Books Illustrated E-News

and may you share many a good book with family and friends ...

And let's be positive for the new year to come and remember the empowering nature of books, reading and story for children especially. A recent article by Julia Eccleshare in the UK Guardian reminds us ...
Again and again, sometimes openly and sometimes covertly, authors and illustrators have influenced children’s thinking about both conflict and difference; through their stories and illustrations they have offered children a chance to question the conversations of adults and challenge the attitudes which are so prevalent in the media.

Federation Square Book Market
Saturday December 10, 11am to 5pm
On display, and for sale, will be a wide selection of signed Australian picture books and limited edition prints for all ages. Perfect special gifts!

Meet and chat with author/illustrator Ann James between 12 noon and 5 pm.
Ann is the illustrator of two popular books for the very young, written by Janeen Brian - I'm a Dirty Dinosaur & I'm a Hungry Dinosaur - and is the author & illustrator of the Bird & Bear Stories.

Limited edition print Throwing Sprinkles from I'm a Hungry Dinosaur witten by Janeen Brian and published by Penguin Books.
300mm(w) x 300mm(h) - $90

Limited edition print Sticks & Shadows from Bird & Bear's Special Day written & Illustrated by Ann James and published by Five Mile Press.
300mm(w) x 300mm(h) - $90

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Open Day at our showroom - 74 Mills St, Albert Park 3206
Sunday December 18, 12 noon to 5pm.

Book Illustrated touring exhibition

The coming holidays present a wonderful opportunity to visit this exhibition at the unique Dromkeen Homestead with it's glorious gardens and delcious cafe - just an hour north of Melbourne, at Riddells Creek!

This retrospective exhibition, featuring key works by Rachel Tonkin from a career spanning five decades in book illustration, botanical art, print making, painting and sculpture, is being shown at Dromkeen Homestead until March 25, 2017.

A major focus is the art from her own award-winning children’s picture books including Willy & the Ogre, To the Goldfields , When I was a Kid and Leaf Litter. Rachel’s incredibly accurate and detailed scenes of Australian life filled with colour, imagination and humour, create new stories for children & adults to share.

Two wonderful illustrations from her classic book Leaf Litter are now available for sale as limited edition giclee prints.

NEW 78 Storey Treehouse books signed, limited edition prints and
Original Treehouse illustrations by Terry Denton are for sale!!

As well as a limited edition print of each cover illustration from the Treehouse books, we are now pleased to be able offer for sale, many of the origial illustrations from this popular series.

Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton began their creative partnership with Just Tricking! in 1997. After eight 'Just' books later, and more than a million copies sold, they created the bestselling The Bad Book, The Cat on the Mat is Flat and The Very Bad Book.
Their phenomenal and record-breaking Treehouse series is captivating readers everywhere. In 2015, The 65-Storey Treehouse was the fastest selling Australian book ever - and the best-selling book in any category. Every title in the Treehouse series has won an ABIA award.

The original published illustrations by Terry Denton are from the 26-Storey Treehouse and have been hand-coloured by him for The 26-Storey Treehouse Trivia Cards, published by Pan Macmillan in 2015.

Original illustration, Open Shark Surgery, by Terry Denton, from The 26-Storey Treehouse
written by Andy Griffiths, Published by Pan Macmillan.
150mm(w) x 250mm (h) - $350

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Illustration Inspiration

We were inspired recently by the David Hockney exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. It offers a fresh and facinating perspective on his contempoary work, process and thinking.

Other exhibitions to be inspired by may be closer to you ...
• Boden, Sweden till January 8, 2017 - The Arrival ( ANKOMSTEN) by Shaun Tan an exhibition which is a combination of original pencil drawing and final digitally coloured images which collectively relocate the full story to gallery walls.
• Illustration House in London - Edward Adizzone: A retrospective -till January 22, 2017. Ardizzone is one of the most significant illustrators of the 20th century, whose wide ranging output included children's books, literary classics and war illustraton.

December with the Australian Children's Laureate

Leigh Hobbs's It’s your story Calendar December theme is Give a Story.
Visit the Laureate website for reading suggestions, activities, gifts ideas and more.

You might like to consider buying books or donating to organisations ensuring books are essential for children, and for special programs for those who are less privelaged - e.g. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation.