Gecko Press Blog

By Catharina Valckx. My books can start with an idea, a word or an image. Ideas come into my mind, and sometimes I feel—Ah! Here’s one that interests me!

I discovered children’s literature in the form of picture books in the local library when my son was young. I knew a few good books from my childhood, but I didn’t imagine they would be just the tip of the iceberg. Some books were revelations!

Hi! I’m Kristina, author of The Secrets of Cricket Karlsson. I live in a town called Malmö in the southern part of Sweden. I usually write my books sitting on the couch in my living room, with the view of the sky, the ceilings and my new – very happy – lamp!

Eva Lindström has been awarded the 2022 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA). Lindström writes stories that shift between the everyday and the existential, combining shrewd humour with absurd mystery.

My hope is that for anyone struggling, these eight brilliant books will be a small support and help start important conversations about war and particularly its impact on people. I hope they show the positive impact that hope, kindness and empathy can have too.

As so often is the case, I was working on multiple stories about boats that weren’t really going anywhere, until Elephant appeared and ideas started to click. Once I figured out the storyline, I started pondering every beat of the story. What does it mean, what do I want to say? And how can I visualize this as clearly as possible?

Over the last 2 years, COVID-19 infection prevention measures have meant that tamariki visiting the hospital have had heavily restricted access to toys

I saw Simon the rabbit at my very first Bologna Book Fair, standing out in a sea of pigs and rabbits and dragons. Caҫa Boudin, was so arresting,

Once the backbone of stories for younger children, picture storybooks have been superseded by the shorter picture books that are now more popular.

For me, humour is important. It allows you to write about sad things that otherwise would be hard to deal with. I have always felt deeply for people