Timeline Activity Book

Timeline Activity Book

By Peter Goes

Published by Gecko Press

Companion to the international bestseller Timeline, with drawings, puzzles and creative projects alongside snippets of history from around the world. This is the perfect way of making sure those facts have made an impact! 

Find hours of entertainment and spark your creativity with this fascinating journey through the history of our world. Continue to learn about culture, history and design by making your own mark. 

Timeline will spark your creativity. Drawings, puzzles and activities sit alongside facts and images from Peter Goes's remarkable visual history of the world. In this activity book you will draw the meteorite that made the dinosaurs go extinct, spot the differences in busy Byzantium, make a monogram of your own name, draw the Tower of Babel as high as you can, escape from a medieval maze making sure the rats don't catch you, use code to read a secret message by a Cold War spy, decorate the Berlin Wall with your own graffiti, and much more!Printed on thick paper and with detachable pages, the book can be easily shared or used for decoration by young and old.

The illustrations are again as detailed and sublime as before and there's plenty here to keep any Peter Goes fan busy. There's lots of longevity in this activity book, with some of the pages being for younger readers and others for slighter older children. It's definitely one to get if you want your child to grow into it and eventually learn to master every page. The pages can also be easily removed if you want to give out individual pages or even to photocopy if you want to give out the same puzzle to several children. The perfect gift for any Timeline fan or a challenging activity book for older children to enjoy on those wet days in.

The Timeline Activity Book is available to buy now from all good booksellers and from the Gecko website here.

A Day with Dogs

A Day with Dogs

By Dorothée de Monfreid

Published by Gecko Press

Welcome to dog heaven! If you ever wanted a book packed full of quirky and humourous dog illustrations then this is the book for you! Meet nine funny dogs as they live out their everyday lives in this Richard Scarry-esque new picture book from Dorothée de Monfreid.

What do dogs do all day? This rich and playful album features a cast of funny dog characters enacting everyday scenes. A picture dictionary for the very young, with everything children need to know about the world around them.

From the start, children will learn different dog breeds and with the help of the dogs, they will help identify parts of a home, what a bathroom is used for, different sports, clothing and loads more! It's packed full of useful things and lots of humour!

The dogs are full of character and help educate younger children in all sorts. Dorothée's illustrations are fabulous, with lots going on and well laid out. Her dolls house style for a lot of the spreads is very detailed and well labelled. It's a purely brilliant teaching tool that will make learning fun - especially for children that shy away from educational titles.

Perfect for dog lovers and young children who want to learn with the help from some waggy friends, A Day with Dogs is available to buy now from all good booksellers and from the Gecko Press website here.

Don't Cross the Line!

Don't Cross the Line!

By Bernardo Carvalho & Isabel Martins

Published by Gecko Press

Are you a rule breaker? Do you walk on the grass when you're not supposed to? Or play ball games when they're frown upon? Don't Cross The Line! is a picturebook that tells the story of a rule that people don't understand why they should obey it.

The guard always follows the general’s orders without question. This time, the order is that no one must cross the line. The right-hand page of this book must be kept blank for the general. As the crowd builds up on the border, the guard is under pressure. If no one is allowed onto the next page, what will happen to the story? After the guard is endlessly asked why no one can cross the line/page, it takes a bouncing ball to break the system and allow a revolution to begin!

Artfully designed with the right hand page of the book being completely blank for 8 pages, enforcing the message that that page is 'Free'. It really is a powerful book that children and adults will gain a lot from.

Isabel's illustrations are colourful and very lively. She uses a number of styles for the many characters (sixty in all) that appear throughout the book, with the endpapers listing each one with their name. I spotted a few that I recognised from the film world - see if you can spot the character inspired by E.T. My favourite is a astronaut that starts to run out of air as he's stuck on the left page. Once he crosses it he finally manages to open his helmet so he can breath easy.

Don't Cross the Line! is available to buy now at all good bookshops and online at the Gecko Press website.

