A Better Best Friend: Q&A with Olivier Tallec

            Olivier Tallec was born in Brittany, France. After graduating from the École Supérieure d’Arts Appliqués Duperré in Paris, he travelled extensively and now lives and works in Paris. He has illustrated over 60 books for children, along with his work as both author and illustrator. His new book, A… Read more »

The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist: Q&A with Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson

Anders Sparring writes children’s books and is a screenwriter for many popular television shows. He is also a stand-up comedian. Per Gustavsson is an illustrator and author living in Stockholm, Sweden. His bestselling books are translated into several languages. Who are The Pinchers books for? Anders They are for everyone who likes to have fun…. Read more »

My Baby Sister Is a Diplodocus: Q&A with Aurore Petit

Aurore Petit

Aurore Petit was born in 1981, one of a generation of French illustrators to emerge from the influential School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. She lives in Nantes, where she publishes children’s books, illustrates for children and adults and works on theatre sets. Her books with Gecko Press are A Mother Is a House and… Read more »

Sounds Good!: Q&A with Ole Könnecke & Hans Könnecke

Ole Könnecke was born in 1961 and spent his childhood in Sweden. He now lives in Germany and has produced over 30 books, several of which have won international awards. Hans Könnecke is an award-winning composer, instrumentalist and music producer for film,and theatre, who studied composition at the Academy for Music and Theater in Munich…. Read more »

Poo Bum 20th anniversary interview: Stephanie Blake

Stephanie Blake (c) Léontine Behaeghel

What led you to create Simon’s world? Once I had Simon, everything clicked, and I was no longer working with the abstract idea of writing a book or making beautiful images. Books became my second language and Simon an extension of myself. I had a new freedom to play with words and images. I allowed myself to write the way I wanted to.

Book list of bedtime favourites

Childrens Books by Gecko Press. Tickle My Ears Boardbook

For this month’s book list we asked some parents in the book world what bedtime favourites their children ask for again and again. Jane Arthur, manager at Good Books, Wellington, poet and mother of Pete We’ve somehow ended up with two identical copies of Peter Gossage’s How Maui Slowed the Sun in board book format,… Read more »

The books that raised me: Julia Marshall

A Book is a Book

The books we read and remember as a child really do the heavy lifting of raising us as a reader.  These are some of the books that raised me.

It takes a village to raise a reader

Inside the Villains (c) Clotilde Perrin

Once the connection has been made, for it to stay alive, there need to be more books, more nudges from more people, and they need to be meaningful to what that particular child needs at that particular moment.

New year, new list: preparing the 2022 publishing list

Illustration of children reading

Though many are focused in the new year on the year ahead, at Gecko Press we find ourselves looking further ahead to plan the books we want to publish in 2022.

Read on for the hows and whys of our book choosing process and reflections on publishing post-2020.