I've been attending a 'Childrens Book Workshop' course at UBC the last few weeks, which is very exciting for me (feel like someone's let me out for 'good behaviour'!) Haven't done any actual work on my illustration/writing but have learnt a fair bit about how to prepare my work for submission when I actually get round to doing something. And it has encouraged me to explore new writers/illustrators and to be more discerning about what I look for in the library. This hasn't really filtered down to Boo, who wants to read the same old books when we go to the library and they are mostly about bears (not that there aren't some really good books about bears, 'The Great Paper Caper' for instance, but it does rather limit your choice!)
I thought I would share with you a few of the books I have come across which I really rate:
'The Curious Garden' by Peter Brown is a visually rich tale about a boy who encourages a nascent garden on a disused railway bridge. Gradually over time the garden spreads and becomes more luxuriant, spilling over to nearby spaces. Subsequently gardens spring up all over the formerly grey and bleak city, and the whole character of the landscape is transformed. Great for the green-fingered, young and old alike.
'All Aboard for Dreamland' by Melanie Harby, illustrated by Geraldo Valerio, is a fun filled journey towards the land of dreams for the very young. It has great rhythm in the rhyme and the illustrations are colourful and fluid. Bit exciting for bedtime though, in my mind!
'Posy' by Linda Newbery, illustrated by Catherine Rayner, is a heart-warming, affectionate look at the antics of a little kitten, who likes nothing better than to claw at cushions and to stare at herself in mirrors. I love the fluidity of the illustrations, some of the which are clearly done in pencil crayon, but I suspect there is also some printmaking (silkscreen?) involved in some of the images.
'Mattland', written by Hazel Hutching and Gail Herbert, and illustrated by Dusan Petricic, is a tale which celebrates the power of play, imagination and creativity. Matt's parents have moved 3 times, the latest move 'the worst of all', to an apparently bleak wasteland (building site) with no green or trees in sight. Matt, however, picks up a stick and begins to transform the wasteland to a landscape of his mind, naming each construction he makes from the junk he comes across. Wordlessly, a girl joins in the focused task, whilst others watch. When 'Mattland' is threatened with a deluge, many hands appear to save the creations, and we are left reassured as to the innate ability of children to create something from 'nothing'.
'Zig Zag' by R.Souci and illustrated by Stefan Czernecki. I was initially put off this book by the cover, which didn't appeal to me that much, but on reading/looking inside I started to appreciate it more. A dollmaker makes a doll which the other dolls and toys mock for being 'ugly' so he gets knocked into the bin. He befriends some mice and they help him find his way to a kind girl who will take care of him. The story is ok, but I began to really enjoy the illustrations, which are made in fabric collage (real or digitally I don't know) and full of pattern. Stefan Czernecki is a local illustrator who runs courses in book illustration, might be my next course....
I'll put these books into my reading sidebar so that you can find all the details on them.
Happy reading!
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