Moira Butterfield's Blog, page 2

Rejection and Rubbish Are the Essential Stuff of Creation • by Natascha Biebow

I have been reading this book:

 

How to Fly A Horse: The Secret History of Creation,
Invention and Discovery by Kevin Ashton

 

Ashton is a technology pioneer, whose own personal journeyas an inventor proves his point. It was only as a result of tens of thousandsof hours of work, filled with failures, mistakes and flashes of inspiration,that he was able to build ‘the internet ofthings’.

 

He debunks the myth that creativity is the remit of the fewand that geniusus create in a dramatic moment of ‘eureka’ inspiration. Accordingto Ashton, there are no tricks or quick fixes, just hours of ordinary to reachthe extraordinary.

 

The title is intriguing, isn’t it? It comes from the story ofthe Wright Brothers’ process of inventing a flying machine. They were the firstpeople to fly, not because they were the first to build an airplane (manypeople had similar ideas!), but because they problem-solved how to make it flystep-by-step, rather than in one big leap. They observed how birds flew, butwhen they tried to replicate this, they noticed their contraption movederratically like an 'untrained horse'. Solving the problem of air gliding plusbalancing when dealing with a ‘bucking horse’, required failure, lateralthinking and resilience until they eventually put all the parts together.

 

The Wright Flyer airborne during the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States of America, 17 December 1903. Orville Wright is the pilot while Wilbur Wright runs alongside.
What does his have to do with being a picture book writer? Lots!

Here are some of my take-aways:

 

Ahston argues that creativity is innate, as much part ofbeing human as walking, talking or eating. People are not equally creative,just like we are not all equally athletic or mathematical thinkers, buteveryone can do it.  

 

• Creation is the result of many small incremental steps: when we look carefully, we can see that every innovation has been built on thefoundation of what has come before us. So, we are building on the sum of the workof authors and illustrators who have preceded us, across generations, continentsand cultures. There is always room to innovate further.

 

So, when we look at the competition and feel overwhelmed by all the amazing books already out there, or when we think someone else has already covered a topic about which we'd like to create a picture book, we can take a deep breath and continue.

 

• Everything you start with will probably be rubbish: whatwe first produce will not be as good as what we can create once it’s been reviewed,fine-tuned, refined, or even thrown out and begun again. So, start we must.  

 

“Goodwriting is bad writing well edited”  Ashton writes.

 

 

So it’s important to just start, repeat and repeat again. Stretchourselves to power through the nay-saying voices in our head and the temptationsto get way-laid by interruptions (coffee, email, researching randomia, thewashing, the dog . . .). Just work!

 

• Rejection is essential: everything is created by theprocess of failure to foundation.

 

When we look around and admire others’ amazing work, we oftendo not see what was thrown away, what failed and what didn’t make the cut. Rubbishis the foundation for innovation. Something to remember, too, when we receive those rejection letters when submitting - it's an opportunity to try again and do better!

 

“Innovation is whatever remains when all ourfailures are removed.” 

 

In every picture book I’ve ever edited, there is a wholeprocess that unfolds behind the scenes, but you wouldn’t glean any of thefrustrations, micro-decisions, re-thinks, and amends that go into each spread fromlooking at the finished book. Which is how it should be! Here is just one example of this:

 

From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George (published by Five Quills)

 

Figuring out how to show this turning point moment where Cotton Cloud is upset, thinking her rain might have made people sad was tricky. To give it more impact, we suggested zooming in and deleting the detail on the ground. The editor, designer, author and illustrator collaborated closely to solve this problem. (From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George)
 

The final artwork highlights the characters' emotional turning point with much more impact and draws in readers into the moment. (From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George)

The next spread needed adjusting too. (Picture books have an annoying habit of when you fix one thing, another unravels, but ultimately the end result is so much better!) Here, we see how Cotton Cloud's rain has brought joy and growth to the parched landscape, animals and people. This early rough was a great starting point, but we wanted to add more expression and emotion to this key moment. (From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George)

 

 

In this new rough, the characters are more prominent and Hannah's signature and delightful details draw in the readers with their stories. The author and I discussed amending the text to accompany the revised image - see final artwork below. (From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George)

 

(From Cotton Cloud Refuses to Rain by Elizabeth F Hill and Hannah George)

We each bring our point of difference, our unique ‘us’ toour work. It’s important to create prolifically, building on each other’s creativityin order to innovate.

 

“There are more people creating, so there are more toolsin the tool chain . . . so we have more time, space, health education, and informationfor creating.” Each creator is essential – and there’s room for all of us.

 

I found Ashton's book fascinating and I’d highly recommend it forthe curious creator.  More importantly, readingits stories provided me with an uplifting sense of the possible in what I might create, renewedconfidence and hope. 

 

_________________________________________________________________

 

Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor Want to level up your picture books? I am launching a new course!

Natascha is the author of the award-winning The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons, illustrated by Steven Salerno, winner of the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Books, and selected as a best STEM Book 2020. Editor of numerous prize-winning books, she runs Blue Elephant Storyshaping, an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission, and is the Editorial Director for Five Quills. Find out about her picture book webinar courses! She is Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles and was awarded an MBE for her services to children's book writers and illustrators. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com

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The Picture Book Tigers (with Mini Grey)

The Picture Book Tigers

A few months ago I madesome tiger bookmarks for the Bookmark Project, and then I did a tigermark giveawayon Twitter (formerly known as X) asking for favourite children’s tiger tales. Igot a lot of suggestions, and discovered that Picture Book Tigers aresimultaneously many things. 

One of my Tigermarks
So I thought I’d give youa quick tour of some of the things Picture Book Tigers can be.

Tigers can EAT YOU UP!!

These are tigers who are just plaindangerous and just want to eat you all up (like a shark or a monster might wantto). These Tigers tend to get outwitted.  

 In Whatever by William Bee –our boy who cannot be impressed by anything gets entirely eaten - the worst actually happens. 

In I am a Tiger (by Karl Newson and Ross Collins), Mouse is either masquerading as a tiger or genuinely thinks he is one. 

The embattled tiger gets a bit belittled by the unphaseable Mouse.

 

 

The controversial Little Black Sambo is all about outwitting the tiger. It was publishedin 1899, and Helen Bannerman wrote it to entertain her daughters. 

But through the 20th century, the characters' names and the depiction of Little Black Sambo came to be seen as offensive. For more about the history of this, see The Complicated Racial Politics of Little Black Sambo. 

