To celebrate the release of Have You Seen Dinosaur?, author/illustrator David Barrow painted characters from the book in the window of Next Page Books in the United Kingdom.
Welcome to a combobulation of articles from our favourite thinkers, stories from behind the scenes, lists of good books, Gecko Press news and things that amuse us from time to time.
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Giselle Clarkson 2023 Arts Foundation Laureate
Giselle Clarkson, author of The Observologist (released next month), is one of nine Aotearoa artists awarded a 2023 Arts Foundation Laureate.
Giselle received the Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award, awarded every two years to a children’s book illustrator.
To the Ice: Q&A with Thomas Tidholm & Anna-Clara Tidholm
We wanted to expose the children in the story to real hardships and dangers, the same ones faced by polar explorers in historical times. Some important themes were endurance, patience, the hope for survival and rescue.
Book list: Epic adventure stories
By Anna Hoek-Sims of UBS Otago, Emerging Bookseller of the Year 2023
Kia ora!
I’ve been an avid reader and a bookaholic from a very young age.
Paku Manu Ariki Whakatakapōkai: Q&A with Michaela Keeble & Tokerau Brown
This book is a true co-creation between my son Kerehi Grace, the illustrator Tokerau Brown, and me. Sometimes, as the book was being invented, Toki (Tokerau) would share a picture, and I’d get a shiver—a feeling that the picture contains life inside it, is itself alive.
The Observologist: Q&A with Giselle Clarkson
Watching insects and looking for other tiny, interesting things genuinely is one of my favourite hobbies, and the content of The Observologist is all the stuff I talk about and point out when I’m walking with my nieces and nephews. Putting it all down in a book felt like a very logical thing to do.
Book list: 21 of the best leporellos
By Mel Schuit of Let’s Talk Picture Books Mel Schuit is one of our favourite children’s book bloggers, especially for her “Let’s talk illustrators” interviews with children’s book illustrators, full of interesting questions about the process of bookmaking. This month, we are releasing our first leperello—Look by Gavin Bishop—so we are sharing Mel’s book list… Read more »
Lionel series: Q&A with Éric Veillé
Éric Veillé was born in 1976 in Laval and studied at the Duperré School in Paris. While working as an artistic director in publishing, he decided one spring day to devote himself to writing and children’s book illustration. He has since released many books, as author and illustrator, including Encyclopedia of Grannies and My Pictures… Read more »
End of line sale
Up to 75% off!
We’re having an end of line sale—choose from curiously good Gecko Press favourites, including picture books, gift books and novels priced at $5 and $10.
But be quick, there’s limited stock! Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Gecko Press in Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2023
Bumblebee Grumblebee and Pops have both been selected by Bank Street as Best Children’s Books of the Year 2023 in their under 5 category.