Patrick doesn’t know why he collects acorns, he just knows that he feels better when he feels their hard, smooth roundness in his hand.
The fact that acorns suggest new growth, in that they are a very small nut with the potential to grow into a very large tree, is quietly central to the story.
Luckily for Patrick and this story, he lives in a town with a lot of oak trees.
Told in the
young boy’s voice, the clear and engaging text is combined with warm, expansive
pictures that contain recurring motifs, to create a rich yet understated sense
of magic.
If I could
meet my grandpa, this is what I would tell him… When I grow up, I want to be
like my dad.
She lives in a very unprepossessing block of flats, which look out over an equally unprepossessing yard, in an even more unprepossessing part of town.
The whole town has an unloved, unkempt and barren look and feel about
it, despite its ironic name of The Gardens. Yet, within this dreary landscape,
there is still life and colour, certainly to Hettie’s mind, and as the
narrative unfolds, that life begins to revive and restore the colours and
happiness it was once designed to hold.
A celebration of the bond between fathers and children, it explores learning, playing, living and dreaming with humour and joy.
Sharing all
the different ways and means that fathers and children can interact, it touches
deeply and poignantly on that which is good and wholesome and right in the
world.
How does the passing of my father catalyse the migration of an elephant crossing picture book plains?
Views of the world outside windows have always framed elements of authoring and illustrating my debut picture book Elegy for an Elephant (EFAE). I was staring at the sad fog outside the courtyard of my Copenhagen dormitory studying abroad when my sister called to tell me our father had ended his life.
‘Those who leave live on through our living…’
We all have questions that need to be answered when someone we know dies, and quite particular questions when that death is from suicide.
This book asks questions from
a child’s perspective and answers them clearly, with a reassuring sense of strength
and comfort.
Elegy For An Elephant pays homage to a family who are
looking to understand their great loss. It’s powerful, beautiful, visceral and
totally appropriate for children over seven years old. Supported and endorsed
by child grief professionals, this book fills a vital gap in helping children
to understand - and to navigate – their own grief and loss.
Dene is magnetising. An Influencer of great skill, propelled ever forward by her exploitive mother.
Tully basks in the glow of Dene’s interest and radiant personality. Never having had a friend with whom to share private things, and still searching for her place in the world, Tully allows this new relationship to swallow her.
Overwhelmed by the artificial world which Dene lives and breathes, she abandons long-time friend Kira, and allows her own significant artistic ability to become shadowed by all that Dene is, has, and can do.
Finding herself completely under Dene’s influence, Tully becomes outraged when her new best friend withdraws her interest.
Dad is waiting and together they share a hot snack. A thermos is prepared, and they set off to greet the dawn.
Seagulls fly ahead of the car leading the way, which is now, so familiar. Shadows move across the sky as the boat is pushed into the water.
Nets are dropped containing the usual bait as the wind lifts, and light breaks on the horizon.
Our lucky winner is...Thank you to ALL who entered.
Captain Dad and his crew are having a day at the beach, and of course Dad is bringing his treasure trove of jokes. Whether it’s a ship he bought on sail or an earring that costs one buccaneer, a day with Dad is shore to be hilarious! At least he seems to think so.
The Comet is an incredible book with phenomenal
illustrations about home and belonging.
Nyla and her father live a gorgeous life near the sea ‘where the trees tower tall and you can count a hundred stars.’
Nyla and her dad spend lots of time together and do fun things like cook delicious feasts, make up stories, and spend plenty of time in nature.
Then one day, her dad has to get a new job, and they move to a new place, one where Nyla can’t hear the sea. There is lots of grey tall buildings and Nyla can only count seven stars. Nyla does not like this place at all, she feels alone and lost. This is not her home.
Another
timeless and wordless picture book that, along with companion book Sunshine,
top and tail-ends the day for a little girl and her family. It’s
evening, and the reader sees a little girl who is eating dinner with her
parents before getting ready for bed. Opening onto a bright and cheerful dinner
table, the follow-up activities of dish-washing and bath-time are colourful and
fresh, yet contain the sense of taking us into a gentler, more quiet realm.
A timeless
and wordless picture book that nonetheless says so much as it sparkles
with delight and surprise. Very appropriate for today. This fortieth anniversary edition, with the most beautiful forward by illustrator Freya Blackwood, is a classic in every sense of that word.
It’s
morning, and the reader travels with a little girl who wakes up as the sunlight
streams in through her window. She reads her book for a while before clambering
out of bed to wake her sleepy-head parents.
Beloved children’s author Michael Rosen (We’re
Going On A Bear Hunt and other treasures), spent 6 weeks in an induced coma
courtesy of Covid. And of course he wrote a picture book about it, because what else do you do with experiences that are both unbelievable and transformational at the same time?
As he learned to walk again and bat a balloon about
between two parallel bars (which is what happens in hospital gyms the world
over), Rosen’s physios and carers laughed at the name he gave to his walking
stick – and Sticky McStickstick was born.
What on earth do you do when your baby sister won’t
sleep? You head downstairs to get mum. Mum sings baby Jessie a song and tucks
her back into bed. But as soon as mum leaves, the baby wakes and cries again.
So, you go downstairs and get dad. Dad drives baby
Jessie around the block while you watch out the window from your too-quiet
bedroom. Then he creeps upstairs and pops the sleeping bundle back into her
cot. And as soon as dad tiptoes away, the baby wakes again. And cries.
As big sister, it’s up to you now. So you do what
any clear-thinking person would do under the circumstances. You climb into bed
with the baby and both snuggle down to sleep together.
The launch of
this picture book follows the tradition of other famous members of the Royal
family in publishing books that carry a message close to their heart.
Written by
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and illustrated by Caldecott-winning and
bestselling artist Christian Robinson – this story celebrates the bond between
father and son.
The simple but
elegant illustrations are softened by the use of watercolours. The
illustrations convey a sense of reflection - much like having children in our
lives. It changes how adults look at the world and their lives.
Depicted from the eyes of the mother, this story was first written as a poem.
What are the most important things that children remember about their parents all their life?
I believe it is time together and all that transpires during that time.
Memories of sharing and togetherness are the most magnificent things to every child.
That’s what this book is about.
Every page is a notable activity between parent and child in words and images; a gesture that brings joy. A collection to look back on.
Their home is a small and crowded one.
There rarely seems to be enough room for the youngsters to play games, or practice ballet in the burrow.
And it's far too noisy for naps.
So what do you do when your burrow is too small? You find a bigger one.
However, Papa Hare and his family find that their new house doesn't quite feel like home.
Perhaps there is another way for them to make the perfect Happy Hoppy Home.
The junior dinosaurs are bored and grumpy until the the dad dinosaurs return in all their stomping and roaring glory.
Then the kids begin a race with their dads in which they run and tramp and stomp through a swamp.
That's followed by a giant mud fight, a swim, a ride on the dads' backs, and finally a nap.
Lesley Gibbes has created a fast-paced story, filled with words that not only rhyme, but also showcase adjectives and adverbs.
There is also lots of onomatopoeia. Think: splash, splat, and whoosh!
Our lucky winner is...Enjoy!
Thank you to ALL who entered. We had some seriously funny dad jokes roll in but Heather's summed them up in true dad fashion.
Read Katrina's Guest Post on how she wrote this edition of the side-splitting, My Dad Thinks...series.