Gus's Garage

Gus's Garage

By Leo Timmers

Published by Gecko Press

Gus runs a garage and stores all sorts of useless things. It might look like a heap of rubbish but will Gus find use for them somehow?

When Gus' friend Rico comes over with a problem - a seat that is too small on his scooter. Gus finds just the thing to solve it. One by one Gus’s friends bring him their vehicles and Gus solves their troubles with ingenious solutions—a cooling system made with a fridge that doubles as ice-cream machine, a burst of speed from a rocket blaster. Soon the workshop is almost empty, but the last scraps might be just enough to solve Gus’s own problem at the end of a long day.

Gus's Garage comes from Belgian illustrator Leo Timmers, and boasts his usual colourful and detailed style. The vehicles Gus creates are mechanical masterpieces, using all types of odds and ends to make the perfect vehicle. The story is a simple one which younger children will adore - especially those that love cars and things on wheels!

Gus's Garage is available to buy now at all good bookshops and online at the Gecko Press website.

Super Rabbit

Super Rabbit

By Stephanie Blake

Published by Gecko Press

Is it a bird?, is it a plane? No, it's Simon that cheeky rabbit back in another funny, tantrum filled picture book from best selling Stephanie Blake. 

Once there was a little rabbit... “I’m not a LITTLE rabbit! I’m Super Rabbit!” Simon is not afraid of anything. He’s Super Rabbit! From flying (jumping) from his bed in the morning and landing on the family cat with a thud. Simon is no longer a little rabbit, but a super rabbit that's out to find supervillains and save the day. On his adventure outside, he comes across a hollow tree, Simon goes in and investigates. It's not long until he's calling for his mummy to come and save him. A piece of sword has got stuck in his finger (a splinter from the tree, for the rest of us) and he needs mummy to help remove it. After its removed his mummy praises him for being a very brave rabbit. Simon then uses his splinter for the good of all - a sword to slay the supervillains! 

Filled with Stephanie's unique style, with bold colours and large easy to read typography, this is another classic edition to the series. Super Rabbit is out now at all good bookshops and to buy on the Gecko Press website.

I Want Spaghetti!

I Want Spaghetti!

By Stephanie Blake

Published by Gecko Press

That cheeky rabbit, Simon, is back, and this time he will only eat spaghetti! The fifth in the series covers when toddlers become very fussy eaters...

Simon loves spaghetti. Problem is that he will only eat spaghetti for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When his mother offers him toast for breakfast he refuses it with a huge "YUCK!". At lunchtime his father makes him a sandwich but again Simon refuses and wants only spaghetti. Eventually his parents have enough and he is sent to his room without dinner. But the mention of chocolate cake soon makes Simon return to the dinner table and eat what he's given. But when spaghetti is given for lunch the next day Simon doesn't want it. Instead he's got a hankering for SAUSAGES! 

Filled with Stephanie's unique style, with bold colours and large easy to read typography, this is another great edition to the other Simon books. Parents and children alike will recognise and laugh at Simon's antics to avoid eating anything that he doesn't want. I Want Spaghetti! is out now at all good bookshops and to buy on the Gecko Press website.

Tickle My Ears

Tickle My Ears

By Jörg Mühle

Published by Gecko Press

This little rabbit has made quite a splash in the baby book market and it comes from new illustrator talent, Jörg Mühle, an author and illustrator from Germany.

It's getting late and Little Rabbit must go to bed, with the help of your little one, this interactive book shows the stages of getting Little Rabbit to brush his teeth, changed into his pyjamas and then into bed, ready to go to sleep.

The illustrations in this little board book are delightful. The focus is on Little Rabbit, with no backgrounds or textures to take away from interacting with him. This is sure to be a winner with any under two year old, with cute character design and simple to follow instructions. Your new bedtime ritual is right here in this book! Little Rabbit has become a huge success across Europe, so a series starring Little Rabbit is imminent. Watch this space for more from this cute character in the years to come.

