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Sorry that this is off the topic but I have had some great news about the International Hand Made Picture Book Contest for 2010 in Japan. I received the Iguchi-Bunshu prize for my pop-up book. See http://www.ehonkan.or.jp/recruit/i-e_2010index.html
I think it's a great competition for anyone who want to have a go a writting and illustrating childrens stories.

If any one want to see some of the early developement images for my pop up book look at some of the older post on my blog http://tonyflowers.blogspot.com/2010/07/iguchi-bunshu.html

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One of the most important and popular picture books of all time now comes in a pop up version to celebrate it’s 20th Anniversary. This is so exciting!

This pop up looks amazing because it has been created by one of the best paper engineers in the world, David A. Carter. We will have some stock in our store in a little over a week.

If you would like a copy reserved please let us know via email – [email protected]

The complete original text with pop up illustrations = lovely.

Available through Amazon now

We love irreverent picture books in our house because we can all have a laugh together. While at the beach over the weekend we bought a copy of Peek A Poo What’s In Your Nappy? by Guido Van Genechten because while we were in the shop Ned’s dad and I couldn’t stop giggling so we just knew Ned would like it too.

The main character is a mouse who is very inquisitive and decides that he would like to discover what is in each of his friends pants. The friends have nappies that are lift the flap so that when Mouse asks if he can have a look, it’s the reader who can reveal what is in the nappy! We see rabbit has seven pellets, dog has a poo with a pointy end, cow has ‘One Big fresh cow pat’ etc

Besides the fact that we all find it terribly funny there is actually a message in the madness. When his friends ask Mouse what is his nappy he proudly shows them that it is empty.

Mouse does his poo in the potty, he shows his friends and then they all want to have a go. Ned has related really well to the story both for it’s humerous style and also for it’s practical description of both what is in the nappies and about going to the toilet. He doesn’t like going to the potty at all but will sit on the toilet and I think he thinks that they are one in the same anyway.

Like Katie’s post about potty training books I liked this book because no one used the potty as a hat and although the Mouse likes to look in the nappy of his friends there is no playing with the contents!  The illustrations are great and it is fun to read aloud - a little gem of a book.

Is this not the sweetest thing? Handmade by the very talented Fiona who writes the beautiful blog Hop Skip and Jump from Adelaide. I’m in love. She is currently out of stock unfortunately at the Hop, Skip and Jump store but there are other very lovely toys in stock.

Ned’s favorite bedtime story at the moment, and we have to read it every night, is the pop up edition of Lauren Child’s Beware of the Storybook Wolves. He calls the book ’Big Wolf’ beacuse the main character is being read Little Red Riding Hood however the story gets a little corrupted when Herb’s mum leaves the room and the Big Bad Wolf and the Back Cover Wolf escape the book.

Ned particularly loves it when Herb screeches ‘HELP‘ and always joins in reading that bit. The pop ups are lovely and just make for even more added amusement to Lauren Child’s already spectacular illustrations. The thing is that the book is just so funny also for mummy and daddy - and we do have to read it every night! I love a good fractured fairytale.

I found these in a lovely indie bookshop near me. A collection of 12 of Eric Carle’s most famous and popular images in full colour posters. These would look gorgeous in a classroom or framed in a nursery. Published by Chronicle Books I think they were up around $50 but well worth it for 12 prints.

If they are too big we also think the Eric Carle Flash Cards also published by Chronicle would make a lovely frieze or wall art in a nursery.

Also very much looking forward to seeing the pop-up version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar due be released next month in Aus. You can see some lovely pictures on Eric Carle’s blog. Also see the book used on this great blog as the centre of a Hungry Caterpillar party theme.

A guest post by Trudy, 30-something-year-old first-time mum to Oscar, 15 months.

What is it about animals that kids find so interesting, actually what is it about animals that I find so interesting? Is it their shape, the noises they make, the colour of their skin, fur or feathers? Yes you guessed it, Oscar, Matt & I made a recent trip to the zoo. I am not sure who was more excited, Oscar, his dad pointing out all of the wonderful animals or me watching the expressions on both of their faces.

Ever since our adventure to the zoo last week, we have had even more fun with our vast array of animal books at home. I actually didn’t realise how many animal books we have got!

Some of the books have already been reviewed by Lou & Katie [Dear Zoo (Rod Campbell), Zoo! (Lori Froeb) and Dog (Matthew Van Fleet)] but I have included another favourite to share with the weheartbooks.com family.

Animal Babies - A to Z A pop up book by Chuck Murphy

Open the front cover and you are taken back by the most beautiful bold black and white letters. The anticipation of what’s behind is too much for Oscar as he grabs at a letter. [He needs to be reminded again that it's a special book and we need to be careful! He is learning slowly].

A = Antelope B = Baboon C = Chameleon. The bright colours of the Chameleon against the black shinny background is truly amazing and the pop out 3 dimensional branch which holds the Chameleon and it’s five offspring is like the real thing.

As you work your way through the alphabet, you are greeted with wonderful pop outs or lift the flaps to see who may be behind that wonderful letter. The range of animals is just amazing and it’s always nice to see some Australian classics such as the koala and wallaby (what a clever man to put a wallaby, but I guess when you’re confronted with “k” for kangaroo and koala you have to think a little more laterally).

Most of the classics such as the gorilla, elephant, snakes, tigers and lions are in there. I was disappointed that the giraffe couldn’t squeeze into the book but when you see the family of gorillas you forgive him for the oversight! We then move to some of the more obscure animals including the okapi, numbat, quetzal, urial and vicuna - all very interesting to say the least.

I have shared a couple of our favourite pages below so you can see how wonderful the illustrations and pop outs are. (Forgive some of my photography skills but it’s a tricky book to capture).