Love, laugh and most of all be kind.

It is impossible to deny that we are in the midst of dark and worrying times, an overwhelming gloom is trying it’s best to descend upon us but there is a sanctuary and it can be found on our bookshelves, there is so much joy, love, positivity and compassion to be found amidst the pages.  

Lets not wallow in a world filled with fear, intolerance, anger and hatred instead lets celebrate friendship, salute positivity and give our children the freedom to change things for the better and most of all give them hope.

Here is a very small section of some of my favourite books which promote friendship, inspiration and tolerance.

Mr Tiger Goes Wild

By Peter Brown

Published by Macmillan

A joyfully naughty celebration of being yourself with confidence, a liberating "bare all" "tail" about discovering your inner wild side. Grrrrrreat! 

The Storm Whale

By Benji Davies

Published by Simon and Schuster

One boy, one whale and the unforgettable friendship that will last a lifetime. A beautifully sensitive depiction of a father and son relationship and the importance of nurturing the natural world. 

Hello Mr Dodo

By Nicholas John Frith

Published by Alison Green Books

An unforgettable pairing of girl and Dodo in this heart felt story about Martha and her very special top secret doughnut loving companion. A very happy ending is the cherry on the cake/doughnut. 

The Sea Tiger

By Victoria Turnbull

Published by Templar Publishing

An extraordinarily beautiful and lyrical picture book about guidance, friendship and conquering fears. 

Archie Snufflekins

By Katie Harnett

Published by Flying Eye Books

Community is everything for our sociable friend Archie, bringing the residents of blossom street together in this celebration of diversity and working together. 

Sir Lilypad

By Anna Kemp and Sara Ogilvie

Published by Simon and Schuster

Smashing gender stereotypes and those associated with being a dragon. Sir Lily Pad fights the corner for the smaller members of society with charm and aplomb.  

Olive and the Embarrassing Hat

By Tor Freeman

Published by Templar Publishing

Snort laugh inducing chaos ensues as Olive struggles with an embarrassing situation. Will she ever be able to make it up to her best friend after an awkward misunderstanding. A complete joy and so very very funny.  

Oh The Places You’ll Go

By Dr Seuss

Published by Harper Collins

A book for every child's book shelf, beautiful, inspiring and honest. An utterly inspirational read and will have your little ones reaching for the highest heights. 

Miles of Smiles

By Karen Kaufman Orloff and Luciano Lozano

Published by Sterling

A Chinese whispers of smiles spreads, gently cheering and comforting as they go. A story celebrating family, community and the joy of giving.

Sometimes

By Emma Dodd

Published by Templar Publishing

Buckets of positivity and hope in this beautiful book for the very young promoting mindfulness. 

Sparky!

By Jenny Offill and Chris Appelhans

Published by Orion Children's Books 

A stunning observation of a non-traditional friendship between a little girl and a sloth. Heartbreaking, giggle inducing and tear jerking in equal measures creating utter picture book perfection. 

Little Home Bird

By Jo Empson

Published by Child’s Play

Embracing change and tackling fears with the help of friends. Bright, vibrant and filled with joy. 

Colin and Lee Carrot and Pea

By Morag Hood

Published by Two Hoots

Who says being different means you can't be friends? Sometimes our differences make for the best friendchips of all. 

The Underwater Fancy Dress Parade

By Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys

Published by Scribe

A story for broaching anxiety and how sometimes being yourself takes the most courage of all. 

Your Hand in My Hand

By Mark Sperring and Britta Teckentrup

Published by Orchard Books

Tender, poignant and touching. I challenge you not to get all watery eyed. 

Before I wake Up ... A guest post by Britta Teckentrup

This book has always been a project very close to my heart.

It has been with me for more than 4 years…

I think that the first images and ideas for it developed in 2012.

BUY THE BOOK HERE 

The book was called ‘The Girl in The Woods’ back then.

Here is an image of one the first images of the book.

The girl looked quite different back then and I had a different take on the story.

It was the story of a little girl that lived deep in the woods.

The girl in my story embraced that special place inside of her…

That place where all creativity is born and where the imagination can run wild …

That place that can get lost along the way so easily…

That place that feels like home.

Here is a little extract of my original text:

“…There once was a girl who was wild and fierce.

She lived deep in the woods and her heart was full 

of wonder.

She had a bed under the stars and could talk to all animals.

She would ride on the back of the lion, fly with the birds 

and play chase with the rabbits …

She was fearless and didn’t have a worry in the world…”

When the little girl is taken to the big city and is expected to become like everybody else, her colours are beginning to fade and the book turns grey. But there is still a tiny trace of yellow inside of her…

There are other children living in the city that still have a trace of colour left inside of them…Blue, Yellow, Orange, Red… all the colours of the rainbow…

When they all find each other, the book’s finale is a glorious animal parade with all of the children riding out of the city on the backs of their lions, bears, birds and all the beasts you can imagine … back into their beloved wood.

(I still quite like this original idea but I never managed to get it just right but writing about it now makes me want to look at it again…)

I continued to develop the book in a slightly different direction and called it ‘My World’.

I felt that the text I had written was somehow interfering with the images and decided to use no text at all apart from the following introduction on a completely black page:

“… I close my eyes. All is black.

If I close my eyes for long enough,

I can see things. …”

Out of the blackness a magical world appears until the book ends with the ‘narrator’ opening his/her eyes.

Here are some images:

I chose a very large format for this version of the book to allow the reader to immerse himself completely in the images.

But it all became quite abstract and maybe a little too difficult for children?

It was also not very easy to sell. 

But I still really like this version and it took me a very long time to let go.

After almost a year the final version of ‘Before I Wake Up’ started to emerge.

I decided that I had to go back to using text but instead of using a lyrical text I chose to write short poems….and it all seemed to fall into place.

The poems were quite random at first but the outline of a story…well more of a journey … emerged.

I decided against a ‘proper’ storyline and just added the framework of the little girl falling asleep and waking up. I wanted the book to feel like a real dream with no beginning and no end.

Suddenly and quite unexpectedly the book started to work on many different levels and it all clicked together and made sense.

My original idea and concept is still there but is now hidden underneath the layers of the dream.

A big thank you for giving me the opportunity to write about the making of ‘Before I Wake Up’.

GRAB A COPY OF THIS DREAMY BOOK HERE 

And look out for our review in the next edition of 

WRD Magazine

FOLLOW Britta on Twitter - HERE 

A HUGE HUGE THANK YOU 
TO BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRITTA!