Skip to content

Category: Books go Walkabout

Published on

You know the characters in some Fairy Tales which seemed stereotypical? Well this book changes that for characters like the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, a servant boy in the Emperors New Clothes and the prince in Sleeping Beauty. A great way to portray a new look into the famous stories, which have lots to tell us about courage, strength, kindness and determination.

It makes a really good for reading alone for any age or for sharing with a class or at home. At the moment the book is in hard back, which makes it very resilient as I am sure it will be picked from the selves and read over and over again.

Susannah McFarlane , Australian author, is the creator and publisher of some of Australia's most successful children's book series. She is best known as the author of the bestselling EJ12 Girl Hero and EJ Spy School series, which have sold over 1 million copies. Susannah also created and co-wrote (with Louise Park, as Mac Park) the hugely popular D-Bot Squad and Boy vs Beast series and Fairy Tales for Feisty Girls.

Illustrators have been chosen to match each of the characters so you have a different slant on each separate story, they are; Brenton McKenna, Simon Howe, Matt Huynh and Louie Joyce.

Allen and Unwin are the Australian publishers who have produced this beautiful book.

Fairy Tales have huge potential and now even more so with this edition from Susannah McFarlane

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

Ever felt that you are different from the crowd and just need to find the right place to release your dreams?

Paris Cat is a sassy cat from the back alleys of Paris and she believes that she is different from all the other cats. Leaving her cat family behind she off to explore Paris. Cat meets legendary singer Edith Piaff, she meets a high fashion atelier and she uses the remnants of material to make her own outfits.

She goes the nightclubs and dances with infamous dancer Josephine Baker and her cheetah. Life is great! But is it? Paris Cat soon misses her home and her family and turns to creating a nightclub of her very own where all her cat friends can join her and dance the night away at the Cattacomb Club.

Dianne Hofmeyer is one of South Africa’s foremost writers for children, with picture books including Zeraffa Giraffa and Tiger Walk and novels like The Water Bearer. Her books have been translated into 18 languages and she has won many awards, including The Sanlam Gold Award for Youth Literature (twice).

 

Piet Grobler is the illustrator with beautifully crafted illustrations of cats, maps and places. Piet is also from South Africa and has written and illustrated over 80 books for children. He also established the International Centre for Picture Book in society, whilst he was a Course Leader for Illustration at University of Worcester.

Tiny Owl are the publishers of Paris Cat  and now a world leader in developing our understanding of children’s books across the globe.

Published on 9th July 2020, Paris Cat will be a book for any children and parents, whilst on holiday or at home. There is much to enjoy and learn and share together.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

A world full of colours through the  seasons in many diverse places. Celebration of the vibrancy of colour waiting to be found in all corners of the world.

From the white hot sands of the Sahara Desert to the soft pink blossoms of the Japanese countryside.

Colours to astound us at every corner, captured in text and illustration  in this beautiful book.

This book is a journey across the world,  Australia. the Antarctic and the Amazon for starters, children will be able to discover places and become travellers. There are many places to visit , full of fascinating creatures and scenery all with colourful theme matching the place. Red London buses and  green  rice fields in Vietnam .

Ben Lerwill, is an award winning travel writer who lives in Oxfordshire and had written for many travel magazines and websites, including National Geographic, Time Out and BBC Travel. It is great to see his work for children and the globe.

Alette Straathof lives  in Paris and grew up in a small town in the Netherlands and studied illustration at Willem de Kooning Academy. She was awarded a top illustration award in the Netherlands in 2019. What a joy to see her work in this children's book.

Words and Pictures , publishers, make imaginative and entertaining books for younger readers. opening the door to their imagination. One World, Many Colours certainly does this.

One of the most beautifully produced books for 2020 and as we are all grounded by a lack of travel and virus isolation this book is just right for the whole family to share and to love. And my copy is staying at home with me!

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

Discover how Astrid Lindgren grew up to become a best loved author, and creator of Pippi Longstocking, the character who never wanted to grow up. 

It is from Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Little People, BIG DREAMS series. We discover that at the age of four, Astrid met a whole new world of giants, fairies as a friend read to her and she discovered books.

Astrid did her best to learn to read as soon as she could, once she had exhausted the local library she started to write her own books. There was no stopping Astrid and she wrote many books including the much acclaimed stories of Pippi Longstocking.

Published  on March 3rd, this book is just in time for World Book Day on 5th March. It is a wonderful autobiography of Astrid Lindgren and contains a time line of important aspects of her life. There are now over 36 titles in the Little People, BIG DREAMS series and they are a great collection for any school or home.

Isabel Sanchez Vegara is the author and  she is excited by new concepts in children's' books and a creative way to enhance active learning.

Linzie Hunter is the illustrator, with a wealth of experience, including work for Apple, BBC and The Guardian. The illustrations are endearing and full of character.

A moving book, with a story to match with stylish and quirky illustrations, a great addition to the series and a great book for World Book Day.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

Felix hides all of his sorrows inside a large black suitcase that he carries with him wherever he goes. One day a small boy opens the suitcase and Felix wakes with all the tears he has been hiding inside for so long. Free from his tears and worries Felix journeys back into the world which is waiting for him with open arms.

A beautiful book, a wonderful story of how a child fills his world with sorrow and can not find a way back to being happy. Until somehow a boy manages to find a way in to opening the suitcase.

This story can be used  when children are feeling sad and can't deal with their emotions. A powerful way to delve right in to their thoughts without causing too much hurt.

Felix After the Rain from Tiny Owl Publishers, is  written and illustrated by Dunja Jogan and translated by Olivia Hellewell  from Slovenian into English and funded through a PEN Translates Award to Tiny Owl to bring this book to an English-speaking audience.

