These are the funniest picture books of 2019. Discover the top 10 funny picture books of the year that kids will want to hear again and again. Enjoy a good laugh with the kids during story time, and feed that sense of humor and joy.
Madame Saqui, Revolutionary Rope Dancer written by Lisa Robinson and published by Schwartz and Wade is out! As soon as this manuscript landed on my desk in 2017, I knew I wanted to illustrate it. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the book celebrates the incredible rope dancer who d
Over 150 of the best read aloud picture books as voted by over 500 parents! Perfect for reading aloud at home or school.
The most astonishingly unconventional children's books of the year.
A children's book cover has to have its playful appeal for consumers to buy.Here are some of the cutest children's book cover designs to benchmark!...
Dagli Usa le immagini dei libri illustrati più belli e poetici del 2015 (secondo Buzzfeed)
T oday's post is all about building a portfolio, and it's a timely one for me. Even though I've had a working portfolio for over a decade, I'm in the middle of a career shift so I'm currently doing all the things I'm sharing with you today - planning, building, editing and soon, presenting. Whether
Inside: 100 Great Children’s Books is the selection of the best-written, most inspiring, beautiful, and entertaining picture books you might not know about. If you’ve read Where the Wild Things Are, Amelia Bedelia, and other classic picture books with your children and wonder if there are lesser-known books that are no less amazing, you
From Nina Bawden’s Peppermint Pig to Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea, see the beautiful new covers of these re-issued Puffin classic children’s books – and read the immortal first lines
"Reading this while growing up helped me answer some really difficult questions I was grappling with."
A tender illustrated story about acceptance and belonging.
Looking for the best children's picture books from 2020? I've rounded up some of my very favorite kids picture books published in 2020.
The 10 most delightful literary and visual treats for young readers and their creatively sophisticated parents this year.
Discover the joy of children's book illustration with our easy-to-follow guide. Start your journey to creating visual stories that inspire and delight.
If you're studying ecosystems and habitats, these picture books can help! First. let's define the difference between ecosystem and habitat.
Looking for books about kindness and empthy to help teach your children to be good humans? These 20+ titles are perfect options.
Get Part 2 of your FREE children’s book illustration assignment from art agent Lilla Rogers and learn how you can build a successful career in children's book illustration.
Over 150 of the best read aloud picture books as voted by over 500 parents! Perfect for reading aloud at home or school.
Enjoy these stories for kids! 52 weeks of nature inspired picture books for kids. Free printable so you can check them off as you read them
To celebrate the 95th Children's Book Week (May 12 to 18), we asked our fans and followers to tell us what children's book changed their lives. We received HUNDREDS of responses on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Tumblr. What follows is a compilation of some of our favorites.
Start saving the world with our pick of 35 best Earth Day picture books exploring a wide range of conservation themes for kids of all ages.
25 Favorite Children's Books- These are the books we read over and over again that are favorites with children and parents.
What one person might consider
5 Minute Nature Stories is a beautifully illustrated book which will delight and inform young nature lovers. Written by science writer and poet Gabby Dawnay, each read-aloud story celebrates everyday miracles in a woodland. Discover the interconnectedness of nature with this tabbed, non-fiction story collection. A gift
Step inside the marvelous world of micro monsters and learn all about the hidden talents of some of the smallest creatures out there! Being tiny is tough! You can’t reach the highest shelf where the cookie jar sits, and the big kids always steal your lunchtime snacks. Don’t get me started on going to theme parks, you can never get on the rides and you’re always told to have an adult present for everything you do. But what if I told you that being small didn’t suck at all? But was in fact really, really cool. Focus your eyes on the world of micro animals and learn what it’s like to be so small. Discover how these tiny creatures stay safe, or hunt for their lunch. Zoom in on their superpowers, like having the ability to shoot microscopic darts, spring-loaded jumps which take them to incredible heights or the amazing ways in which tiny hunters defend themselves from much bigger creatures. Maybe it’s not so tough to be tiny after all! Author Kim Ryall Woolcock
Why it made us cry: This book is essentially a metaphor for humans destroying the environment and ruining animals' lives for their own economic gain. It gave us an introduction to the harsh reality of our actions, but most importantly it showed us that we have the power to change.
