Can You Say It Too? Brrr! Brrr!

Can You Say It Too? Brrr! Brrr!

By Sebastien Braun

Published by Nosy Crow

Part of the 'Can You Say It Too?' series, Brrr! Brrr! is another great edition to this series of board books for young children and great for this chilly time of year.

Filled with artic animals and lift and see flaps, this is a great board book for little people to get their hands on. I adore Sebastien's illustrations in this series of books, he fills the spreads with beautiful illustrations of all kinds of animals that children may not be familiar with. In Brrr! Brrr! we are introduced to seals. penguins, killer whales, artic foxes, walruses and wolves. My two year old throughly enjoyed lifting the flaps to discover each hiding animal and read it several times afterwards. A great addition to anyones 'Can You Say It Too?' collection and for adding it to your child's educational bookshelf. 

Can You Say It Too? Brrr! Brrr! is available to buy now from all good booksellers and from the Nosy Crow website here.

A Busy Day For Birds

A Busy Day For Birds

By Lucy Cousins

Published by Walker Books

Peck, hop, flap and make some noise in this story full of colour, rhyme and feathered friends! Another feathered gem from writer and illustrator, Lucy Cousins.

Flap your wings, fly up high, open your beak and sing in this fun action rhyme story about fantastical birds by multi-award-winning author Lucy Cousins. "Can you imagine ... just for one day ... you're a busy bird? Yes, a bird! Hooray!" Can you stand on one leg like a flamingo or waddle like a penguin? How about say "cock-a-doodle-doo!", "tuwit-tuwoo" and even "tra-la-la"? What a busy day you will have! A bouncy read-aloud book to be enjoyed; beautifully illustrated with bold, bright colours and packed with all sorts of wild and wonderful birds!

This is the perfect bird introduction to a young child. The clever rhyming text throughout perfectly balances Lucy's bold and colourful illustrations. Young children will pick up on the different types of birds along with the sounds they make and their behaviours. I like how the book ends with a night owl, another excuse for reading at bedtime and turning your busy child into a bird expert!

A Busy Day For Birds is published on the 2nd February through Walker Books. To find out more about the book visit the Walker Books website here.

Mr Tweed’s Busy Day

Mr Tweed’s Busy Day

By Jim Stoten 

Published by Flying Eye Books

You might also know this book as Mr Tweed's Good Deeds - the hardback edition of the first search-and-find adventure from Jim Stoten. It's now available in paperback with attractive new cover art, another reason to go and have a look if you haven't already discovered Mr Tweed and his super finding abilities.

Mr. Tweed sets out on his afternoon stroll, but soon finds some friends in need of his help. Can you come to his aid and help him find what they are looking for? Hidden in pages of vibrant colour and highly detailed illustrations lie a variety of different objects waiting to be discovered! Stoten’s wonderfully whimsical designs will enchant young readers into this fun and quirky world where counting is made easy.

Obviously this isn't the first children's book that gives the reader the challenge to search and find objects/people within busy environments. What makes Mr Tweed stand out is the vibrant illustrations and the pure level of detail. The book has a lovely retro feel to it, harking back to animation like Mr Benn and The Magic Roundabout. I adore Jim's style - the colours and fine line work perfectly together along with creating an amusing story to tie the search and find spreads together. My 2 year old loved finding the objects on each page - it kept her amused longer than most picture books, so a big thumbs up from her!

Mr Tweed's Good Deeds / Mr Tweed's Busy Day (paperback) is available to buy now from all good booksellers and direct from the Flying Eye Books website.

Interview with Rob Biddulph

Rob Biddulph is a bestselling and award-winning author/illustrator whose first picture book, Blown Away (HarperCollins), won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize in 2015. His second, GRRRRR! (HarperCollins), was nominated for the CILIP Kate Greenaway medal and his third, Odd Dog Out (HarperCollins), was published in August 2016. His fourth picture book, Sunk!, will be published in March 2017. As well as working on his own books he also illustrates for other authors including Piers Torday, David Solomons and Christian O'Connell.  Before he became a full-time author/illustrator he was the art director of the Observer Magazine, NME, Uncut, SKY and Just Seventeen. He lives in London with his wife and three daughters.

BWB: GRRRRR! is your second picturebook. Why did you choose to focus this story on a bear?

RB: Well, I knew that I wanted the set the book in a woodland environment (because I really love drawing trees) and so I did some research on Yellowstone National Park. As soon as I saw that bears lived there my mind was made up. They're great fun to draw and everybody loves them, not least my own children. 

BWB: What's the best award/trophy you've ever won? 

RB: Hmmm, tricky. It's either a) the first ever prize that I won for drawing which was, wait for it, a BIC biro, b) the1991 Player of the Year for Brookmans Park Football Club or c) the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. I think I'll go for... c) the Waterstones prize. It was such a shock when I won. In fact, I still can't quite believe that it happened!

BWB: If you were to compete against another illustrator who would that be?

