For as long as she can remember, Utterly has felt drawn to the sea. As a baby, she was found along the shores of the Autumn Isles by Andrewe Dark, her caretaker and the Watcher of Wildsea. Strange things happen there. At night, Utterly swears that she can hear the waves calling out her name. However no one seems to believe her when she talks about it. Or perhaps they simply don’t want to.
You’re likely familiar with the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltkin; a mischievous creature who helps a young girl impress the king, but at a great cost. The only way out of this bargain is if the young girl can guess this strange creature’s unusual name. In this, part two of the Fairy Tales Gone Bad trilogy, Coelho tells a twisted version of this familiar story.
Timo Parvela is a teacher and a best-selling author in Finland where many of his books have been adapted for both the big and the small screen. The main characters in Bicycling To The Moon have their own TV show and the author does regular school tours where their adventures are read and discussed.
In an encyclopaedia like no other, Cressida Cowell gives an insight into her very own world where she categorizes dragons great and small from the minuscule Ziggerastica to the monstrous Leviathorgans, from the short-sighted Bog Spotted Gormless to the silly Two-Headed Gormatron. The book is filled with quirky facts and characteristics for each creature the reader would have met in the How To Train Your Dragon series. It comes complete with maps, collector cards and poster.
When I was a kid I did not doodle just to doodle. I always needed a project. I later tried to study fine art but my lecturers politely suggested I might be more suited for illustration. Art as a project. Art with a purpose. Which probably explains my later career as a graphic designer. Give me a blank page to doodle and I will just freeze. But give me a problem to solve, a project, and I will dive right in.
Published to coincide with Tate Gallery’s phenomenally successful Hockney retrospective, this rich and expansive workbook is far more than supplementary material. Theory is explored but, after initially positioning us as art critics, Blake draws us in skilfully; in no time at all we are learning by doing. We move from pencils, to paint, to smartphones; from landscapes to portraits to set design. Inspiration is drawn from our reactions to Hockney’s finished work as well as his processes.
Also An Octopus is also, just so you know, the story of a little bit of nothing – because that’s how every story starts, when you think about it. Featuring a ukulele-playing octopus who wants to fly in a spaceship, a team of rocket scientists, a little girl and a cute bunny, this odyssey into the inner workings of a story is much more than the sum of its extraordinary parts.
Abigail Goh’s delicate and vibrant illustrations combine with Anna Claybourne’s clear and concise text to produce a visually stunning, absorbing and informative look at the world’s favourite ballet stories.
For children and adults alike, those have eaten a spice bag from the chip shop and those who have yet to try one, Mr Spicebag is an experience like no other. Freddie Alexander immediately draws the reader into the origin story of the ‘real’ spice bag. We explore the plot through the central character, George, who notices a mysterious change in his town following the arrival of Mr Spicebag’s chipper.
Things to Do is a visual and verbal feast, with the stirring poetry of Elaine Magliaro matched by the stunning pastel shades of Catia Chien. In her extended poem, Magliaro reflects on what it would feel like to be the parts of the everyday world all around us – the dawn, birds, a honeybee, an acorn etc. The language employed is rich and carries real depth, giving young readers a sense of the
wonder of the world all around them and the limitless nature of imagination.