But it has interesting tigers in it: they are obsessed with eating Little Sambo, but also proud and vain and boastful - and pretty stupid.

 

 

I came across it as a child, and what impressed me was how the outwitted tigers spin so fast round a tree that they melt into butter. Could tigers become butter?

The Sambo tigers wearing Sambo's shorts and shoes, looking very marvellous.

At the end, Sambo's mum makes pancakes with the tiger butter: "And then they all sat downto supper. And Black Mumbo ate Twenty-seven pancakes, and Black Jumbo ateFifty-five, but Little Black Sambo ate a Hundred and Sixty-nine, because he wasso hungry." 

Tigers can get their own back

Tipu's Tiger left, and on the right a moving carboard one I made from a kit.
As a child, I hated tigers being portrayed as the baddies. So I loved Tippoo’s Tiger – the tigergetting the upper paw. Finally the tiger wins. It was my favourite thing at the V&A. And it's a gruesome automaton - the betigered European gentleman waves his arm and makes a wailing sound, and the tiger's inner workings roar, powered by bellows.

Wild Tigers

In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan the lion is not a tame lion. Mr Beaver says " 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, Itell you." Mr. Tumnus also says, "He's wild, you know. Not atame lion." OK, that's about lions, but it also applies to tigers.

Take Mr Tiger Goes Wild by PeterBrown: in a Victorianly dressed world of repressed animals, Mr Tiger rips off his clothes and returns tothe jungle. Of course, there's always the moment where he goes too far, but then he helps everyone else to embrace their wild side. 

 

 Mr Tiger gets wilder...

...the moment when he goes a little too far.

Tigers who are really toysor maybe cats

A total favourite is Tigger from Winnie-The-Pooh: a toy tiger comealive, with irrepressible bounciness. 

In There’s a Tiger in theGarden  by Lizzy Stewart, Nora looks again at the ordinary and discovers the extraordinary and that there is a tiger in the garden. Maybe it is an imaginary friend tiger. Maybe it is a cat transformed.  "I’ll believe in you if you believe in me," it says.

 Here is Stripey the House Tiger (also know as Pepper my cat) trying out being on a cheeseboard.

  When I made this Picnic Tiger for AF Harrold's Book of Not Entirely Useful Advice, I didn't realise that I was subconsciously channelling Pepper. Note the Proud Chest.

Incidentally, domestic cats and wild cats all have a pretty similar body plan. This may be because cats are prettymuch perfect. For more about this have a look here with Professor Anjali Goswami (14 minutes in):The Speed of Life: A Deep-Time Perspective.

Carpet Tigers

Tigers are bright,stripy and dangerous – but this bold patterning also means that they look like they’re wearing pyjamas or a big furry onesie. This meansthey can masquerade as soft furnishings.

 

 

In The Tiger Skin Rug by Gerald Rose, a thin scrawny tiger spots ajob opportunity as a rug in the Maharaja’s palace. But then eating leftovers makes the tiger a bit too three dimensional to carry off the rug impersonation.

 

 

 

The Lying Carpet by DavidLucas contains another carpet-tiger. Is anything it says the truth? A statue of a little girl wants to know what she is; the carpet invents endless possibilities - but what's the truth, what to believe? A bit more about this here. 

 

 

Life of Pi - illustration by Andy Bridge

 

 

 

Stories and the Truth and what to believe are also at the heart of another tiger tale - Life of Pi by Yann Martell...

Tigers also lose things. In The Tiger Who Lost HisStripes by Anthony Paul and Michael Foreman, a gentlemanly tiger has to solve problems to have hisstripes returned. 

In Augustus by Catherine Rayner, it's a smile that's gone missing.

 

The missing smile has returned.

Mysterious Strangers

 

The most famous Picture Book Tiger has to be that one who comes to tea. It's a surprise visit from the unknown and untameable. And I think it's about longing. Longing for something exciting to happen in a day stretching dully ahead, a surprise knock on the door. 

 

But also longing for something big and strong and wild - look how Sophie strokes the tiger's tail as it licks up all the water from the tap, just like your cat would:. 

 More about The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr here, and also here.

Longing for tigers,imaginary friend tigers, tiger avatars

Who do you want to be your perfect imaginary friend, your best ever protector and guide? It has to be a tiger.

Illustration by Dave McKean
 Even better, a magical tiger. Tyger by SF Said takes me to the fearfully symmetrical Tyger of William Blake, staring balefully and burning bright.

 

The Sea Tiger by VictoriaTurnbull: underwater we find a heart’s desire Protector Tiger, a big brother guardian sea-angel for a little mer-boy.

 
 

(I'm also here mentioning Jim’s Lion,(written by Russell Hoban and illustrated by Alexis Deacon) even though it's a lion. Jim is very ill, and he he needs an avatar to fight fiercely for him, a finder to come for him in his dreams and pull him back to the world when he has a terrifying operation.)

 

 

Tigers can also be the thing that grown-ups can't notice. Look at the magnificent top-hatted tiger reading a comic book in There’s a Tiger on theTrain by Mariesa Dulak and Rebecca Cobb. 

Such a big tiger...

  I mean, a tiger who reads a comic book couldn't possibly hurt you, could it?

I love seeing from the tiger's point of view here.

More here: the author Mariesa Dulak interviewed by Pippa Goodheart.

  In Tiger Lily by Gwen Millward, Lily's imaginary tiger friend gets the blame when, as all tigers seem to do, it eventually goes a step too far into wild rumpus.

The Tiger at the Zoo

My favourite moment from The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell is when young Lucrezia strokes the tigress in her father's menagerie. "The tigress didn't so much pace as pour herself, as if  her very essence was moltten, simmering, like the ooze from a volcano." The tiger's fur is "pliant, warm, soft as down."

The nearest I’ve ever got to a real tiger was at London Zoo. The tigerwas just an inch of glass window away. I was baffled by its vividstripiness, its huge broad head, its colossal paws. And what I really wanted tohappen, was for the glass to disappear, and for the tiger to let me, and onlyme, bury my arms and head in its soft fur, and give it a wild hug.

Tigers seem to besimultaneously avatars, wildness personified, pyjama-wearers, gobblers-up ofsmall boys, mysterious strangers, your heart's desire, your date with destiny,completely unpredictable,jewel bright. Something wild, something longed for, danger just contained, somethingyou dream might love you back – and probably the only place that can reallyhappen…is in picture books. 

 

 

 

Mini's latest book is The Greatest Show on Earth, published by Puffin.
 

Can AI Write a Good Picture Book? Lynne Garner

In my role as a teacher, I’m being encouraged to embrace AI. As my boss say’s “it’s not going away.” So, I recently decided to explore AI and use it as a research tool for a small collection of how-to books I’m working on. The main issue I’ve had with the research the AI has produced is it makes up random URLs to support the information it’s found. This has meant I’ve had to find supporting information to ensure what it has created is correct. So, it’s not saved me any time. But I wondered how good or bad it would be at writing a picture book. So, I opened my usual AI platform and as July is ‘the’ month for being Wild About Wildlife (and I am wild about wildlife) I asked it to:

 

“Write a 1,000-word picture book story over 12 double page spreads based on the national celebration of wild about wildlife month.”

The results were not quite what I’d expected. This is what it generated.

 

Spread 1-2: Introduction

"Every July, a special celebration begins—Wild About Wildlife Month! All around the world, people come together to learn about, protect, and celebrate the amazing creatures that share our planet."

Illustration: A lush forest filled with animals, birds flying, deer grazing, and a river flowing through. 

 

Spread 3-4: The Forest

"In the forest, creatures big and small play important roles. Foxes dash through the trees, rabbits nibble on fresh green leaves, and birds sing beautiful songs from their treetop homes."

Illustration: A close-up of the forest, highlighting different animals like foxes, rabbits, and birds in their natural habitats.

 

Spread 5-6: The Ocean  

"Beneath the waves, the ocean teems with life. Fish of every colour swim gracefully, dolphins leap and play, and sea turtles glide through the deep blue sea. Each one is a treasure of the ocean."

Illustration: A vibrant underwater scene with colourful fish, a playful dolphin, and a majestic sea turtle. 

 

Spread 7-8: The Savanna  

"On the open savanna, mighty elephants roam, lions rest under the shade, zebras gallop across the plains, and giraffes stretch their necks to munch on tall trees. This is their wild kingdom."

Illustration: A vast savanna with elephants, lions, zebras, and giraffes under the bright sun.

 

Spread 9-10: The Mountains  

"High in the mountains, bears forage for berries, eagles soar high in the sky, and mountain goats leap from rock to rock. Life here is rugged and beautiful."

Illustration: Snow-capped mountains with a family of bears, a soaring eagle, and a shy mountain goat. 

 

Spread 11-12: The Desert

"In the desert, where the sun blazes hot, camels trek across sandy dunes, a fennec fox peeks out from its burrow, and cacti bloom with brilliant flowers, showing life thrives even in the driest places."

Illustration: A desert scene with camels, a fennec fox, and blooming cacti under a starry night sky.

 

Spread 13-14: The Rainforest  

"Deep in the rainforest, vibrant parrots chatter, monkeys swing from tree to tree, and sloths move slowly along the branches. This green world is full of wonder."

Illustration: A dense rainforest with colourful parrots, curious monkeys, and a slow-moving sloth. 

 

Spread 15-16: Protecting Wildlife  

"Wild About Wildlife Month reminds us that we can all help protect our wild friends. Planting trees, keeping rivers clean, and respecting animal homes make a big difference."

Illustration: Children planting trees, picking up trash, and observing animals respectfully. 

 

Spread 17-18: Learning and Exploring  

"Learning about wildlife is fun! Reading books, watching videos, and exploring nature helps us understand how important these creatures are to our world."

Illustration: A classroom with children looking at books, a computer showing wildlife videos, and a teacher holding a globe. 

 

Spread 19-20: Families Celebrating  

"Families celebrate together by having picnics in the park, watching birds through binoculars, and even joining wildlife parades. It's a month full of joy and discovery."

Illustration: Families having a picnic in a park, watching birds, and participating in a wildlife-themed parade. 

 

Spread 21-22: Our Wild Planet  

"Our planet is home to so many amazing animals. From the tiniest insects to the largest whales, every creature plays a part in the web of life. Let's celebrate and protect them all!"

Illustration: A globe showing different habitats with animals from each habitat around it. 

 

Spread 23-24: Conclusion  

"As Wild About Wildlife Month comes to an end, remember to carry its spirit in your heart all year long. Let's be kind to animals and the earth, and always stay wild about wildlife!"

Illustration: A beautiful sunset over a landscape filled with diverse wildlife, a rainbow in the sky. 

 

Back Cover:

"Join the adventure! Celebrate the beauty and importance of wildlife with this colourful journey through different habitats. Let's protect and cherish our wild friends every day!"

Illustration: A montage of various animals from the book with the words "Wild About Wildlife" prominently displayed. 

 

As you can see it’s not a story. There’s no character having to resolve a problem. No story arc. No use of the magic number three. No nice surprise plot twist or resolution and some of the text feels a bit preachy.

 

But what it has produced is the possibility of a non-fiction picture book. Perhaps the text from the first page could become part of my book blub:

 

Every July, a special celebration begins—Wild About Wildlife Month!

All around the world, people come together to learn about, protect,

and celebrate the amazing creatures that share our planet."

 

Perhaps I’d use this or something based on this from pages 21/22 as my opening double page spread:

 

Illustration: A globe showing different habitats with animals from each habitat around it.

 

“Our planet is home to so many amazing animals. From the tiniest insects to the largest whales, every creature plays a part in the web of life.”

 

I’d then explore some of the habitats already highlighted. But I’d expand it and explore all of the habitat’s found on this wondrous planet. Perhaps I’d work on the idea of the web of life for each of the habitats, which is mentioned in spread 21/22.

 

Or…

 

Perhaps I could create a character who is wild about wildlife and travels the world and explores each habitat in a stand-alone book. Oh, I’ve just created a series. Perhaps they solve a wildlife issue. Maybe like this wonderful man who provides new homes for hermit crabs who have been forced to make homes from our rubbish. Check him out below: 

So although what was generated wasn’t what I wanted or expected it has generated something I could work with.

 

My conclusion from this experiment is I’m not too worried about AI at the moment. But as it progresses, I may change my mind and worry writers will become the endangered species.

 

However, I wonder if will it ever be able to make the leaps I’ve made whilst writing this post? I wanted a stand-alone picture book story but I've ended up with an entire non-fiction series. 

 

If there’s an editor out there looking for a new non-fiction series, please feel free to contact me. 😁

Last but not least how do you feel about AI and picture books?

Did you know that UK authors get together? Moira Butterfield

 IMPORTANT TIP! There’s a very useful thing you can do to help you feel happier as an author, and that’s talk to other authors! 