Tickle My Ears is now available in the UK translated into English and can be found in all good bookshops and online on the Gecko Press website.

When Dad Showed Me the Universe

When Dad Showed Me the Universe

Written by Ulf Stark and illustrated by Eva Ericsson  
Published by Gecko Press

With Father’s Day only a few weeks away (Sunday 21st June), this modern Swedish classic will delight any sons, fathers and grandfathers. This fun but moving story features a Dad wanting to show his son something special; the Universe.

After a long day working at the dentist, this Dad believes it’s time to show his Son the universe. They wrap up warm before heading outside. The Son decides to ask lots of questions about the universe as he’s not too sure what it is, after pointing at the supermarket, “No” replies his Dad but they go in for provisions. They walk for a long time, past the shops and through the park, past the hardware store and past the fish shop, which are all closing up for the night. 

When they reach the outside of town, where there are no streetlights, they stop on a small hill. The son asks if this is it, looking around at the hill and grass, spotting a snail from the universe creeping over a stone… he’s a little confused, until his Dad notices that he isn’t looking up at the sky and tells him to look up. The sky is filled with thousands of stars and the Dad begins to point them out but the Son thinks they look like specks of dust that you would find in the living room in the sunshine. The Dad continues talking about how amazing the universe is and picks his son up so he can be closer, explaining how some stars don’t even exist but we can still see their light. But its all interrupted, when they get a whiff of something stinky, the Son knows whats happened, his Dad has stepped in dog poo! His Son states “It’s Big Dog!” after being told about the star constellation Big Dog. It’s time to go home. The Dad thinks his son may be a little too young yet but the Son states he will remember and that the universe was beautiful and funny!

The story is told from the Son’s point of view, which brings humour to the story, especially when he is getting very confused about understanding what the universe is; first believing it is the shops, then grass and the plants around him. I liked the little facts that popped up when the Son is asking the Father questions; like the temperature of the Universe or about the different stars. Though, if we were to read more into this, the Son is quite right in that isn’t everything around us all part of the universe?

The soft classic illustrations, by Swedish illustrator Eva Ericsson, work brilliantly with the strong narrative by Ulf Stark making it a very sweet book to enjoy with your little one. This book is recommended for five years of age and over and I believe it would make a great book to start up a discussion about stars and the universe.

When Dad Showed Me the Universe will be enjoyed by little ones and adults alike but its always good to remember that even though its nice to look up and appreciate the stars above, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on down here, as sometimes the most important things are right under our noses!

The King and the Sea

The King and the Sea

By Heinz Janisch & illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch  
Published by Gecko Press

Gecko Press have some of the most inventive titles when it comes to the art of picture books. From the same illustrator as Duck, Death and the Tulip comes his collaboration with author Heinz Janisch for an new take on the craft. At 48 pages long and consisting of 21 extremely short stories, The King and the Sea isn't your typical picture book.

The King appears in all 21 stories, all of which involve the King questioning the things around him. He asks a cat why he lies in the sun, he asks his shadow why it follows him, and he demands the rain to stop raining. On his travels the King finds that he can't simply rule everything he encounters, and that the world simply operates under its own rules whether he likes it or not.   

Janisch's text is full of humour and wisdom, and the childish nature of the King is simply adorable. Each story is simply told, with each one dealing with big questions which are answered in a simple unpatronising way. The ending is no different, with it hinting at the King's mortality. Erlbruch's illustrations don't disappoint, with his collage using textures such as sheet music and vintage wallpapers for elements such as the King's clothes. As you turn each page you can't help but admire each spread and it's classic charm. 

Without a doubt this is a picture book for an older child, with the suggested age being 8+. I think for the nature of the book and to keep a child's attention I would suggest the same.  It is a book to treasure and I can see it being equally as popular with adults, especially those who keep a space on their book shelf for well made picture books such as this.

The King and the Sea is available to buy from all good bookshops and online from Gecko Press.