cover of 10c!
A Netherlands cartoon version of the Barbapapas was also produced and these days the characters have been wholeheartedly adopted in Japan, I found lots of gorgeous merchandise when I was there.
Barbapapas are blob-like shapeshifters. Each member of the family has a different passion and can turn themselves into all manner of useful shapes in line with that passion: Barbalala loves music, Barbabeau loves art, Barbalib loves books. And Barbazoo? Well he loves animals! And in this story he finds some eggs.
He can’t find who they belong to so he changes himself into a chicken to sit on the eggs… Barbabelle features too…
Simple stories, somewhat quirky text and the brightest of naive illustrations contribute to the overall happy feel. The Barbapapas are also attributed with an environmental messages well before their time. Perhaps this is why they are such sought-after collectors’ items now. Anyone have any copies lurking in their shelves??
For some lovely Barbapapa links, check out these crochet cuties on Meet Me At Mikes and an AMAZING craft project building a house for the family on Playing By the Book.
It’s a happy day when the new issue of Frankie magazine is available. My idea of heaven is having some blissful moments with a cup of coffee and Frankie.
So what a thrill it is for Katie and I to have our blog featured on the Frankie blog today.
We knew Frankie loved the work of UK illustrator and author Robert Hunter, so we sent them some copies of his book Bearly Warm to giveaway. That’s right GIVEAWAY! Head to the Frankie blog for all the details on how to win this unique handcrafted book.
Bearly Warm is the improbable yet absolutely endearing story of an extremely large polar bear who just can’t get warm. When he decides to borrow some clothes from a long washing line in a nearby village, not only does he find that the clothes bearly fit, but that the villagers are bearly happy… What can the villagers do to help a bearly warm bear?
Cleverly playing on the word ‘bearly’ the restrained text relays a poignant story of giving. A snowy landscape and quirky buildings and figures set the backdrop for illustrations of a beautifully expressive bear.
This limited and numbered edition, self-published by UK artist Robert Frank Hunter is a gorgeous book which will more than bearly warm your heart.
If there is one thing I love in children’s literature it is a good strong female character. I love girls with character and ’spunk’. Two of my favourite girls are the Ladybug Girl whose name is Lulu and a curious little thing called Molly Lou Melon.
Lulu is definitely a character you fall in love with. She reminds me of all my nieces (I have 6!) rolled into one gorgeous spunky brunette ball of fun. The character of Ladybug Girl, or Lulu, was created by husband and wife team David Soman and Jacky Davis and based on their daughter who always wanted to wear dress ups.
This picture book is a beautiful production. Lulu’s wings glisten on the front cover and the end papers are a catwalk show of illustrations of Lulu wearing various costumes. The story begins on a day when Lulu’s parents have work to do and her elder brother is off playing his own games so Lulu and her faithful basset Bingo must make their own fun.
‘In the living room there’s a wall of books. Lulu can’t read yet, but she knows her letters. She finds a lot of L’s. More than 59, she thinks’.
Everything about this book is just right; the beautifully descriptive text, the illustrations that appear so deep that you could walk into them and the delightful way that Lulu leaps and skips through her day. This is a book about her day, a normal 4- or 5-year-old day, using her imagination and enjoying life and nature.
In each illustration Bingo is by her side and mirrors Lulu’s expressions. When she is cross he’s cross and when she leaps into the wind – so does Bingo.
‘From out of nowhere a gust of wind swirls the air with leaves. She jumps up to chase them. Ladybug Girl can catch leaves in mid air! “Ladybug Girl is definitely not little!” she yells into the wind.
This is the type of picture book that makes me want to cry with happiness. It is just perfect to read aloud, with just the right balance of description and dialogue. Lulu is a lovable character who is strong and self-assured – just like we want our young girls and boys to be! And believe me boys will love this book as much as girls.
In contrast to Lulu, Molly Lou Melon is a funny looking little girl. She is short, has buck teeth and a voice that sounds like a bull frog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. Despite all this she follows the advice she is given by her grandmother…
“Believe in yourself and the world will believe in you too.”
When Molly Lou moves to a new town and new school she encounters a horrible bully called Ronald Durkin. He tries with all his might to intimidate and put down Molly Lou in front of her classmates. However, following her granny’s advice Molly Lou remains true to herself and shows the other children the amazing talents she has, leaving the bully to look very silly.
On the fifth day of school he decides that he’d really like to be her friend.
With bullying such an issue in schools I love the premise of this book. I love that although Ronald tries to make her look foolish, little Molly Lou Melon believes in herself enough to keep showing the world who she really is. David Catrow’s illustrations of Molly Lou reflect perfectly her ’littleness’ compared to the world around her. Her big blue eyes are piercing and you fall into them the minute you lay eyes on the cover illustration.
The title of this book, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon really says it all. Molly Lou is truly inspiring and should be compulsory reading for all children in Kindergarten and Prep.
Reading these two lovely girls will leave both children and adults brimming with confidence and with assurance about their place in the world.
||Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon available from We Heart Books||
Our favourite pig is making a long awaited comeback to bookshelves later this year. It has been three years long years since Ian Falconer gave us the last Olivia book.
The new book is Olivia Goes to Venice…
Olivia said to her mother with an edge of hysteria in her voice, “Oh please – OH, PLEASE MOTHER – can’t we live in a palazzo on the Grand Canal?”
You can see these illustrations better here
Ian Falconer has also illustrated an adult David Sedaris book that is also due later in 2010. The book is called Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary and this is from the books description – In “The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck,” three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In “Hello Kitty,” a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In “The Squirrel and the Chipmunk,” a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.
Thanks to Sara O’Leary for the prompt to write this post.
See more here
