Magical Kingdom of Birds: The Sleepy Hummingbirds is the first book in an enchanting new series of children’s books celebrating the real-life beauty and wonder of the natural world. We speak to illustrator Rosie Butcher to find out what it’s like bringing this magical series to life! Rosie Butcher, illustrator of Magical Kingdom of Birds How did you approach illustrating the Magical Kingdom […]
Read moreTim Hopgood, author and illustrator shares his love of Louis Armstrong’s world-famous song What a Wonderful World and takes us behind the scenes of making it into a picture book and getting it published. One Father’s Day about five, six years ago my daughter gave me an old vinyl copy of Louis Armstrong’s rendition of What A […]
Read moreTatyana Feeney is author and illustrator of a brilliant series of books that tackle everyday toddler troubles. From losing a favourite blanket ( Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket ) to likes and dislikes ( Little Owl’s Orange Scarf ), her simple story and minimalist artwork speaks volumes. Where did the idea for her new book Little Frog’s Tadpole Trouble which deals with a new baby in the family come from? I have quite […]
Read moreThis month we’ve had the company of a rascally sea monkey, who has escaped from the pages of Oliver and the Seawigs to learn what it’s like to work in publishing and help us in the lead up to Christmas. It’s been an interesting time to say the least, and it does seem suspicious how all our mince pies and […]
Read moreTim Warnes on the joy of illustrating the Boris books and his inspiration behind some of the characters. I love working on the Boris books! They’re such great, warm-hearted stories, that working on Boris Gets Spots was like going back to an old pair of cosy slippers – comfy and relaxing! And I have to say I think […]
Read moreI love the comparison that’s often made between picture books and theatre. I’ve always felt shy about being on stage, but in illustrating picture books, I discovered I could be director, stage designer and a whole cast of actors, all from behind the scenes. For my latest book, this analogy even helped me discover a […]
Read moreKaren George shares her journey to becoming a published illustrator, with a little help from Waterstones and Julia Donaldson… In 2009, I won the Waterstones/Macmillan ‘Picture This’ competition, beating 900 hopeful unpublished illustrators to the top prize of illustrating Freddie and the Fairy for Julia Donaldson . The timing of the competition was perfect for me, my […]
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