RB: Ooh, great question. Well, I guess it depends what we were competing in. If we're talking about an illustration competition then I think I'd like to test myself against the very best. So how about... Quentin Blake, although he would absolutely thrash me obviously. If we were competing in a running race, however, I might stand a better chance...

BWB: Your favourite fictional bear and why?

RB: Now this is tough. I love Paddington and Pooh, but I think I might have to plump for Baloo from the Jungle Book. I would love to have a friend like him. We could hang out all day eating prickly pears, floating along the river and basically forgetting about our worries and our strife. It would be so cool. 

BWB: Can you tell us more about your next picture book?

RB: Well, my brand new book is called Odd Dog Out and it's set in a world entirely populated by dachshunds (that's the posh name for sausage dogs). Everybody loves a sausage dog and they're SUCH fun to draw. Anyway, in this world every single dog dresses and acts in exactly that same way as all the others, except for one – the Odd Dog Out. She gets pretty fed up cos everyone is different to her so she leaves town in search of kindred spirits. But, in doing so, she discovers something much more important - that being yourself is actually the best thing of all. It's basically a sweet story about blazing your own trail and not just following the crowd. Plus there's lots of pictures of dogs dressed up in funny outfits. What's not to like?

Huge thanks to Rob and Simon for taking the time to make this interview happen. You can find out more about Rob and his wonderful work on his website here. He also draws on a lot of post it notes to live in his daughters lunchbox from time to time...

Odd Dog Out

Odd Dog Out

By Rob Biddulph

Published by Harper Collins

It’s a dog’s life in the big city… Come join one busy dog on her journey to find her place in the world, in this third sublimely illustrated book from the bestselling, award-winning Rob Biddulph.

For busy dogs


A busy day


Of busy work


And busy play…

But one dog doesn’t quite fit in. It’s lonely being the odd dog out, when all she wants to do is find her place in the world. She’s willing to go to the other side of the world to look for it… but it might take a different kind of journey for her to discover that maybe where she’s meant to be is right back where she started…

This sublime third book from Rob is bursting with colour, which reflects our odd dog and her colourful outlook on life. After feeling like she's not part of where she comes from, she embarks on a mission to find somewhere where she will fit in. It's only here she finds that everyone is like her and that's not such a good thing...

Rob's trademark rhyming text flows well and makes for a wonderful story full of individuality whilst encompassing the moral of not having to feel like you fit in! Plus you can't but love the happy ending - every dog has its day!

Odd Dog Out is available now from all good booksellers and from the Harper Collins website. Check out my interview with Rob here.

GRRRRR!

GRRRRR!

By Rob Biddulph

Published by Harper Collins

Come join Fred the Bear on a stunningly illustrated journey to be crowned the best bear in the wood and, just maybe, learn that there might be more to life than training… The second stunning, captivating and witty picture book from the immensely talented Rob Biddulph, whose debut BLOWN AWAY won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.

Each year, for as long as the forest has stood,

A contest is held for the bears of the wood…

And Fred is the champion. He’s just that good.

Fred is the Best Bear in the Wood – and he’s got the medals to prove it. Being the best takes a lot of hard work, and time on your own, but Fred doesn’t mind. Until a new bear moves to town, and Fred’s champion GRRRRR goes missing… How will he ever win now? Or will Fred instead learn that some things are more important than winning?

This is a wonderful follow up to Rob's debut, Blown Away. You can't help feel sorry for Fred as he tries to find his GRRRRR in time for the competition. Luckily for Fred he gains some friends along the way and realises that friendship is better than winning all the time.

Rob's playful rhyming text and graphic illustration is another winning combination. I loved the characters in this story and hope to see more from Fred in future Rob Biddulph titles! The perfect book for fans of rhyming picture books and Rob Biddulph followers!

GRRRRR! is available now from all good booksellers and from the Harper Collins website. Check out my interview with Rob here.

Blown away

Blown away

By Rob Biddulph

Published by Harper Collins

This tale about a penguin is the debut book from author/illustrator Rob Biddulph. Blown Away is a Waterstones Children's Book winning tale and well deserved too! 

It’s a windy day, and Penguin Blue has a brand new kite – but where’s he going on this maiden flight? Penguin Blue and his friends go on a gloriously illustrated adventure full of good ideas, homesickness and the perils of kites.

The problem with kites is that when they work well they really do take flight. And this unlucky penguin gets taken along for the ride! Penguin Blue isn't the only passenger, with his penguin pals coming along as well as a seal and a polar bear. They all end up in the jungle which isn't really quite right for animals that are more used to colder climates. They find a way of using a dingy and a new kite made from leaves they gather in the jungle to get back home to weather they're more used to.

Blown Away is an enjoyable tale that's perfect for this colder time of year. It's one that my little one enjoys snuggled up under the bedcovers - especially when its a particular chilly night! Full of great characters, detailed illustration and an adventurous rhyming story, it will be read again and again.

Blown away is available to buy in hardback and paperback editions from all good booksellers and from the Harper Collins website. Check out my interview with Rob here.