I had to write about this book as it is just right for a very special young girl I know , who is suffering from carrying too much hard stuff in her suitcase.

Publication date is February 24th. Definitely a book to have in school, at home and in libraries.

Sue Martin

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

Take a ride through 26 fully illustrated search and find spreads, each one themed on a number. Count the animals going into Noah's Ark, two by two, spot 13 scary skeletons at the haunted house and 16 different things at the fun fair.

This is an amazing book to spend hours searching & spotting. Be warned children are  better than adults at this task!

You can learn numbers from 1-100, sharpen your visual skills, develop vocabulary and be an expert in search and find!

The two authors, Amanda Wood and Mike Jolley, plus illustrator Allan Sanders have come together with the publisher Wide Eyed Editions to create this beautifully produced book following on from Search and Find the Alphabet, which is a huge success.

Amanda Wood started her career in illustration at the Natural History Museum and then was the founding Editor and Publisher of Templar with many Greenaway winners.

Mike Jolley has worked in children's publishing for  25 years and is the author of several wonderfully illustrated books, such as Curiositree.

Allan Sanders has worked on animations for the FIFA world cup website and many books such as Little Explorers and How Machines Work.

Wide Eyed Editions have a high profile book list of top quality and intriguing books for children with attention to detail and the production of stunning books.

We love this book and I am about to take away with me to spend the evening searching for the 18 crazy golf objects!

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on
A beautifully illustrated, well told story...

"Deep in the jungle lived a fearless tiger. No other animal was as strong and powerful as he was."

But for all his boldness and strength he could not outfight the cunning human hunters.

He was brought back to be kept in a cage and stared at by inquisitive eyes.

A moving, thought provoking story, superbly illustrated by Petr Horacek, award winning picture book creator, a fable for our time.

It is a moving story about freedom and it addresses conservation and animal rights issues. The glowing, expressive artwork is a powerful imaginative stimulus and is an absolute joy to turnover each special page.

Petr Horacek was born in Prague and moved to England in 1994 after graduating at the Academy of Fine Art. He has created numerous high quality, award winning picture books.

Petr has an interesting article on his blog about inspiration and converting ideas to art work- really great!

Otter-Barry Books is an exciting imprint which publishes amazing books, just like The Last Tiger.

Sue Martin

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on

What's a penguin to think when he wakes up pink? Patrick is not happy being a pink penguin and he runs away in search of other pink playmates. He travels far across the oceans until the seas are warm and he finds a whole flock of pink flamingos, boys and girls.

Patrick learns that not all friendships are black and white and when he discovers that he can't even stand on one leg to go to sleep, or fly high into the air, he decides to go home. He does find out that his black and white penguin friends are pleased to see him back and he understands the true meaning of friendship is not always related to colour.

Written by Lynne Rickards, who lives in Scotland and comes from Canada, and illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain, Pink is published by Wacky Bee an independent publishers with an inspirational book list, definitely a publisher to watch out for.

https://youtu.be/4JWSLeLQFIg

A beautifully produced book with a strong message and great to use for young children, we recommend for 3-5 year olds at home and nursery.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on
Dance. Dolphin, Dance - cover image and web link
Buy this beautiful book here...

The adventure of a bottle-nose dolphin living in the underwater kelp forest of the coast of California. The dolphin dances in the swirling waters of the kelp forest, but the waters become rougher and stronger and dolphin finds herself among other sea creatures who are escaping the stormy seas.

Tuna, a Big Blue Whale, a Great White Shark and a Killer Whale all are hiding within the kelp. Our dolphin has to be quick and escapes to the deepest part of the dark kelp forest.

A beautiful picture book written and illustrated by Patricia MacCarthy and with fascinating images using photo shop techniques  showing the dolphin swimming with other creatures in the kelp forest. Published by Otter-Barry, Dance.Dolphin, Dance is a  unique edition to their list of excellently published picture books.

Book image and web link   Buy this impressive book here...

I really enjoyed this book, and especially as we had just returned from the beach in North Norfolk and seen jellyfish on the sands at low tide. No dolphins though! And we are especially keen on dolphins!!

Sue Martin

 


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.


Published on
A CAt Called Trim - cover image and web link
Buy this great book here - free delivery on publication!

Trim was born in 1799 aboard the sailing ship Reliance, a cat born for adventure and seaward journeys. This is the story of a famous cat, Trim, who sailed with his master Matthew Flinders across the Indian Ocean and  circumnavigated Australia. Courageous, mischievous and full of ideas, Trim could be seen on the rigging, along the sails and more than once ended up swimming for his life.

A beautiful book full of wonderful illustrations and an amazing story  of characters, events and a way of life that is not known to us today. Except that showing kindness, being brave and trusting remain good characteristics for anyone.

Flinders and Trim were sailing back to England when they were forced to stop at the Isle de France, a fateful trip as Flinders was put in prison and one day Trim disappeared.

But they are always remembered through statues to Flinders and Trim all over the world, including Sydney, Port Lincoln and  Euston Station, London.

A Cat Called Trim is written by Corinne Fenton, illustrated by Craig Smith and published by Allen and Unwin of Australia, released on 5th September 2019.

Corinne Fenton is an award-winning Australian author,and a passionate creator of picture books for younger readers and a talented presenter of books to children. Craig Smith is a highly talented illustrator of many, many children's books and his amazing pictures have a real sense of story.

Book icon image and web link   Buy this book securely on-line from The Dolphin here...

I love this book, it has enormous appeal and would recommend for children from ages 5 upwards... no limit really! Order the book for dispatch on publication date of 5th September 2019.

Sue Martin


Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk is part of SmithMartin LLP

A retail resource for the best children's books, entry point into our children's and community library procurement and supply service. Offering a miscellany of news and featured authors for all our readers, whatever their age.