You know those days...the ones where you tumble in an undignified fashion, bottom first out of the wrong side of bed and get the grumps! (It's usually a Monday) well in true troublesome toddler fashion otherwise adorable Pom Pom panda is having just one of those days.
This pocket sized panda does grumpy like Kim Kardashian does diva. Nothing is going Pom Poms way, bad hair, bad breakfast, too much noise, siblings, embarrassing parents, even the sun is too shiny! Things only go from bad to worse at nursery where Pom Poms concerned chums try to cheer him up.
With a bright uber stylish colour pallet clever World Book Day illustrator Sophy Henn has created a cool pre-school character with bucket loads of charm and heaps of cool attitude who will appeal to parents and little ones alike.
We can't wait for more Pom Pom! Peeved or otherwise.
When you are a lemur named Louis and you live on the very top floor of a critter filled tenement block there are several challenges you might face... Being eaten by a crocodile perhaps. This is the least of Louis problems... Louis is a sleepwalker.
Each night as the animals settle down for the night, chaos ensues as Louis embarks on his regular and entirely unintentional nocturnal adventure. His friends try as best they can to help Louis avoid mortal danger without waking him but as his escapades become increasing perilous the animals are forced to take (hilarious) drastic action.
Courtney is absolutely one of my favourite new illustrative talents and this is without doubt a unique and highly entertaining addition to her growing portfolio.
Special props to the pigeons who's dramatic delivery of one liners is worthy of a spot on Corrie.
Put up the bunting and get those fondant fancies out, it's time to celebrate, clever debut picture book creator Ben Mantle has come up trumps with this bright and vibrant celebration of imagination and friendship. A gloriously garish pallet is a feast for the eyes and the woodland characters go about their daily woody business with great charm.
Squirrel finds himself in a pickle as he tries desperately to compete with his chums to buy beloved bubble bath loving bear the best birthday present.
The message of this story is simple and universal. The best things in life are not always the things which come in the biggest boxes and sometimes special moments shared with friends are the best gift of all.
An absolute beauty! Well done Ben.
The Best Birthday Present Ever is published by Macmillan Children's Books
A ribbity, croaky, round and roundy rip roaring cracker of a picture book. Clever Suzi Moore who's not at all witchy has written a marvellous rhyme with extrodinary humour and charm. Russell has complimented this witty story with his trademark scratchy doodling perfectly captureing the confused and anarchic threesome as they embark on a magical madcap adventure to find their voices. A fabulous future classic.
Not your average spotting book! 'Where's the Pair' by Britta Teckentrup is a dynamic, poetic, visually luscious, joyful picture book to be enjoyed and relished over and over again.
Engaging and enticing prompts to solve cunning clues will have your beady eyes darting across the page like fire flies in summer.
Britta has broken the boundaries and confines of a traditional activity book recipe with extreme style and panache!
From curious cats with matching collars ...
To inquisitive Otters with quizzical brows...
To handfuls of squirrels coveting nuts...
And big brown bears with bold and enviable knit wear ...
With HUGE thanks to author and illustrator of 'Those Pesky Rabbits' Ciara Flood and her band of merry bunnies for helping us with this blog post! You can follow Ciara on Twitter @TinyFlood OR visit her website
Thank
heavens for illustrators like Sarah McIntyre to wake us all up to the absurd
situation of children’s book illustrators being relegated to second class
citizens when it comes to listing their books in bestseller lists, writing
about their books in the press and giving them credit in book awards. I believe
that it’s a flaw in the way books are listed at source, between publisher and
Nielsen BookScan, which is at the heart of the problem. It seems that there is
only room for one name to be attached to a book title and this is usually the
writer’s. Other information such as the illustrator’s name (or indeed the
translator’s) is left to a second tier entry and even if it is entered
correctly, usually gets missed out once the information is disseminated across
the industry and beyond. Sarah’s campaign #PicturesMeanBusiness is trying
to overturn this flaw and has my wholehearted backing. Read Sarah’s blog on how
to support the campaign - http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/693279.html
- and with everybody’s help, we just may be able to give illustrators their due
recognition. Read Sarah’s blog on how to support the campaign - http://jabberworks.livejournal.com/693279.html
- and with everybody’s help, we just may be able to give illustrators their due
recognition.
Princess Daisy is a force to be reckoned with, a beautiful wilful and wonderfully bold Princess who puts a league of useless knights to shame in a quest to rid her kingdom of a 'fearsome' dragon. Inspiring, beautifully written and with bucketfuls of charm, Princess Daisy and the Nincompoop Knights is a right Royal rhyming romp of magnificent majestic proportions.
Princess Daisy and the Dragon and the Nincompoop Knights is OUT NOW
£10.99 HB £6.99 PB published by Nosy Crow
We are beyond thrilled to welcome Steven Lenton to Book Sniffer Towers to tell us a bit more about his latest epic adventure in illustration.
Where
did the inspiration for this magnificent magical tale come from?
I
have always wanted to create a new fairytale with a classic cast – a
princess, a knight, dragon etc but shaking things up a bit by reversing their
roles. I asked myself lots of questions as I developed the characters
like, what if the dragon isn’t bad, why is it unknowingly scaring people?
What if the princess does the rescuing and the knight is totally
incompetent, an utter nincompoop?! This all helped to formulate the plot, the
title and the funny, silly characters that I hope will all bring a smile and a
giggle to the books audience.
Who is your favourite fairy tale character in Princess Daisy and the Dragon
and the Nincompoop Knights? This has to be Princess Daisy because her plucky character and cheeky smile
are all inspired by my hilarious beautiful niece Hannah who has endless wit and
energy. I also have a soft spot for the dragon because *SPOILER ALERT* she is
SO cute!
Are there any details in the pictures which we should look out for? Yes everyone must look out for the snail who is somewhere on every
page – some easy to spot, some really quite tricky! Also look out for the
dragon at my Princess Daisy events throughout 2015...
Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End!
What will you be writing / illustrating next? I am currently illustrating Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam 2 which is
really exciting and I can’t wait for everyone to meet the new baddy on the
block...!
