Illustrator and author widely admired for The Church Mice, his series of children’s picture booksGraham Oakley, who has died age 93, was an illustrator and writer known almost entirely for one series of picture books: The Church Mice, published over a period of nearly 30 years from 1972. Beautifully illustrated, written and designed, they are a series of warm-hearted and witty books which demonstrate perfectly that a successful picture book needs to be subtle and many layered, on the assumption that it may be read and re-read many times over and that its audience will be intergenerational.Art-school trained and with a background in set design, latterly as a production designer at the BBC, Oakley was as interested in the settings of his stories as the characters and their actions. Drawing on the Victorian illustrative painters as well as, in particular, the work of the American artist Norman Rockwell, Oakley’s painterly illustrations for The Church Mouse (1972) appealed immediately, both for their colourful scene-setting and their wonderful observations conveyed in line illustrations. Into these Oakley crammed a mass of detailed action commented on in witty asides presented as part of the picture. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-01-24 17:41:11 UTC ]
Macmillan Children’s Books has pounced for Five Bears, a new picture book written and illustrated by Catherine Rayner. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-19 14:57:35 UTC ]
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My friend, Roger Boore, who has died aged 82, was a Welsh-language publisher and author. He will be remembered for his dedication to the Welsh language and its propagation, particularly among children. A chartered accountant, returning to his native Cardiff in the late 1960s, and with a growing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-10-10 16:09:06 UTC ]
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Former Andersen Press and Templar publisher Libby Hamilton is starting up her own imprint under the Barrington Stoke umbrella, focusing on picture books "with no limits". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-28 14:50:36 UTC ]
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“Thao,” “Otto: A Palindrama,” “My Monster Moofy” and “The Wordy Book” explore myriad worlds within words. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-09-24 17:09:23 UTC ]
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Puffin has acquired a "heart-warming" debut picture book by writer and journalist Freddy McConnell, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 19:01:01 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster Children’s Books is launching a new picture book partnership between author Frances Stickley and debut illustrator Eamonn O’Neill, signing two books from the pair. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 10:52:10 UTC ]
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Flavia Z Drago has won the £5,000 Klaus Flugge Prize for the most exciting and promising newcomer to children’s picture book illustration with her book Gustavo the Shy Ghost (Walker Books). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 00:18:26 UTC ]
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Puffin has acquired Listen, a picture book biography written by Shannon Stocker and illustrated by Devon Holzwarth, which tells the story of deaf percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-22 12:13:00 UTC ]
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The children’s book market has increased by more than 11% this year, boosted by picture books, non-fiction and a remarkable 61% growth in YA sales. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-20 01:05:47 UTC ]
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Far too many times, I’ve been in a bookshop or a school and heard adults persuade a child away from a picture book and encouraged them to read ‘something more appropriate’. There’s a huge notion in this country that picture books are for younger children and a step into ‘proper reading’. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 08:06:26 UTC ]
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Puffin has landed a "heart-warming" picture book about a family with two mums, written by Lotte Jeffs and illustrated by Sharon Davey. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-25 21:13:37 UTC ]
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Welbeck Flame has acquired three picture books written by actress and comedian Isla Fisher and illustrated by Paula Bowles. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-18 08:23:08 UTC ]
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Her dozens of works helped broaden children’s literature so that young African Americans could see themselves, their history and their hopes in the pages of their picture books. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-08-18 06:43:01 UTC ]
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A story for children about families with same-sex parents has been published in Russia as part of a campaign to have the country’s ‘gay propaganda’ law repealedA month after a Hungarian bookshop chain was fined for selling a children’s story about a day in the life of a child with same-sex... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-08-17 14:33:19 UTC ]
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The latest picture book from illustrator Oliver Jeffers will hit bookshops later than planned this year because hardbacks are still at sea after the "Ever Given" ship became lodged in the Suez Canal in March. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-09 14:36:13 UTC ]
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Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired a new picture book from illustrator Axel Scheffler and author Franz Wittkamp, a collection of quirky rhymes about cats for pre-schoolers and their families. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-07 03:42:25 UTC ]
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Stacey Abrams will publish Stacey’s Extraordinary Words, a children’s picture book illustrated by Kitt Thomas, on December 28th with HarperCollins Children’s Books imprint Balzer + Bray. Though Abrams has published three bestselling books for adults under her own name, as well as eight romance... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-21 15:41:46 UTC ]
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Colin Kaepernick—the activist quarterback blackballed by the NFL for kneeling during the national anthem at the start of games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality—is releasing a children’s book inspired by a pivotal moment in his childhood. I Color Myself Different, the first... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-16 15:56:17 UTC ]
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Athlete-turned-activist Colin Kaepernick will publish 'I Color Myself Different,' a picture book inspired by his own experiences, in April. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-07-15 15:14:30 UTC ]
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Líra Könyv made to pay £600 for failing to clearly indicate the story featured ‘a family that is different than a normal family’A bookshop chain in Hungary has been fined for selling a children’s story depicting a day in the life of a child with same-sex parents, with officials condemning the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-07-08 12:09:32 UTC ]
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