children’s book illustrations – Page 7 – Dolphin Book Blog for younger readers

Mr Chicken All Over Australia by Leigh Hobbs

The DolphinOctober 3, 2019October 4, 2019

‘Hmmm,’ said the marsupial studying the map.

Quite doable, but we’d better get going right away.’

Mr Chicken was always ready for adventure, so off they went.

A wonderful book from Leigh Hobbs of all the places that Mr Chicken could have possibly have ever visited in that huge country of Australia. Never daunted Mr Chicken just gets straight on in there, visiting, stopping for lunch and dinner, going to all the famous places and many others beside.

From Wallaroo to Pinnaro, from Goondiwindi to Mataranka (spell check can take a break here!) and of course Sydney, Queensland and Tassie (that’s Tasmania to you and I from the UK!) and did I mention Melbourne, or isn’t that where Mr Chicken is from?

This is a great book and makes wonderful reading for children and adults too, with the amazing illustrations, which are true Leigh Hobbs style, published by Allen and Unwin

The book is dedicated to the many children, teachers and librarians Leigh Hobbs met as the 2016-2017 Australian Children’s Laureate.

Thoroughly recommended for children of all ages and for adults too. In the school, library and at home this a wonderful read and an adventure across Australia.

So join Mr Chicken on his latest adventure and be sure to book your ticket on Qantas!!

Sue Martin

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Our Little Inventor by Sher Rill Ng and Ivanhoe Swift Left Home at Six by Jane Godwin and A.Yi

The DolphinSeptember 16, 2019September 21, 2019

In our loft office on the edge of Cambridge, UK, I always look forward to receiving new books to review from Allen and Unwin of Australia. Two brilliant new picture books arrived in mid September, just right for starting our school year in the UK.

Our Little Inventor by Sher Rill Ng is about Nell, who wants to save the planet from extinction. She has a new invention that she is sure will save the world. But no one believes her.

"We don't have time to look at a child's toy," she is told at an important meeting in the city. But eventually, when no one can breathe anymore she is able to clean the air.

Beautiful story written and illustrated by Sher Rill Ng, who is based in Melbourne. Her illustrations are beautifully atmospheric and hew website if full of her images and stories, amazing!

Ivanhoe Sweet Left Home at Six by Jane Godwin and A.Yi is the adventure of Ivanhoe who decided that he needed to see the world and set off with a sandwich, a kite and how map of the world. The illustrations are full of a sense of a future and Ivanhoe eventually sees that once he has finished hos sandwich, crossed the river and found the edge of the sea that maybe it is time to go home!

A great book for reading aloud and for children to follow their own dreams of adventure.

Recommend Our Little Inventor and Ivanhoe Swift Left Home at Six for ages 3- 7, children at home and in nursery and schools, libraries too!

Sue Martin

Lulu’s First Day by Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw

The DolphinSeptember 9, 2019

Getting ready for Pre- School Kindergarten is a big thing! Lulu is more than ready, or so she thinks. She has a brand new bag for all her things and a special water bottle. She would like to wear her very frilly party dress but Mum says, " Maybe not!"

Lulu's First Day is just the book to have for the start of life in education and learning. The illustrations are delightful and the text is just right for young children to hear and understand. It also makes a good start in finding words at the early reading stage.

Anna McQuinn is the author of Lulu's First Day and other books in the series and has a real talent for knowing which words to choose the important things for all young children.

Rosalind Beardshaw has some beautiful images in this book and they are warming and engaging.

Beautiful book from Alanna Max publishers, who are a small independent publishers and have a very exciting and appealing portfolio of books for young children.

Recommended for ages 2-4 years and for parents of any age!!

Sue Martin

Everyone Can Draw by Fifi Kuo

The DolphinAugust 11, 2019August 20, 2019

Everyone Can Draw celebrates the artist within us all. It encourages a discovery of our own unique way to draw and and to be successful in creating pictures.

If you are interested in drawing of any kind, from doodling to creating images using different mediums, then this is a great book to have and share with young children. The message is simple; that we can all draw and just need encouragement to pick up a pencil or a crayon and get drawing. Or we can use other things like needle and thread, our finger prints and paints...

The book was published in July 2019 by Boxer Books, who are very successful in publishing some brilliant picture books with a wide reaching portfolio.

Fifi Kuo is from Taiwan and graduated with a Masters in Illustration at The Cambridge School of Art. Her illustrations in Everyone Can Draw are beautiful and will capture imaginations for young children and older too.

