Shout Out: Animalium Mini Gift Edition

What a fantastic addition to the wonderful 'Welcome to the Museum' series! So far there's been Botanicum, Historium and Animalium — and we've loved them all at KBR.

Now there's the first 'mini gift edition', with Animalium available in a gorgeous pocket-size package.

The stunning illustrations and informative text remain. This is still a fascinating guide to the animal kingdom that really does make you feel as if you're walking through a museum, learning about the exhibits. It's just all been scaled back and simplified a little to fit the smaller format — a mini musuem!

The perfect gift for budding zoologists.

Title: Animalium Mini Gift Edition
Author: Jenny Broom
Illustrator: Katie Scott
Publisher: Five Mile Press, $16.95
Publication Date: September 2016
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760404307
For ages: 9+
Type: Picture Book, Non-Fiction

Review: Welcome to Country

Wominjeka Wurundjeri balluk

yearmenn koondee bik.

Welcome to Country.

Traditionally, each Aboriginal community has a special welcoming custom to invite travellers and neighbouring communities to their land. 

In this beautifully written and illustrated picture book, Aunty Joy Murphy and Lisa Kennedy welcome readers to the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of Victoria.

This book articulates the importance of Welcome to Country in a way both children and adults will appreciate, emphasising the connection to environment and community and the symbolism of inviting outsiders to connect with the land and people of a particular region.

12 Curly Questions with James Foley

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you. 
I studied jazz piano until the end of year 12.

2. What is your nickname?  
J-Fo

3. What is your greatest fear?
It’s a tie between clowns, and shuffling off this mortal coil before I get enough time to make all the books I want to make.

Mostly it’s clowns.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Funny, cheeky; pared back as it’s usually accompanying my illustrations.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, thoughtful, persistent, intuitive, persistent.(Plus a bonus 6th word: PERSISTENT).

6. What book character would you be, and why?
I’m probably most like Sally Tinker from my new book, Brobot. Sally likes to make things and she likes to know how things work. She’s focused on the little details. She started her own company called S.Tinker Inc. She doesn’t like to leave anything to chance; she’d much rather plan things ahead of time. She doesn’t suffer fools. She’s confident and she works really hard (and she should probably take a break more often).

Review: Mila and the Missing Lions

Mila is a lion tamer. She's relatively new to the game, but that doesn't tarnish her enthusiasm. Her dog, Ralph, has been her practice lion. but the thing is, Ralph isn't a lion. And he doesn't want to be one, either.

Mila's parents are lion tamers and have their very own lions, but Mila isn't yet allowed to practice with the real lions. Until today. Today, it is time.

She grabs the keys and opens the cage...

Review: Captain Sneer the Buccaneer

I’m Captain Sneer, the buccaneer.

My crew salutes when I pass near. 

I’m rough and tough.

I’m brave and bold.

I sail the seas for gold, Gold, GOLD.

Meet Captain Sneer, the boastful buccaneer. He’s tough and mean, fearsome and daring. Or is he? As he faces challenges, we get hints that perhaps he isn’t quite as brave as he wants people to believe.

Tania's Picks: Sensational Picture Books, September 2016

How are you going with your picture book addiction? Still terribly and gloriously afflicted? Good. That makes two of us.

Here are my recent sensational purchases. I try to snaffle them from local bookstores (please frequently harvest books from your local bookstores) whenever I can, but also succumb to online buying if I can't find what I want.

I was reading recently that the children's book market in Australia 'is expected to comprise one third of all national book sales for the first time in recent memory'. Could that be any more happy-making and could we be any more proud of creators, publishers and booksellers?

Grab a cuppa and peruse this latest stash--I highly recommend each and every *one.

*Most of the books you'll find in Tania's Picks are not Australian titles--this is because more often than not, Australian titles are featured on Kids' Book Review as full reviews.

 

One Day on Our Blue Planet ... in the Antarctic by Ella Bailey, Flying Eye Books, $24.99, ages 2 - 7

12 Curly Questions with Helen Thurloe

Photo credit: Michelle Tremolada

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I spoke Portuguese until I was three.

2. What is your nickname?
Depends who you ask. Hel. Thurlie. Little Miss Muffet.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Funnel web spider in my shoe.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.  
Playful. Funny. Surprising. Random. Informative. Snappy. Layered. Structured. Visual. Tasty.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Curious. Inventive. Experimental. Thoughtful. Tenacious.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Hermione Granger. Because she solves every problem, even the hard ones.

Review: An Artist's Alphabet

One can never, ever, never get enough of alphabet books. The joy in them, oftentimes, is finding a new way, a new concept, to present something so dear and familiar to children and adults alike.

In Norman Messenger's An Artist's Alphabet, tradition is tossed out the window with an artist's interpretation of the ABC that's as delicious as its irreverence.

