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 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
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.
LGBTQ+ book list—beyond the coming out stories
We are celebrating Pride 2021 with a list of children’s books featuring LGBTQ+ characters from Phoebe Wilton-Stuart of Wardini Books.
Book list of bedtime favourites
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
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
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
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.
Reading Aloud in the Babysitter’s Toolbox
Reading aloud is a key tool in a babysitter’s kit. It can bring children together from different parts of the house, calm them or cheer them up, signal that it is sleep time—your choice of book and how you read will depend on what is needed.
Read on for reading aloud tips for all babysitting scenarios.