Everyone Can Draw is already on the shortlist for many awards, including Cambridgeshire Libraries Picture Book Award- Read it Again 2019. Fifi has 3 previous titles which are very successful; I Can Fly, The Perfect Sofa and The Magic Hug.

Recommended for ages 2- 6 and adults will love it too.

Sue Martin

How to be a Butterfly by Laura Knowles & illustrated by Catell Ronca

The DolphinAugust 5, 2019

Did you know that there are 20,000 ways to be a butterfly? That's a lot of butterflies. Maybe you need to have a long curly proboscis, or lay your eggs in just the right spot, so the caterpillar babies can eat as soon as they hatch.

One thing you will need, is to have dazzling, bold colours, which look fantastic when you fly or are just staying still. And two antennae to smell for the flowers pollen and to help with balance. Some butterflies are very large with long wing spans. Another fact is that if your antennae are fuzzy, that means that you are not a butterfly but a moth!

Laura Knowles is the author of this exceptional book and she manages to choose just the right words, albeit just a few, to show diversity, interest and a real joy in the natural world.

Catell Ronch is the illustrator and her images of a number of coloured butterflies are stunning, each image is a true representation and in bold detail.

Words and Pictures are the publishers, part of Quarto Knows, and have an excellent way of publishing a great range of non fiction books which will appeal and interest young children.

We recommend for ages 2- 7, and especially early years, but How to Be a Butterfly will be a book that an adult will also pick up at the end of the day and not put down.

Sue Martin

Dare by Lorna Gutierrez and illustrated by Polly Noakes

The DolphinJuly 23, 2019

Dare to dream BIG... and help others speak out for what is right. An inspirational picture book full of messages of empowerment, encouragement and of daring to be the best person you can be.

'Dare to speak out when others won't.'

'Dare to sing and dare to dance'

'Dare to be a shining light'

They sound simple messages, but that is only if you live in a society that allows children to be brave, or live in a family which allows confidence. and love.

Dare, is full of positive images and will be a great book to have at home, nursery and at school, it will provoke many conversations. A picture book full of message and inspiration.

The author, Lorna Gutierrez is from America and enjoys her visits to London and Tiny Owl, the publishers, who have an incredible diverse book list for children.

The illustrator, Polly Noakes whose love of illustration started a long time ago at Cambridge School of Art where she recently returned and completed the MA in Children's Book Illustration. Her images are full of character, we love the faces of the cats and dogs especially.

Dare is a great favourite already with me, just buy the book and find out, that's a recommendation for anyone, young and older.

Sue Martin

Pink! by Lynne Rickards

The DolphinJuly 23, 2019July 23, 2019

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.

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

Dance, Dolphin, Dance – A Californian Ocean Adventure

The DolphinJuly 15, 2019July 23, 2019

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.

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

A Cat Called Trim

The DolphinJuly 8, 2019July 13, 2019

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.

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

Jasper Space Dog by Hilary Robinson

The DolphinJune 30, 2019July 1, 2019

Jasper Space Dog - image and web link — Buy this book - free delivery

Jasper Space Dog is the first in series of stories about a lovable hound with big ideas. Jasper travels and crosses time boundaries as he explores time and place. A great first chapter book which will be a good read for eager readers and for those who just love to find out more.

This first book (Moon Landing 50th Anniversary Edition) is about space and about traveling to the moon, with many references to just what it was like on those first journeys to the moon and the moon landing. Jasper just needs to know how a dog would survive.

"Would the astronauts have eaten hot dogs and how did they cook the sausages", he asks a Rocket Scientist who has all the answers to his questions.

A great addition to the story is the last section of the book which is about Apollo 11 and the crew who made the first journey to the moon and celebrated this with the first moon walk.

Buy this great book here....

Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin were the crew. Great timing to write about this book as Toy Story 4 hits the cinemas and my favourite character Buzz Light Year works with Woody and others to solve problems.

The author is Hilary Robinson, author, radio producer, broadcaster and feature writer. She was born in Devon and brought up in Nigeria and England.Author of over forty books for children. The illustrator is Lewis James, with some really appealing images, just right for an adventurous dog! It is published by Strauss Production

Recommenced in homes and schools as a great book for children around 6- 7 who are keen to read more. Look forward to the next books in the series of Jasper Dog.

Sue Martin