October 28, 2010
5 is the magic number - Happy Birthday!
To celebrate my brilliant, fabulous, gorgeous and incredibly excited little man's 5th birthday today, I give you: Andy and Sid and the Number 5 Rap. Turn up the volume and enjoy!
October 27, 2010
Tiny Little Fly
'Tiny Little Fly' is a really gorgeous new children's picture book from former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen ('We're Going on a Bear Hunt') and with beautiful illustrations by Kevin Waldron.
This is a really lovely, funny, read-aloud story aimed at younger readers aged 2+. My three-year-old loved it immediately. The text has a lovely rhythm and pattern, which your child can quickly learn to repeat along with you, and the wonderful double-page spread illustrations allow the child to guess the animal before the full picture is revealed. Kevin Waldron's big, bold illustrations capture the antics of the animals brilliantly. The book is 36 pages in hardback and is priced at £11.99.
I recently interviewed Kevin about his work on 'Tiny Little Fly' and his involvement in designing the images for the Children's Book Festival in association with Children's Books Ireland.
I recently interviewed Kevin about his work on 'Tiny Little Fly' and his involvement in designing the images for the Children's Book Festival in association with Children's Books Ireland.
How did you develop the poster for the Children's Book Festival?
Children's Books Ireland were great to work with. I often approach the pages of a children's book as if it were a poster- focusing on a strong graphic shape with a complementary font, but if you do this on every page you will overlook the timing and rhythm of the story which is crucial. The finished poster took about one week in total to complete. It is inspired by Paul Galdone and Eve Titus' Anatole and the poster art of Raymond Savignac.
How long did it take you to illustrate Tiny Little Fly?
Tiny Little Fly took forever! We already had a marvellous rhyme from Michael Rosen and I only had to draw one animal per spread (actually not even that, as they are cropped in half!), but simple is so very, very difficult. Artists like Paul Rand and Eric Carle can do it with ease it seems. I suppose that it took a year or more to complete this book, but in my defence I emigrated to America in the middle!
How did you get involved in illustration?
I knew in art college in Dublin that my career would involve combining text and image but I wasn't interested in children's books at that stage. I tried all sorts of approaches while attending Kingston University in London, with limited success. A project we set ourselves somehow morphed into a children's book and I've been making books ever since. I finished the book: Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo for the end of year show and Templar published it the following year. I was looking at other children's books in the library at this stage and discovered how opinionated i really was about them!
Tiny Little Fly took forever! We already had a marvellous rhyme from Michael Rosen and I only had to draw one animal per spread (actually not even that, as they are cropped in half!), but simple is so very, very difficult. Artists like Paul Rand and Eric Carle can do it with ease it seems. I suppose that it took a year or more to complete this book, but in my defence I emigrated to America in the middle!
How did you get involved in illustration?
I knew in art college in Dublin that my career would involve combining text and image but I wasn't interested in children's books at that stage. I tried all sorts of approaches while attending Kingston University in London, with limited success. A project we set ourselves somehow morphed into a children's book and I've been making books ever since. I finished the book: Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo for the end of year show and Templar published it the following year. I was looking at other children's books in the library at this stage and discovered how opinionated i really was about them!
How has technology influenced your work?
I would probably label myself a hybrid- I draw everything by hand and scan it in to manipulate the colours; effectively using technology to make something look old and worn. The idea that a book has been around for decades and appreciated by different owners appeals greatly to me- you could say that I'm trying to cheat it! The computer is a marvellous tool for creating smooth shapes with flat colours, excellent for communicating with a very young audience. I wonder if Dick Bruna ever wished he had a computer?
I would probably label myself a hybrid- I draw everything by hand and scan it in to manipulate the colours; effectively using technology to make something look old and worn. The idea that a book has been around for decades and appreciated by different owners appeals greatly to me- you could say that I'm trying to cheat it! The computer is a marvellous tool for creating smooth shapes with flat colours, excellent for communicating with a very young audience. I wonder if Dick Bruna ever wished he had a computer?
Kevin's book: 'Mr Peek and the Misunderstanding at the Zoo' was recently featured as the CBeebies Bedtime Story.
October 20, 2010
The perfect woman
I have been tagged. By the 'be-wetsuited' London City Mum, no less. She is bullying me into confessing to some extremely personal details which, well, I suppose I'd better give you or she'll be after me with her snorkel or something.
So, she has asked me to give my recipe for Mr or Mrs Right - the top ten things I look for in a man or woman. As she pointed out in her own post about this, being married and all that (with an anniversary looming next week if you don't mind!), it's a bit too late to be pitching for the 'perfect man'. London City Mum got around this by opting to share her recipe for 'the perfect woman' and I'm going along with her, like a complete sheep.
1. Must be able to handle their drink, and none of this 'I'll have a white wine spritzer nonsense' either - we're talking proper pints down the pub and plenty o'wine if at home.
2. Must also be able to scoff their way through an entire tub of Pringles in one sitting. None of this putting the lid back on to finish another night. What other night? Eat them all now!
3. Must not be incompetent at DIY stuff or incapable of cutting the grass.
4. Must have an interesting assortment of shoes and bags, but not enough to warrant a separate wardrobe for them. Talking of which....
5. Must have a totally disorganised wardrobe which the concept of 'capsule' has never got close to. Women with organised wardrobes frighten me and make me feel inadequate - just sayin'.
6. Must happily admit to watching 'The X Factor' and 'I'm a Celebrity'..., as a guilty pleasure if nothing else.
7. Must not watch soaps or anything with the word CSI in the title. Sorry - but the soaps are always on at kids bedtime and I've never watched a CSI anything, so we would probably have absolutely nothing to talk about. And that could prove to be quite awkward.
8. Must never decline pudding. Ever. Even if already feeling completely stuffed.
9. Must be calm in a crisis and not scream when confronted with mice, spiders or prawns with their heads still on.
10. Must have at least one entirely shitty day with their children per week which they bravely struggle through, shout at their husband about, have a small cry about, tweet about to anyone who is listening and then rectify the situation with a large glass of wine and some crisps (see points 1 and 2 above), and carry on the next day as if nothing happened.
I now pass the honour of this blogging task onto the following lovely people. Enjoy.
Zooarchaeologist at Being a Mummy
Emily at More than Just a Mother
New blogger Laura at Musings on a Life Quite Ordinary
Jamie at The Life and Times of a Househusband
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