 

I can recommend this from experience. A few years ago a fellow author introduced me to the Scattered Authors Society, a UK-wide group of traditionally published children’s authors of all sorts (with some living in other parts of Europe). It was set up by authors for authors. Authors do the admin and run the online chats and events for each other. 

 

There’s a retreat or two held every year for those who'd like to spend a few days in person with fellow authors. The attendees run creative workshops for each other and spend precious time writing as well as socialising. I went to my first one filled with trepidation and imposter syndrome, but I didn’t have to worry. I soon made connections and found the creative author-run workshops a revelation. They have really helped me to free-up and vary my writing. The workshops are varied and inclusive, from creative art to problem-solving sessions and writing games that push creative buttons! 

 

Meanwhile there’s a Facebook group for us to chat privately between ourselves. Anyone can post a question or observation – does someone have advice on school visit fees, a new keyboard, a book title dilemma, a difficult edit, getting a new agent or chasing payment, for example? There are sensible rules to the group – nothing defamatory – to make it work the best it can. Twitter/X it most definitely is not. It’s friendly and supportive. 

 

We are planning on having more local meetings in the future, where authors in the same area get together to have some fun creative time with minimal cost. We had our first local meet-up of 'sassies' in the southwest last week, and we were so excited to be together we talked and talked, as well as having a writing game or two and eating the delicious treats brought by everybody. 

 

We also have regular zoom get-togethers for members who want to drop by online. Some of these are social ‘hellos’ and we’ve decided that some in the future are going to focus on specific topics of interest to authors - school visits or applying for grants, for example. By pooling our knowledge we benefit each other. 

 

There are regular blogs, too, on books that people have read and would like to discuss. 

 

The whole thing is a £15 fee for life – just a one-off payment and you’re in for good! 

 

Do check out the website at scatteredauthors.org  (where you’ll be greeted with a picture of our fab winter woodland retreat location).  

 

It would be great to welcome you! 

 

 scatteredauthors.org

Moira Butterfield has published many books for children. She is looking forward to August, when Nosy Crow publishes Welcome to Our Playground, the follow-up to her bestselling Welcome to Our World. Nosy Crow will also be publishing Look What I Found by the River, a follow-up in Moira's National Trust Look What I Found series. 

www.moirabutterfield.co.ukinstagram @moirabutterfieldauthor

 

Picture Books To Celebrate Fatherhood All Year Round - Garry Parsons

One of my favourite depictions of fatherhood is the moment Geppetto lifts Pinocchio off the floor and joyfully whirls him around the room at the end of the Disney movie. This is the very last scene in the movie where distraught Geppetto is sobbing on the bed and all looks lost. But when he lifts his head to see who’s talking he realises that Pinocchio is not only alive after the ordeal with the whale but has magically been transformed into a real boy. 

 

Pinocchio - Disney 1940
 

I’m sure we’d all agree that Geppetto’s parenting skills in the movie require some attention but what I love about that final scene is the overwhelming sense of joy Geppetto has at being a father and the relief he has to be reunited with his son.  You can watch the scene on youtube here.

Like Geppetto, no one is perfect at being a parent and nor would we want to be, but Dads in picture books often seem to get a raw deal. Dads are often depicted as caricatures of dads, preoccupied with tasks in the shed, washing the car or tinkering under the bonnet. Sometimes unkempt or dishevelled, they can appear absent minded, aloof or uncaring, preferring to fix things than parent directly. 

Dads generally appear less in picture books than mums too and are more likely to play background roles. There are certainly more mums in picture books than dads but that is probably a fair representation of who is taking on most of the full time parenting today, particularly with books for younger children. Dads in picture books can be on the periphery of family life or simply absent from the story altogether, but that might also be a reflection on the world we live in too. 

From Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina & Doug Salati
 

So it’s heart-warming to see Dad characters coming to the fore in picture books. Dads who care and parent from a place of nurture (“Lawrence in the Fall”) and dads who are gentle and willing to listen (“Jabari Jumps”) And dads who are keen to impart wisdom and help their children grow. 

What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers 

As it is Father’s Day this weekend we have good reason to delve back into the book shelf and pull out some old favourites too. 

Don’t Let Go! By Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross.
 

I’ve picked out a few picture books with strong father figure characters who, I feel, have a lot to give and that you might enjoy too.

 Lawrence and his Papa go searching in the woods to collect things to show in school. Papa gently departs his knowledge of the forest and his wisdom of how the world works. In a moment when they become separated, Lawrence discovers a forest secret of his own. A tender story of the bond between father and son where the characters express clear emotion, beautifully illustrated scenes and characters that capture the tenderness and wild elements of the landscape.

What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers is a story of a father and daughter setting out plans for their life together, building memories and a home to keep them safe. A moving story of love and protection.

 

A story about courage and gentle parental encouragement. Jabari has made his mind up that he is going to take a leap from the diving board but it's high and a little scary but he has his dad with him for support.

 

Pete’s A Pizza by William Steig is a firm favourite in our house and never ceases to bring a smile. It's raining outside and Pete can't go outside to play. Pete's attentive dad decides to make him into a pizza instead and bake him on the sofa. A funny and warm story around the kindness of a tuned-in dad with paired-down but spot-on illustrations.

A Brave Bear is a contemplative story of gentle parenting and attentive awareness. Dad has to navigate encouragement and some sulking when his son has ambitions of jumping big and grazes his knee in the wilds of the forest. Beautiful, textured illustrations from Emily Hughes.

Another enduring favourite in our house is Don’t Let Go! By Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross. A little girl wants to visit her daddy but to do that she needs his help to learn to ride her bike. "Daddy, I'm here, I won't let go. Not until you say. Hold on tight. I love you, so - We'll do this together...OK?"  Prepare to be moved by this affectionate father and daughter relationship.

 

Great for younger readers, My Daddy is a Giant is a simple celebration of a father with Indrid Godon's uniquely wonderful illustrations.

Dad is competently in charge, doing some chores and caring for his daughter Trixie at the same time and doing a fine job of it until it all goes wrong at the laundromat. When you're attention is focused on your toddler be prepared to make mistakes!
 

Stereotypically manly men are shown in emotional or scary moments in Tough Guys (Have Feeling Too) by Keith Negly. Evertone has feelings, unless you are a robot!

 

And to return to Geppetto and his son, Pinocchio by Pinocchio, retold by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark

As ever, please use the comments section to recommend your favourites and let’s celebrate the fully formed Dad in picture books all year round.  Happy Fathers Day!

 ***

Garry Parsons is an award winning illustrator of children’s books and father to two boys. 

Garry is the illustrator of My Daddies! By Gareth Peter. 

@icandrawdinoswww.garryparsons.co.uk 

 

CAN YOU READ A BOOK WITHOUT WORDS? by Clare Helen Welsh

Since you’ve found yourself here, at Picture Book Den, Isuspect you'll agree with me that picture books are incredible. The best ones, even magical.

Listeningto the rhythm, joining in with the words, trying out voices, pointing to thepictures... the pace, the pauses, the ups and the downs... all work together asthe story unfolds, delivering an ending that make little hands want to read itall over again. Sharing a picture book creates time to talk, to learn, tofeel and explore giving children space to see and hear and respond.

Yes. I am ahuge advocate of picture books and the magic they hold.

But whatabout a book with little or no words? Can they support children’s development?Can they be magical too?

Harry Woodgate, me and Emma Reynolds outside Bologna Book Fair

I recentlyvisited the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna whereI spent quite some time in the Silent Stories Exhibit.The walls were literally lined with wordless wonders – several internal spreadsfrom wordless projects enlarged and framed, and the full books below. In myview, wordless spreads absolutely CAN be as magical as books with words, maybeeven more so. 

Here'swhy...

 

Cercas Gambas by Irene Frigo

There is a chair in themiddle of nowhere. How it ended up there is unknown, but in the end it doesn'teven matter. What is known is that that chair is missing aleg. Not that this makes it any less of a chair, but those who pass by are ledto think that additional support could be useful. 

So, the most disparatethings, from baguettes to umbrellas, from footballs to trumpets, are placedlike prosthetics where the front right leg is not there. But baguettes are easyprey for hungry mice, umbrellas attract customers caught in the rain, balloonsfly away and trumpets are made to be blown. 

This bookmade me smile. It made me think deeply about the wider world and that the chairwas perhaps a metaphor for something else... and all through the exploration ofa chair with a missing a leg.

Picture books make us think deeply, and without any words!

 

WINDOWS by Lana Alma

This book explores our perception of othersthrough the metaphor of viewing fragments of people's lives through ‘windows.'It shows us how our beliefs shape our understanding, revealing that behind thecurtains of perception, wondrous things might await, and our own monsters maynot be monstrous at all.

This was another thought-provoking story - a simple but memorablewordless book poised to challenge readers and the judgements they make. 

Picture books can challenge stereotypes - and they can do it withoutwords.  

PIANTALA by Alessia Roselli

This book featured a woodcutter who cuts down trees in the forest,disturbing the peace and balance in nature. But the woodcutter has a change ofheart when they have a close encounter with a wolf who forces them to takerefuge in a tree - nature bites back! 

 This wordless story tells us the importance of respecting theenvironment in which we live, which gives so much to us every day, withoutasking for anything in return. 

Wordless picture books have the power to inspire their readers to careand respect nature... and yet they have no words.   

IL CORAGGIODI SUSY by Betty

Susy is a smart, curiouslittle girl. She is happy in the house she grows up, and in her village, butwith her fears also grow like a big black shadow that follows her everywhere.Her fear becomes bigger every day. When Susy notices the ugly monsterbehind her she is not afraid, she goes to the mirror to look at it better, eventhough it is really scary up close. 

This was an empowering - andat times, terrifying - story of courage and self-belief. 

Wordlesspicture books have the power to portray children's struggles and suggest copingstrategies for difficult times. 

 

EVERYKINDNESS by Marta Bartolj

I also came across this bookby Marta Bartolj. It's again, completely wordless, and depicts random acts ofkindness across a community in a distinctive and deceptively simple way. There'splenty happening in the foreground and background of the illustrations and whatgoes around comes around for the main character.

Wordless picture books canencourage their readers to think about how their actions affect others.Wordless picture books can inspire empathy. 

SENZA FINEby Zongxi Deng

Probably the book that madethe most impact on me, was this one by Zongxi Deng called SenzaFine. As with the other wordless picture books, it was powerful anddeceptively simple, about a man who chooses which animal he wants to bereincarnated as after he passes away. Perhaps not everything disappears. Perhaps something remains...albeit in a different form. 

The Silent Storiesexhibition was incredibly popular and at times there were several peoplecrowded around the same book. When I read Senza Fine, I did so withanother lady. We didn't communicate in words - I don't think we spoke the samelanguage - but we made eye contact, we smiled and communicated through bodylanguage as we turned the pages and connected over our love for this book andits impactful end... and all without saying a word. 

Wordlesspicture books create connection, even without words. 

So, can you read a wordless picture?

Absolutely! You can!

Pictures books tell stories with or without theaddition of words. And they do this through pictures. 

Visual literacy is the skill of inferring meaning fromimages - analysing them, interrogating them, making sense of them. Wordlesspictures books still have characters, plots, crisis points, resolutions,themes... you can ask yourself them same who, what, where, when, why questionsas you would with any other picture book... because they have pictures doing the work and telling the story. 

Picture books are praised for the high quality talkthey provide. A wordless picture book can be even more powerful,with even more opportunities to grow discussion and to askquestions. And this is all thanks to the enchanting, terryfying, inspiring, beautiful, thoughtful, magical world of the illustrations.

OK, so you can't listen to the rhythm of the words or join inwith the refrain and voices... 

But you can make up yourown and that might be better! 

You can still feel thepace, the pauses, the ups and the downs... absorbing the story visually as itstory unfolds. Sharing a wordless picture book still createstime to talk, to learn, to feel and explore through giving children spaceto see and hear and respond.

In fact, given that there’sno right or wrong way to tell a wordless story, it can lead to more talktime for co-creating the story together. There’s more opportunityto explore the detail, notice the nuance and challenging readers to lookbeneath the surface and bring their own experiences, attitudes, emotions andideas to the characters and plot. 

In my opinion, wordlesspicture books are a challenge, a joy, a wonder. The ones I read at the SilentStories exhibit, empowered me, inspired me, made me smile, made me think andbrought me connection. When a story is shared, be it through listening, speaking, writing, we are all richer for it - be it through words, pictures or a combination.

These ideasare exactly what I was channelling when I wrote Moon Bear –an almost wordless, enchantingly illustrated picture bookabout a child called Ettie who is afraid of the dark. Ettie meets a bear is whoafraid of the light, and together they learn about the magic of thenight. Here I amholding a physical copy at the Quarto stand in Bologna! It's a sensationalproduction and has been created with my co-collaborators - illustratorCarolina T. Godina, editor Claire Grace, designer Karissa Santos, and publisherFrances Lincoln.

I’m lookingforward to sharing the magic of wordless picture books with readers andfamilies when Moon Bear publishes later thismonth. When shared with children, wordless picture books can inspire confidence, helping them feel confident to read at their own pace and making them an active participant in the storytelling. I’m hoping that the story sessions I run will be even more powerful,especially with the children who do not write or who do not want to write. I’vegot some workshop ideas that I’m really excited about. Will less words equal more power and more magic? Watch this space!

This leads me nicely into the pitch for my next Picture Book Den article,coming in October. 

Can you write a wordless picture book?

Absolutely! You can!

Clare HelenWelsh is a children's writer from Devon. She writes fiction andnon-fiction picture book texts - sometimes funny, sometimes lyrical andeverything in between! Her latest picture book is called 'MoonBear,' illustrated by Carolina T. Godina and published by FrancesLincolm. You can find out more about herat her website www.clarehelenwelsh.com or on Twitter @ClareHelenWelsh . Clare isrepresented by Alice Williams at AliceWilliams Literary and is the founder of #BooksThatHelp. 

The One-Hour Picture Book -Be More Quantity by Juliet Clare Bell

There’s an anecdotal story told about surrealistphotographer Jerry Uelsmann and how he tried to motivate his BeginningPhotography students at the University of Florida:

(c) Giuliano De Portu

He gave half the class a quantity assignment, wherethey were to take photos and their grade would be based solely on quantity: 100photos at the end of the semester would get an A; 90 would get a B, and so on. Andhe gave the other half a quality assignment. They only had to submit onephoto and it would be graded according to its quality. At the end of thesemester, Uelsmann found that the best quality photos were actually from the quantityhalf, where the students had experimented and learned along the way through thepractice of actually taking multiple photographs.

This has been described in Atomic Habits by James Clear, andless accurately in Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

(by their own admission) but howeveraccurate, I know that if I’d been in the quality group, I’d have taken that onephotograph so seriously and the thought of it not being amazing would have weighedso heavily on my mind that it would have massively stifled my creativity. My takehome message from the story is clear:

·         * Stop feeling pressured about an individualproject you’re working on

·         * Don’t think of yourself being a picture bookauthor as being someone who produces one book every so often (or not so often)after months of hard graft

·         * Don’t take yourself too seriously

·         * Sit down and get on with it

·         * Practise the form again and again and again

·         * Don’t worry if lots of your manuscripts are terribleand wholly unworthy of being sent to publishers/your agent

·         * That’s kind of the point.

·         * Just do it.

·         * And then just do it again.

·         * And then just do it some more…

·         * so you’re so used to the practise of sittingdown and turning up to write that you’re going to come up with far more reallygood manuscripts/germs of an idea than you would by treating the production ofideas as wholly organic and the turning of the idea into a book as supercomplex

·        If you treat each idea like it needs to be executedperfectly from the start then you’re not going to get nearly as far as youwould -even with the same idea- as if you’re freer and prepared to play andexperiment rather than treat it with kid gloves

·        And there will be some gems, or at least gems of an idea, that you would never have if you were treating each idea as if it were etherealand fragile.

 

I said the take home message for me was clear -not concise. Andthat’s part of the issue. If I don’t set constraints, then I over-write,over-think and procrastinate wildly. I make it way more complicated than itneeds to be. In fact, it can be concise:

·        Be more quantity.

 

A few years ago, a small group of us picture book writersand illustrators, high on the excitement of a weekend spent together at apicture book retreat

                           SCBWI British Isles Picture Book Retreat 2023 (c) Tita Berredo               (wrong year for the story but everyone from the 'Two a Month' group is in the picture)

decided that we should try and mimic Jerry Uelsmann’s practice.And for a while, we committed to focusing on quantity over quality in picturebook creation (as an exercise) andagreed to show up once a month online with two completed picture book drafts,however rough (the point wasn’t to get critique on the manuscripts but to keepeach other accountable for creating more, and really regularly). Whilst itlasted, it was really helpful and we were all more productive -and without activelytrying to come up with even more ideas, I was coming up with way more ideasthan the two drafts a month. But as is so often the case, life got in the wayand we were all busy with other commitments and deadlines and we stopped.

It was a good attempt at channelling Jerry Uelsmann, and theconstraint of writing two a month and knowing that we were celebratingconsistent quantity over quality was helpful, but perhaps the constraints weren’tquite enough for me and I needed to constrain my parameters even more…

Constraints

I’ve always loved the constraints when writing a picturebook (every word matters, twelve to fourteen spreads, making use of the formwith page turns and reveals etc.). Constraints can be extremely helpful, especiallyfor those of us who are prone to distraction (you’ve caught me mid-sentence,scratching away at my tab key as I try and type, but seriously, how did it getthat grubby…?)

I’ve recently written a series of early readers for apublisher and the construction of the books is full of constraints -very low wordcount, restricted word choice, reduced spreads, specific characters, etc.. Andbecause it’s for a series of educational books, the deadlines are closetogether, there’s a quick turnaround between handing the first draft in,getting feedback and editing before handing over the final draft, and it’s wayharder to procrastinate… Research for the level and the individual books takesa lot of time but by the end of the series of books, I’d got into a half-decenthabit of quickly mapping out and writing the actual first draft.

When we were talking at our local SCBWI at the weekend

                                       Our local SCBWI Central West group this weekend

another picture book creator talked about needing to stop taking her work soseriously and I mentioned the quantity vs quality story. I also said how we’dtried a two-a-month group, how we’d previously done speed-dating with picturebook ideas generated in Storystorm month (if you want to know how, here’s a guest blogpost I wrote for Storystorm 2019, we remembered how we’d done a ‘picture book in a day’ session a yearearlier in one of our local meet-ups and I mentioned how I’d been mapping out andwriting my first draft  stories for theearly readers really quickly. I said it was amazing what you could actually doin a hour if you really focused…

So she called me on it. Why didn’t we write a picturebook there and then in an hour (without any preparation -and for me, at least,any idea of what I’d write about)?

I spent the first ten minutes brainstorming and identifyingwhat I might write about (what issues have been on my mind lately that might resonate with young children) and then drew out twelve spreads and wrote thestory.

Did we finish a scrappy first draft in an hour?

    Yes. We both did!

Were we surprised?

    Yes. Extremely!

In fact, by the end of that hour, we’d even both managed alight edit.

Was it our best manuscript to date?

    No. But that’s not the point. We both created a whole(scrappy) manuscript in an hour, a whole story that had not existed just sixtyminutes earlier.

Was it helpful that the other person was there, bodydoubling, to keep up accountable?

    Absolutely.

Would it be replicable back home, alone?

    It turns out, yes… I tried again yesterday, specifically forthis blogpost, and I managed it. It's not as interesting as the first one (which I'll definitely do more editing on and see how it goes) but that doesn't matter at all...

 

Memory

My memory is terrible. As someone who is perimenopausal ontop of ADHD and aphantasia (where I can’t visualise, see https://picturebookden.blogspot.com/2016/03/picture-yellow-square-rotating-towards.html)I need all the help I can get to remind me that I’m a picture book author. I literallyforget almost every day -like I literally forget we have a garden for most of theyear because we can’t see it from the house as the windows don’t overlook it.And in the way that I actually have a picture of me looking happy in the garden,displayed prominently to remind myself that we have a garden and I love beingin it, I need prompts to remember I’m a picture book writer. Making myselfwrite picture book drafts really regularly is a very practical way of helpingme remember that I am actually a picture book writer. 

Why not have a go? 

This could be for you if you

·        Take yourself too seriously

·        Take your writing too seriously (to the pointwhere you stop taking risks because you don’t want to get it wrong)

·        Struggle to start writing

·        Struggle to finish writing

·        Forget that you’re a picture book writer (andwant a really regular reminder)

·        Have ADHD and need the dopamine boost of a super-quickdeadline

       Just want a fun challenge

 

I try loads of different strategies all the time to make memore productive and procrastinate less. I’m really keen to getthis going and I’ll be doing another tomorrow at our local Society of Authorsmeet up where we’re writing together for one hour (perfect timing!) After that,I’ve got hundreds of tiny ideas from various Storystorms and in general. I’mgoing to write each one on a slip of paper, put the slips of paper in a jar andpull one out at random at least three times a week to create at least twelvepicture book first scrappy drafts in the coming month. I write for an hour eachmorning at 6am anyway as it’s my best time of day so I will just be moreorganised in what I write during those times. I can certainly afford to spend threehours a week working on something new (three somethings new) and out of thosetwelve there might even be one that’s worth pursuing. And if there isn’t? Hasit been a waste of time?

Absolutely not. I’ll be strengthening my picture book muscle,getting better at ignoring my inner critic and absolutely remembering that I ama picture book writer. My new motto:

Be More Quantity.

(The quality will follow.)

Are you up for trying it out? Do you have any tips for non-precious writing? If so, I'd love to hear in the comments. 

Juliet Clare Bell is a children's author of over 35 picture books and early readers. www.julietclarebell.com

 

 

The double-joys of bi-lingual books by Chitra Soundar

 

I was in a class recently where the children were from China and Korea and it was their first week and they had no idea what I was talking about or their classmates. How wonderful it would have been to give them books that have English and their own language – so they can learn the new language faster. 
As a child, I grew up in a tri-lingual home. All my parents spoke the same language – Tamil but I was at a school that taught in English and I wanted to learn Hindi – another Indian language. But often the books were in one language or the other. I wonder how wonderful it would have been if I had been able to read the same story in two languages – how my vocabulary and command of language and syntax would have grown. 
In an increasingly connected world, many children today are either bi-lingual or need to be bi-lingual. From emigrating parents to people forced to move to safer places across the world, our need for being able to speak more than one language has grown multi-fold.
I come from India which is the fifth largest English-language publishing country in the world. However less than 25% of Indians speak / read / write in English. The rest of the country speaks, writes and reads in regional languages. So there is a big need for bi-lingual books with one of the language being English.
Illustrated by Uttara Sivadas
Illustrated by Priya Kuriyan

Two of my titles were published as bi-lingual titles – English with 5 different Indian languages to facilitate this – a reader who is aspiring to read English can read and comprehend the story in their own language, while they are slowly recognising and learning the new English words. 
As I visit schools in England, I realise that we have a dearth of bi-lingual books in our midst.  
It is also would be of great help to British and immigrant families if the child who can read in English and the parent who can read in their own language to share a story, share an experience.
Research shows that the reader can be empowered to learn on their own by giving them text in one familiar language alongside the new language they are trying to learn.  And it also improves their metalinguistic awareness – the sentence structure, the grammar and the noun-verb order if you will, between the two languages – making it easy for them to translate what they want to say into the new language until they start thinking in the new language. 
https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/harperkids/6-benefits-of-bilingual-stories-learning-a-new-language-for-children 
Publishing English-language picture books and early chapter books in bilingual editions especially in languages of those who seek refuge in our shores, is an act of welcome – a gesture that tells them that we are going to help them integrate into their new communities. 
Illustrated by Kanika Nair

But even in the case of expats and those who are second or third generation children, stories that are culturally relevant and are bi-lingually told can help the reader connect with their own language, culture and roots. Parents can use the book to keep their own language alive in their new home – a connection to the roots. 
This is also true for many countries where the dominant language is English but the older native languages are on the wane because of using the dominant language – Welsh, Gaelic and many indigenous languages in Australia, NZ, and North America   are fighting for space amongst their native speakers. 
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/home-truths-decline-of-welsh-language/ 

There are a few publishers in the UK who cater to dual-language publishing. And I think it is not enough. It is important that all publishers who publish picture books should try and find a way to integrate this into their list. https://atebol.com/about-us/ https://uk.mantralingua.com/  
However, the lack of such bi-lingual books in the UK is a reminder that we don’t have many tools in the UK to welcome non-English speakers. We expect that everyone speaks English and must do so if they can’t. 
There are a number of ways publishers can address this. Here are some of my own ideas.
a) When stories are relevant to a culture, and written by someone from that heritage, it will be great to explore if the book can be turned into a bi-lingual edition.b) Creating learning books – like stories for phonics and reading bands in bi-lingual editions to get the parents involved in the stories.c) Bringing books from other countries and publishing bi-lingual editions.
And to illustrate how it can help readers and communities, here is a reading of my picture book from Tulika Books being read in two languages by a librarian in the US.


What do you think about bi-lingual books. Are there any situations where it is not appropriate? Is there a specific book you would love to read in another language? Do you know of other publishers who publish dual-language books? Share with us. 

Chitra Soundar is an internationally published, award-winning author of children’s books and an oral storyteller. Chitra regularly visits schools, libraries and presents at national and international literary festivals. She often runs writers' surgeries, courses and teaches writing to writers, teachers and children. She is also the creator of The Colourful Bookshelf, a curated place for books for children by British authors and illustrators.  

 Find out more at http://www.chitrasoundar.com/ and follow her on X (ex-twitter) here and Instagram here.

BIBLIOTHERAPY: BOOKS ABOUT BIG FEELINGS HEAL! • by Natascha Biebow

If you knowme, it’s no secret if that I don’t go anywhere without a book to read. At theend of the day, I turn to a book to offer a quiet space of calm, a welcomeescape that sets me up for a good night’s sleep. Reading makes me feel centredand whole. I like to sit and look at my bookshelf and find the book for thatmoment, for that frame of mind, for that state of heart. THERE IS A BOOK FOR THAT!

 There's a book for that, no matter what!

Much hasbeen written about the importance of books in instilling empathyin young readers, and how reading is the key for children’s success in laterlife. But can reading also heal? Are books actually good for our mental health?

 

According to neuroscientist and science journalist RichardSima, “Researchers are investigating the impact of reading experiences andreporting evidence of promising mental and social health benefits . . . Nowpractitioners are exploring new models using the literary arts to supportmental health in clinics, classrooms, and communities worldwide.”

 

Young children may have not yet experienced the whole wide world,
but they still have big feelings and need ways to process and deal with them.

 

We are wired for story. In the early years, the lines between pretend and reality are frequently blurred. Young children are often deeply connected to fictional characters and toys, interacting with them as if they were real. They are naturally drawn to telling and inventing stories in their imaginative play. For young children fictional characters can seem rea

Reading stories allows children to step into others’ shoes, building neural pathays in their brains that prompt new ways of responding to situations (Tamir, D. I. et al., 2016). The more these new neural routes are used and practised, with each re-reading of the story, the more routine they become. Reading with a trusted adult can help children navigate their own big feelings and experiences, because stories validate children’s experiences and emotions and model new ways of thinking. 

 

Reading together can be healing.

In this study, researchers proposed that Bibliotherapy could offer a low-cost and accessible way to improve the mental health. How does it work? There are three stages:

Identification: the reader identifies with a story characterand bonds with them.

 

Catharsis: through the story, the reader experiences the conflict alongside thecharacter and how s/he resolves it.

 

Insight: the reader reflects on their own circumstances inrelation to the story – the characters’ emotions, behaviours and conflictresolution model - and considers how they might apply these tools to their ownlives.

 

Bibliotherapy

 

• validates young readers’ emotions and experiences

• models how to self-regulate, deal with conflict and bigemotions

• opens a dialogue using the story as a vehicle for startingthe discussion

 

I recentlyattended an excellent SCBWI talk by Melissa Manlove, formerly Executive Editorat Chronicle Books, “The Big FeelingsPicture Book Workshop: Transforming Your Past Into Reader's Futures”. In theseminar, Manlove argued that “children's emotional lives are as big and as richas adults’—and that they need stories that honor that and help them tonavigate these essentially human experiences.”

 

All children deserve a wide variety of books to reflect their feelings and experiences. Libraries in schools and communities are essential resources for creating access to bibliotherapy!

Something Melissa said in hertalk resonated with me – happy children are not children who don’t know pain,trauma or difficult situations; they are not children who don’t have bigfeelings.  

All children are dealingwith something, small problems – like finding friends or fear of the dark – and difficult, bigger issues – like having lost a loved one, grappling with injustice,or the displacement of war –

 

But the difference is thathappy, well-adjusted children know there is a path to the top of the mountain:

 

THEY HAVE A BOOK FOR THAT!

  #ReadForEmpthy Collection 2024

Stories children them thatthere is a path, a way forward to get to the other side of the hard, biggerissues. Children need to know that there are ways to slay their dragons, todeal with their problems. 

 

Stories offer a path - empathy, hope and sometimes solutions.
 

Books offer a safe space for exploring big feelings and big or small problems. 

 

Melissa encouraged authorsto not shy away from tackling big feelings and big issues in picture books,just because they’re for younger readers, but instead to show children the path for how theymight solve and navigate these through story. It is up to us to create the book forTHAT! ⭐

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By tapping into our own big feelings and ways to navigate life, our childhood memories and experiences, and then innovate in a child-centred way, we can create books that will empower and resonate with the young readers of the future. ⭐

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*Find recommendations of books that inspire empathy in the #ReadForEmpthy Collection 2024
*And Books that Help when the Words are Hard to Find on Books That Help

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Natascha Biebow, MBE, Author, Editor and Mentor

Natascha is the author of the award-winning The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons, illustrated by Steven Salerno, winner of the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children's Books, and selected as a best STEM Book 2020. Editor of numerous prize-winning books, she runs Blue Elephant Storyshaping, an editing, coaching and mentoring service aimed at empowering writers and illustrators to fine-tune their work pre-submission, and is the Editorial Director for Five Quills. Find out about her new picture book webinar courses! She is Co-Regional Advisor (Co-Chair) of SCBWI British Isles. Find her at www.nataschabiebow.com

Some Exciting New Children's Book Illustrators to Look Out For, by Pippa Goodhart

    In an empty shop unit in a shopping centre in Cambridge in February, Anglia Ruskin University Children's Book Illustration students put on a pop-up show of artwork from some of their graduates; From Sketch to Story. They were happy for me to take photographs, so here is my personal selection from that exhibition, of images from relatively new illustrators. Enjoy!

Spot the fox! This is by Aoife Greenham (aoifegreenham.co.uk), from her book, The Deers Cry. She says on her website, 'The Deers Cry is an illustrated extract from the Old Irish poem of the same name, for all readers. It formed part of my final project for the MA in children's book illustration at Cambridge School of Art.

It is a blessing and a prayer, taking place in modern times, illustrated using plate lithographic techniques. This piece was shortlisted in the 2019 Batsford prize for Illustration.' 

This is by Junli Song (artsofsong.com) who does a wonderful range of artistic creations, including books for children.


This is by Daniela Sosa (danielasosa.com) who has illustrated a range of children's books. This image is a print she sells on her website. 


This image is by Virginia Coyne (virginiacoyneart.com), and is Dorothy in her wonderful reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. 



This is by Jemima Sharpe, from her picture book, Mr Moon Wakes Up.

This is by Clara Saetiz (clarasaetiz.wordpress.com) from her How To Not Get Eaten by Baba Yaga. 

This is by Emily Burgoyne (emilyburgoyne.com) from her series of sea inspired prints.  

And, closing in traditional picture book fashion with a bedtime image, this is by Deborah Hocking (deborahhockingstudio.com)