Allan Ahlberg

Also had a look at Allan Ahlberg as my tutor recommended it. 

He has written some fantastic books of children, over 100 in his collection, keeping us all (most likely) entertained for around 30 years. He has also often worked with his wife to create some of these.

Allan also worked as a teacher, very similarly to Mini Grey which has probably aided him in creating some brilliant books. I've posted a few - I'm sure most of us would recognise them!

Day in London

Dragon in the street wants to say hello!

To celebrate the Chinese New Year I heard there were a few activities in London and around China Town, Soho. Unfortunately it was so packed full of people that I didn't actually get to see much of what was going on (even though I left to get there early in the morning!) However I did capture a few images from the event and I'm pleased I went simply because it's the year of the Horse. I particularly liked the design for it. Enjoy x

Drawing continues …

Celebrations All Around

An article from the Evening Standard a few days ago. 

Still Drawing

Although I've been busy with research I think it's important to still be drawing. I know that this is a continuation from the last dragons I posted but it's keeping up my practice and putting ideas on a page. Hopefully there will be a few more too! I'd also like to consider this style for my Macmillan book. 

Waterstones

So I was back in a book store today, looking at more children's stories. I have to say there are some brilliant books out there. Among some of them were 'Six Dinner Sid' by Inga Moore, one of my personal favourites 'The Rainbow Fish' by Marcus Pfister, a new one which I hadn't heard of before 'The Bog Baby' by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward, 'The Storm Whale' by Benji Davies, a brilliant twist of the classic tale 'The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig' by Helen Oxenbury and of course 'The Very Hungary Caterpillar' by Eric Carle. Another which I have to also mention is Alex Scheiffler, who has many books many of which I'm sure we all know including 'Rabbits Nap', 'The Stick Man', 'A Squash and a Sneeze' and 'Room on the Broom'.

It was interesting to see 'Winnie the Pooh' and stories by Beatrix Potter (which I think are quite advanced) in the 3-5 years section. Wonderful stories never the less.

I noted also that many of the illustrations were simple but still contained a lot of information. There was plenty to look at on the page. The illustrations which had more detail were clearly for an older audience but I found it comforting to know that there were still many out there. I like drawing detail so it's good there's some out there, but I just need to make sure it's my own thing. 

Red Envelopes

It's traditional for married couples or the elderly to give out red envelopes or red packets to children during the Chinese New Year. They will almost always contain money which will always be an even number. Odd numbers are associated with funerals. Most commonly $8 will be found in the envelopes as the number '8' is also considered a lucky number.