September Publication Party!

We have so many incredible books publishing today 

so we thought we'd round up a list of our newbies. 

The Little Adventurers: Leafy the Pet Leaf, Elissa Elwick & Phillip Ardagh

If you're brave, helpful, honest, good to your planet and kind to animals (even ones that don't do much... like boring worms) then you, too, can be a LITTLE ADVENTURER.

King Baby, Kate Beaton

I am King Baby! You have been waiting for me. 

I will give you many blessings, for King Baby is generous...

Meltdown, Jill Murphy

From the creator of the Large Family series comes another perfectly observed family comedy about a baby bunny rabbit and her mum on the supermarket shop ... a trip which doesn't go quite to plan!

A Child of Books, Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston

A beautiful, poignant and timely manifesto for the myriad rewards 

of reading and sharing the enjoyment of stories. 

Mango and Bambang Tiny Tapir Trouble, Polly Faber, Clara Vulliamy

Mango and Bambang's adventures continue in the third book of 

this charming illustrated series about a little girl and a tapir. 

Introducing Walker Studios 

 "books for book-lovers".

The ethos behind the imprint is engaging design, high-quality illustration and superior production values. It will feature books by current Walker authors and illustrators as well as debut books and artists in translation. 

We're kicking off our launch month with two glorious titles.

The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan 

Shaun Tan fans get to see his extraordinary talent applied to sculpture in this award-winning, lavishly presented collection of art based on fairy tales told by the Brothers' Grimm.

Animals, Ingela P Arrhenius

Over 30 different animals are illustrated in striking graphic style by 

Ingela P Arrhenius in this stunning gift book. 

Don't miss these titles coming soon!

 Time Now to Dream, Timothy Knapman, Helen Oxenbury 

From Helen Oxenbury, the illustrator of We're Going on a Bear Hunt, 

and Timothy Knapman, the author of Soon, comes the story of a 

brother and sister, and their adventure in the woods. 

Owl Bat Bat Owl, Mary-Louise Fitzpatrick

From award-winning author and illustrator, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, 

comes a stunning wordless picture book that celebrates family, 

friendship and the power of togetherness. Mummy Owl and her

 three little owls live happily on their spacious branch.

Penguin Problems, Lane Smith, Jory John

Little Penguin has problems: his beak is cold;

 there’s snow everywhere; the water smells salty; 

he waddles; he looks the same as everybody else. 

No – it’s not easy being a penguin!

Du Iz Tak, Carson Ellis

In her follow-up to the internationally acclaimed Home, 

Carson Ellis invites readers to imagine the dramatic possibilities

 to be found in the natural world ... even the humblest back garden!

We Found a Hat, Jon Klassen

Hold on to your hats! From the Kate Greenaway-winning 

creator of I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat comes 

the much-anticipated conclusion to the celebrated Hat trilogy.

Book of the Month! A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston

It's here! Today is the day that A Child of Books, created by author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers and typographical artist Sam Winston, publishes in the UK.

"I am a Child of Books. I come from a world of stories and upon my imagination I float."

A Child of Books is a completely unique reading experience, blending illustration and the printed and written word in a way that explodes conventional perceptions of both. This is the first time Oliver has collaboratively written and illustrated a book with another artist - and the first time Sam has made a children's book! Together they have created an immersive story of discovery; a picture book to cherish forever and a homage to classic children's literature. 

We've shared lots of exciting videos, interviews and trailers over the past months and we've collected them all together here. In May, we were delighted to work with Waterstones to share our incredible book trailer with all our lovely picture book fans. 

And earlier this week we were absolutely over the moon to share an exclusive video interview all about the inspiration and process behind A Child of Books. 

Here's part one. 

And here's part two. (We know - we spoil you!)

And, it wouldn't be publication day without an exclusive behind the scenes look at the sketches and development work that went into the characters and spreads of A Child of Books. There's a sneak peek below but click HERE for the full experience. 

We've uploaded a quick interview that you can download and print from the Picture Book Party activity sheet section by clicking HERE.

To celebrate publication, we have three gorgeous A Child of Books goody bags to give away to our lucky readers. To WIN email competitions@walker.co.uk with the subject line I AM A CHILD OF BOOKS to enter. Closing date 29/09/2015. Terms and Conditions apply. 

And, to say goodbye, a note from Oliver and Sam

'From the very beginning we both wanted to create a tale that celebrated our own love of classic children's literature with an added modern twist. For us it was about capturing some of the magic that happens when you first get lost in a timeless story, but doing it in a way that readers haven't seen before. We both wanted to pay homage to the amazing books we loved in our own childhoods, and it turned out that we used a whole library of these books to illustrate A Child of Books. We wanted this book to celebrate some of the great imaginations of the past, yet also (hopefully) inspire new generations to come.'

Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston talk A Child of Books

We can't believe that the 1st of September is the publication day of author illustrator Oliver Jeffers and fine artist Sam Winston's glorious A Child of Books!

In advance of publication we are delighted to share TWO interviews with Oliver and Sam.

Keep checking in for exclusive content and competitions over the next weeks. 

Edinburgh Book Festival Spotlight: Sean Taylor

We were very lucky to spend the day with Walker author 

Sean Taylor at Edinburgh Book Festival 2016.

We started off the morning with an interactive session in the Story Box Venue which was packed with poetry and hand actions and Sean read out loud from Don't Call me Choochie Pooh! and A Brave Bear. Next Sean hosted his Silly Stories before we zoomed off to the bookshop where there were lots of Sean's books ready for signing!

To end a gorgeous day, Sean spoke at Amnesty International's event, This is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees, which drew attention to the growing refugee crisis across the world. It was an affecting reading and we were proud to be involved. 

Phew! What a busy day! Well done, Sean!

Don't worry if you missed it! Here are a few videos of Sean reading his newest books!

Hoot Owl Master of Disguise, Sean Taylor, Jean Jullien 

A Brave Bear, Sean Taylor, Emily Hughes

Don't Call me Choochie Pooh!, Sean Taylor, Kate Hindley 

Bath, Book, Bed from Book Trust!

Book Trust UK have introduced an exciting (or snoozy!) new 

initiative to help sooth young children off to a sound sleep!

They have tips for newborns.

Tips for babies.

And tips for toddlers.

You can sign up for more information by clicking here!

Always in support of good bedtime routine's, we rounded-up our top bedtime reads for August.

Goodnight Everyone, Chris Haughton

"Dear me," says Great Big Bear, "it must be time for bed!" 

But Little Bear is certainly not sleepy - he's wide away! (For now...)

Dinosaurs Don't have Bedtimes, Timothy Knapman, Nikki Dyson

Everyone has to brush their teeth, wash their hair 

and go to bed sometime - even dinosaurs!

Return, Aaron Becker

The eagerly-anticipated finale of Aaron Becker's wordless trilogy - 

a spectacular, suspenseful and moving story that brings its adventurer home. 

The Lonely Giant, Sophie Ambrose

A heart-warming story about a giant who, after destroying his forest 

home, must learn the true value of the natural world. 

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen Book Trailer!

Two turtles have found a hat.

The hat looks good on both of them.

But there are two turtles. And there is only one hat...

We are delighted to share the beautiful book trailer for We Found a Hat,

the third title in Jon Klassen's acclaimed Hat series.

'Jon is [...] the master of deadpan comedy and devastating comic timing. An absolute joy.'

The Irish Independent

To celebrate the upcoming publication of We Found a Hat, Jon was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. When asked Why Hats? ...

Jon: A hat isn’t a necessary object. It’s not money or food, where you can justify things you might do for it. It’s just about people wanting this thing they have affection for. With this third book, the hat is too big on the two characters kind of on purpose. These characters are so sweet to each other most of the time, and they have this impulse to do this [hurtful] thing to each other, but it’s almost like the thing that the hat has come to represent is too big on them. This betrayal — or whatever it is that the other creatures have been capable of in the other books — these guys can’t do it to each other. The idea of what the hat has come to mean, they try it on, and it’s almost like kids playing around with props that were meant for a more important play. And also the fact that they themselves have made this universe where as far as they’re concerned, it looks really great on them. And that’s all that matters. No one’s going to come along and tell them it’s too big on them. They think it’s the best thing they’ve ever seen.

To read the full article click here.

Hold on to your hats. We can't wait for October!

Book of the month! Goodnight Everyone by award-winning Chris Haughton

From the multi award-winning picture book maker of A Bit Lost, Oh No, George! And Shh! We Have a Plan, comes a beautifully illustrated bedtime book, Goodnight Everyone.

“Dear me,” says Great Big Bear, “it must be time for bed!” But Little Bear is certainly not sleepy – he’s wide awake! For now…

'Beautifully executed'  

- The Observer

'Chris Haughton has woven his magic yet again...an absolute classic bedtime read.'

- The Irish Times

'Haughton's latest makes eyelids grow heavy, with its poster-art evocation of encroaching night...and gentle progress from playfulness to somnolence among expressive, stylized funny creatures.'

- Sunday Times One to Watch

To celebrate the publication of Goodnight Everyone, we are delighted to be partnered with The Gro Company. 

The Gro Company was founded in 2000, the result of two parents battle to get their baby to sleep at night. Practically unheard of in the UK, an Austrian sister-in-law introduced them to baby sleep bags, and after the amazing 12 hour sleep as a result, Grobag was born. 

From the start the company worked closely with the safe sleep charity the Lullaby Trust, and
so safety and quality has always been important in what we do.

WIN! Enter our fantastic competition to win a glorious Gro Company bundle.

(Grobag, Gro-egg, Gro-clock, Gro-light)

We also have five signed copies of Goodnight Everyone to give to 5 lucky runners up!

To enter email competitions@walker.co.uk with 'Goodnight Everyone' in the subject line, and leave your name and postal address in the email. Good luck!

Terms and conditions apply

Closing date: 04/09/16