No, C is not for 'wave', but it could be for curve (in this stunning visual à la The Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Hokusai). D may not be for 'cat', but a feline sure does make for a beautifully-shaped letter D--both upper and lower case.

Review: They All Saw a Cat

There is a cat. It walks in this world with its ears and its whisker and paws. And as it walks, people see it.

A child sees it. But a dog sees it, too. And a fox. A goldfish. A mouse. A flea. Even a bumble bee sees the cat, and a bird on high.

How do you think each and every viewer sees this cat? Do they see it all the same?

Meet the Illustrator: Gus Gordon

Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Eclectic, multi-layered, naïve, whimsical, curious and introspective.

What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Good light, good coffee, enough room to lay-out picture book storyboards and some wide drawers for my pads, collage papers and found things.

Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Yes, collage. In many ways it’s a medium almost too clever for it’s own good. It has the ability to add layers of narrative within narrative.

Name three artists whose work inspires you.
William Steig, Serge Bloch and Laura Carlin.

Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
The Post-Impressionism movement. Most of my favourite painters were working in this period, including Van Gogh, Pissaro and Toulouse-Lautrec. These guys broke new ground, not only with their broad brush strokes but with their subject matter, painting common farmers, street people and landscapes when previously painters of the day painted mainly scenes portraying religious, historical or fictitious settings. Toulouse-Lautrec was an amazing storyteller.

Review: Botanicum

Following on from the magnificent Animalium, Katie Scott has created another tome of pure visual wonder, with exquisitely researched text crafted by Professor Kathy Willis.

A large format book in the Welcome to the Museum series (please let there be more!), just like Animalium, opening this books makes you feel as though you've tripped and fell into another world--in this case, the depths of a National Botanic Garden.

Botanical bliss.

Lustrously illustrated, Scott has hand-rendered each and every plant in ink before applying digital colour. The result is smooth, striking and eye-popping in its detail and whimsy. My sofa has provided the perfect snuggle spot for endless hours of ogling this incredible artwork, which has been styled on classic botanical artworks, with a modern twist.

100 Years of May Gibbs Quilt to benefit the NCACL

To celebrate 100 years of the work of May Gibbs, the National Centre for Australian Children's Literature is raffling this amazing May Gibbs baby quilt. All proceeds will benefit the NCACL.

The quilt is beautifully-crafted from official, approved fabric, and measures 96cm x 136cm.

Tickets are just $2 each or 3 for $5. To buy tickets, email Trish Milne at ncaclraffleATgmail.com, with how many tickets you'd like, and your postal address. Trish will send you bank deposit details and once funds are received, your raffle tickets will be posted.

The quilt will be drawn on Sunday 23 October 2016 at the Botanic Gardens in the ACT. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to own something truly special--a literary work of art in fabric.

Learn more about the NCACL by clicking on the image below.

12 Curly Questions with Cath Crowley

1. Can you tell us something hardly anyone knows about you?
I’m almost certain the next character I’ll write about is called August Winter.

2. Do you have a nickname and if so, can you tell us what it is?  
My oldest friends (sometimes) call me Crowls. I love it – I feel like I’m in high school again.

3. What is your greatest fear?
The deep ocean, far out in the midnight zone. I can’t imagine being anywhere more frightening, or anywhere more interesting.

4. Please describe your writing style in ten words.
Lyrical, humourous, pacey, often about art and friendship and love.

5. Can you tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer?
Dedicated, curious, empathetic, word-obsessed.

Review: Melbourne / Sydney - Word by Word

There's just something wonderful about this retro, graphic-design style imagery pervading books and posters and ads, more so now than of recent times, And I, for one, can't get enough. From the colourways to the clever use of imagery that's deceptively simple and high on charm, this stunning design style is aesthetically pleasing for adults as it is for the very young.

Review: Wolf Hollow

Wolf Hollow is Lauren Wolk's debut novel and it's a masterpiece. Sensitively exploring the uncomfortable subjects of prejudice and injustice, it well and truly deserves the comparisons that are being made to Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Annabelle has lived in Wolf Hollow all her life. It's a quiet country community that has seen the impact of two world wars and the Great Depression. Annabelle's family is one of the luckier ones. They're not well off but they don't struggle as much as some of the other families, and they're always quick to lend a helping hand.

12 Curly Questions with Penny Morrison

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I have one pointy ear and one round ear.

2. What is your nickname?
Pen. Not a bad nickname for a writer. Better than ‘Keyboard’.

3. What is your greatest fear?
Hmm … such a fun question … I’m trying to choose between being burnt to death or watching a loved one’s hot air balloon explode. But for the sake of a jovial interview, I’ll go with touching a slug.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
I like to rhyme most of the time. Not always.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, playful, purposeful, penniless and (most exciting) published.