In 1957 Dr. Seuss was enjoying what Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys would describe as his ‘imperial phase’. The Cat in the Hat had just changed how children learn to read forever, and another masterpiece, Green Eggs and Ham was to follow. In between came his Christmas book, and it was every bit … Continue reading
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you can’t have missed Luke Pearson’s intrepid beret wearing adventuress Hilda – although under a rock is exactly where you’ll find Hilda in her new book, which takes us deep inside the mountains near her home, a vast networks of tunnels and caves … Continue reading
In the post Harry Potter age readers have become used to a dizzying number of children’s books which inevitably become series. Title after title appears year upon year, as surely as the tide pushes the sea onto the shore. They have their day in the sun and are washed away when the next wave hits. I’m … Continue reading
Judging by the two picture books she has created for the über cool indie publisher Flying Eye, Rilla Alexander knows more than most about books to save your life. Her first, the boldly titled The Best Book in the World explores the incredible benefits of living a life spent with with your nose buried in … Continue reading
Arnold Lobel, who would have been 80 this year, wrote his Frog and Toad books to help children learn to read. But like Dr Seuss, Lobel achieved much more through his characters, creating one of the most tender and believable representations of friendship in literature. In Frog and Toad All Year we follow the pair … Continue reading
N is for New York. Sometimes a book can get weighed down by its cultural baggage, The Snowy Day more than most. In 1962 New Yorker Ezra Jack Keats produced one of the first children’s books with a black protagonist. At first it was hailed as a landmark in publishing, but as time went by … Continue reading
I wrote a few months ago about some of the groundbreaking children's book apps that are taking the whole reading experience in wonderful new directions. A brief visit to the app store over the weekend provided some great new examples for Christmas. There are countless cheapo retellings of A Christmas Carol and The Night Before … Continue reading
