Category: Books

August 17th Birthday Love: Ian Beck

Illustrator and author Ian Beck was born on this day August 17, 1947 in Brighton, England. “Few sounds were to be heard at that early hour, only the drone of the airship’s engines and the mournful mournful moans of the foghorns, which seemed almost to be searching for one another, somewhere along the silvered and …

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Astrid Cabral’s Love of Her Home, The Amazon

This World Rainforest Day I am celebrating novelist, poet, environmentalist, diplomat, and mother of five, Astrid Cabral, who sings the songs of her Amazon home in her exemplary poetry. Some of Cabral’s most well-known books include Through Water (2003), Anteroom (2007), and Cage (2008). In Cage, Cabral explores the real and symbolic animals of the Amazon. She …

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Artist Spotlight: Chiaki Okada

Today we are celebrating the illustrations of Japanese artist Chiaki Okada. She has illustrated books by different authors around the world, including a book by her husband, Ko Okada, called Rabbit and Freckle (Кролик и Веснушка). Chiaki Okada has a unique talent for capturing the innocent beauty of childhood home life as well as imaginative childhood themes. …

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Illustration: Sydney Smith’s Town is by the Sea

Our inspiration for today comes from children’s book illustrator Sydney Smith and his new book, Town is by the Sea. In the story, written by Joanne Schwartz, a boy spends a pleasant day about the town by the sparkling sea, playing with friends at the playground, going to lunch and the shops with his mom, …

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