If you're studying ecosystems and habitats, these picture books can help! First. let's define the difference between ecosystem and habitat.
From evil stepmothers to Edward Gorey, or what Richard Dawkins has to do with Hindu deities and iPad parodies.
Before having my third (and FINAL!) child and finding that I no longer have time to brush my hair let alone do anything else, I used to run a 6 week evening course on how to write and illustrate children's books. Being a fan of reuse, recycle and re-hashing old material I thought I might blog the course so that anyone out there who might be interested in taking up this noble profession (which according to my husband amounts to little more than 'colouring in') can glean what they may from my musings. The first three weeks are how to write a picture book, the following three are how to illustrate one. Obviously this is, at best, a brief introduction to the discipline but I hope it might serve as a starting point for a few who may have the talent and inclination but be a little lost on where to begin. I was at that point 14 years ago when I started self-teaching myself by reading just about every article I could lay my hands on and quizzing any professional who didn't take out a restraining order. There will be homework! If you chose to do it, great, if you want to send it to me for my perusal please do and if I get the time to get back to you then we'll both be doing well. Picture Book Writing Course Part 1 What Makes A Good Picture Book It's Tough! True story; Dr Seuss was at a dinner party when he met a Brain surgeon, the brain surgeon said ‘oh, are you that guy who writes those little books for children? I’ve always thought that when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to write one. Dr Seuss replied, ‘ ‘Ahh yes, and I’ve always thought when I had a free afternoon one Saturday I’d love to do a little brain surgery’ I'm not suggesting that what I do is brain surgery (it's actually more like rocket science;) but there is a misapprehension that it’s easy to write for children and get published. I thought so! Until the harsh realities and rejection letters beat my optimistic spirit violently down. The truth is that writing picture books is a particular artform with it’s own rules and requirements - it’s a craft that takes a long time to master - (and clearly I am in no way near to mastering it yet). It is also an EXTREMELY competitive field. I spoke with a small publisher a few years back who told me they get 100 unsolicited (i.e. not through an agent) manuscripts a week - of which 2 a year might get published. It took me 2 years of hard slog to get illustration work and 8 years of writing picture book manuscripts before one was published - and this is quicker than many. So why do so many people think they can do it? 1) Every parent/grandparent/teacher/aunt with a grain of imagination has made up stories to adoring children and thinks they would be good enough to be published. Unfortunately kids love the attention of anyone making up stories for them whether the stories are any good or not. We all have the ability to make up a story, but this doesn't make us all writers. I can make beans on toast - doesn’t make me a chef! 2) People think their book will change the world! People often get into writing children’s books with projects they are truly passionate about - pets, family anecdotes or memories, or a moral they wish to impart and then take it terribly personally when they hit their first wall and refuse to compromise or take advice. 3) People think it’s easy because unlike a novel, it’s short! But just because there aren’t many words doesn’t mean there isn’t much story. Children's author Mem Fox once compared writing picture books to ‘writing War and Peace in Haiku’. A slight exaggeration, maybe, but one of the most difficult books I've ever written is Zoo Girl - and it's told in only 20 words! But trying to get the story right first, with emotional ups and downs, cliff-hangers, a strong beginning, middle and end, character depth etc. and then condense that down and tell as much as I could in the pictures rather than the words was an immense challenge. It's easier to ramble. As this blog entry is proving. 4) People think it pays well - true if you have a big hit like The Gruffalo but this is exTREMEly unlikely and many books go out of print after their first print run so the writer gets no royalties and may be paid an advance of just £1000 - £3000. Why do most people fail? The fact is that most would-be children’s writers have no idea what they’re doing. They simply haven’t taken the time to learn about writing for children. Let's face it, you wouldn't try to fly a fighter jet without first taking flying lessons. So why do so many people think they can write a children's book without first learning how? (I admit this is a terrible analogy - no one, so far as I know, has ever died a horrible plummeting death from trying to write a picture book without the proper training, but you get my point.) So what’s the secret? Simple - In order to get your picture book published, you MUST find out what publishers are after and then give them EXACTLY what they want. And, the good news is, children's book publishers are desperate for good children's books, because, as I’ve said, most of what they receive is rubbish! Children’s books like anything else are a business (a really fun one, but a business none the less) and as such we need to be creating products which will be appealing to the target audience - not just the children (although they should ALWAYS be at the forefront of our thinking) but the publishers, editors, booksellers that all come before a child even sees it. Hopefully in this course you'll get a strong idea of what publishers want, and how to create it and present it to them. It's also worth saying at this point that if you can overcome the odds, do the research and break into the business - it's one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and fun jobs around! This first session is What Makes a Good Picture Book? - If you don’t know this, how are you going to create your own one? The only way to do this is to research - know your market, love your market, visit libraries and children's departments in book shops, start collecting picture books that catch your eye (charity shops are a great source). If you don’t love children’s books, if you think they're beneath you, if you're scared of being stared at as you spend hours in the children's section of the library, leave now, this profession is not for you. Different kinds of picture books: I regularly get emails from people who have written 'a children's book' and when I ask what kind of children's book and what age it's aimed at they're a bit stumped, or the material in no way goes along with the age they tell me it's aimed at so you need to learn the difference between... mass-market activity books, board and novelty books, Early Readers, picture books, YA novels etc. etc. You'll get to know these by visiting those libraries and bookshops again and seeing what's in each section, holding them, looking at the blurb on the back, etc. In this course it's high-end trade Picture Books we're interested in - these are generally - 32pages, 12-14 full colour spreads, with full-colour, quality illustrations, and original tales told in less than 600 words. But within picture books there are of course different genres, for example; Humourous (eg. Dave, The Monkey With the Bright Blue Bottom, Olivia, Naked Trevor) Action adventure (eg. Gruffalo, Where the wild things are, ) Snuggly bed-time story (eg. Guess How Much I Love you, I love you Daddy, Cub's First Winter) and lots more besides, and many books of course span the whole lot. But it's worth thinking about what kind of book you want to write and which market you'd be aiming at. Characters Your picture book will need a main character and generally these are; Children - the same age or a little older than the target audince (which for a picture book is usually between 3-6 but can be much wider) Animals - usually young animals or an older animal with a child-like outlook Creatures - monsters, fairies, robots etc. Adults - very rarely the main character (Percy the Park keeper is an exception but he looks quite chubby and child-like! There are other notable exceptions but i think best to avoid as your main character) ok to include parents, teachers, doctors etc. - Adults children have come across in their own lives. Inanimate Objects - Again, there are notable exceptions but generally I would avoid writing your picture book about Simon the Stapler or Billy Banana. It's old-fashioned, it's dull, it's of little interest to publishers. The important thing is your picture book needs at least one character the child reader can identify with - so whether it's a robot monkey or bespectacled duck make sure they make choices and deal with emotions like a 5 year old child would. So what makes a book work well? THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE HERE by generally a great picture book must be; Original - publishers are looking for a new hook or concept Well written - we'll go into more detail about this next week but each word must be perfect. Beginning, middle and end - Straight in, exciting progression, pleasing ending Fit nicely into 12/13 spreads with action on each spread Attractive and entertaining to children and adults Children/main character solving their own problems, not adults stepping in to 'save the day' A Simple idea told clearly Engaging characters GREAT ending We will be looking at this list and going through it in more detail next week but for now; Homework! 1. Look at a selection of (fairly recent) picture books and as you read them and study the illustrations ask the following questions; What kind of book is it (funny, adventure etc.) What’s the basic plot? What is the atmosphere of the book and how is that conveyed? Why and how do the images and text work together? Is the book appropriate for its audience? Why? Is there a character the child can relate to? What is the child meant to gain from the book, if anything? Is there an underlying message or moral to the book? How does the narrative work - is there a definite beginning, middle and end? 2. Come up with 3 vague picture book ideas - include a main character and a rough plot line. Next week - How to Write a Picture Book
Discover the joy of children's book illustration with our easy-to-follow guide. Start your journey to creating visual stories that inspire and delight.
From trees to bugs and everything in between, your kids will love learning all about nature and the outdoors this Spring with these Nature Books.
It's nice to fall asleep in a big cozy chair.
Babies to Bookworms offers a list of picture books that teach kids to keep trying and never give up.
