London in 3D

London in 3D

Just out this month from Walker Books is a gorgeous piece of innovative publishing – that I just had to have! London A Three Dimensional Expanding City Skyline is a 1.5 metre foldout book, with the most incredible  illustrations by UK artist Sarah McMenemy.

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.

Oh The Places You’ll Go! Pop Up Edition

One of the most important and popular picture books of all time now comes in a pop up version to celebrate it’s 20th Anniversary. This is so exciting!

This pop up looks amazing because it has been created by one of the best paper engineers in the world, David A. Carter. We will have some stock in our store in a little over a week.

If you would like a copy reserved please let us know via email – info@weheartbooks.com

The Little Prince Pop Up

The complete original text with pop up illustrations = lovely.

||Available at the We Heart Books store||

Peek a Poo

Peek a Poo

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We love irreverent picture books in our house because we can all have a laugh together. While at the beach over the weekend we bought a copy of Peek A Poo What’s In Your Nappy? by Guido Van Genechten because while we were in the shop Ned’s dad and I couldn’t stop giggling so we just knew Ned would like it too.

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The main character is a mouse who is very inquisitive and decides that he would like to discover what is in each of his friends’ pants. The friends have nappies that are lift the flap so that when Mouse asks if he can have a look, it’s the reader who can reveal what is in the nappy! We see rabbit has seven pellets, dog has a poo with a pointy end, cow has ‘One big fresh cow pat’, etc

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Besides the fact that we all find it terribly funny there is actually a message in the madness. When his friends ask Mouse what is in his nappy he proudly shows them that it is empty.

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Mouse does his poo in the potty, he shows his friends and then they all want to have a go. Ned has related really well to the story both for its humorous style and also for its practical description of what is in the nappies and about going to the toilet. He doesn’t like going to the potty at all but will sit on the toilet and I think he thinks that they are one in the same anyway.

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Like Katie says in her post about potty training books I liked this book because no one used the potty as a hat and although the Mouse likes to look in the nappy of his friends there is no playing with the contents!  The illustrations are great and it is fun to read aloud – a little gem of a book.

Red Riding Mouse

Red Riding Mouse

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Is this not the sweetest thing? Handmade by the very talented Fiona who writes the beautiful blog Hop Skip and Jump from Adelaide. I’m in love. She is currently out of stock unfortunately at the Hop, Skip and Jump store but there are other very lovely toys in stock.

Ned’s favorite bedtime story at the moment, and we have to read it every night, is the pop up edition of Lauren Child’s Beware of the Storybook Wolves. He calls the book ’Big Wolf’ beacuse the main character is being read Little Red Riding Hood however the story gets a little corrupted when Herb’s mum leaves the room and the Big Bad Wolf and the Back Cover Wolf escape the book.

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Ned particularly loves it when Herb screeches ‘HELP‘ and always joins in reading that bit. The pop ups are lovely and just make for even more added amusement to Lauren Child’s already spectacular illustrations. The thing is that the book is just so funny also for mummy and daddy – and we do have to read it every night! I love a good fractured fairytale.

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Eric Carle Decorative Prints

Eric Carle Decorative Prints

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I found these in a lovely indie bookshop near me. A collection of 12 of Eric Carle’s most famous and popular images in full colour posters. These would look gorgeous in a classroom or framed in a nursery. Published by Chronicle Books I think they were up around $50 but well worth it for 12 prints.

If they are too big we also think the Eric Carle Flash Cards also published by Chronicle would make a lovely frieze or wall art in a nursery.

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Also very much looking forward to seeing the pop-up version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar due be released next month in Aus. You can see some lovely pictures on Eric Carle’s blog. Also see the book used on this great blog as the centre of a Hungry Caterpillar party theme.

My Favorite Book For 2008

My Favorite Book For 2008

I have had many favorites this year as I do every year. In 2008 I have really loved Cheeky Monkey, all of Anna Walker’s books and Lauren Child’s Goldilocks is just divine, but Why Is The Sky Blue? is my favorite for 2008.

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Why Is The Sky Blue? is a non-fiction book for the toddler to age 6 age group. It is published by Ladybird Books in Australia and is a real surprise package. It is gorgeously presented on 100% recycled paper, a fantastic initiative by Ladybird for the future and answers all those curly nature questions that fascinate children and adults alike.

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Amy Schimler’s illustrations make this book really, really beautiful and interesting. Amy, a talented artist writes a lovely blog called Red Fish Circle on which she shares her illustrative work as well as fabric’s she designs and creative photography.

In Why Is The Sky Blue?, Amy’s illustrations are punctuated with flaps to lift, tabs to pull, and wheels to turn that reveal the answers to the BIG questions. The best question I think is ‘How do penguins keep warm?’ but others include ‘Why do flowers smell?’, ‘What do bird’s say when they sing?’ and ‘Do fish drink?’.

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Quirky, fun and educational, this has all the elements of a great book. All these fantastic questions and answers can keep little ones entertained for hours and are sure to lead to bigger questions and queries.

||Why Is The Sky Blue? is available online from the we heart books store||