August is always a special month for books - children's books in particular. And this year is no exception with Children's Book Week ( August 17 - 23) with the announcement of the Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Awards, National Bookshop Day celebrations (August10) and the Story Time exhibition opening at the National Library of Australia in Canberra on August 21 - details in the Events section. I saw We saw It's even more special for us this year as we have the opportunity to attend the 2019 Garma Festival of traditional cultures  for the launch of a book we have been involved in the creation of, for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. The story evolved working with Yolgnu children at Nhulunbuy Primary School.  Nhulunbuy is on the Gove Peninsular in far north east Arnhem Land. The picture book, with it's wonderfully inclusive title, I Saw We Saw is a fabulous and fun reflection of life for kids in and around Nhulunbuy - in and out of the water!  It's a joyful celebration of their country and the creatures in it, with exuberant line drawings and splashy watercolour flowing from page to page -  brilliantly designed by Lee Burgemeestre.  Here's a sneak preview of the covers of the book in its two versions, English and Yolgnu Mata.  We'll share more news about this book after the launch at the Garma Festival! Catch us at our stand at the Queen Vic Market in August - Sundays 11, 18, 25 Guest author/ Illustrator on August 11 Nicki Greenberg  11am tp 1pm  Celebrating her new book BITSY, published in July by Affirm Press. We hope you'll visit, meet Nicki, see her new books and prints and have your books personally signed!   Meet BITSY, a cheeky little bat with daring dreams. Nocturnal Bitsy wants to discover what life is like when the sun comes up. But is the daytime ready for Bitsy? A joyous story about spreading your wings, meeting your monsters, and weaving the magic of friendship. $24.99 Nicki Greenberg is a writer and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. Her first books, The Digits series, were published when she was fifteen years old. They sold more than 380,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand. When Nicki was seventeen, two big things happened to her. She started drawing comics, and she read The Great Gatsby for the first time. She embarked on the mad venture of adapting The Great Gatsby in graphic form which took her six years, while she worked as a lawyer to support her scribbling habit. The result was a very unusual book.  Nicki’s innovative adaptation of Gatsby was widely acclaimed and was selected as a White Raven at the International Bologna Book Fair in Italy. She then went on to tackle Hamlet in a lavish 425-page “staging on the page”. Hamlet was joint winner of the 2011 Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Picture Book of the Year award. Other books by Nicki include ... Morris the Mole, Meekat Choir and Miss Kraken (due September 3 - have a sneak preview with Nicki on Sunday 11) New prints, original illustrations and books Nicki Greenberg We are delighted to welcome Nicki Greenberg to our webiste with a range of limited edition giclee prints - hot off the press! Check these out on our website and see the related books available for sale - signed by Nicki. Ann James Three new prints are now available by Ann James from her new picture book Goodbye House Hello House, written by Margaret Wild, published by Allen & Unwin. Terry Denton We enjoyed having Terry as our guest at the QV Market on Sunday July 21. There was lots of signing and fun with Terry and our other special guest illustrator, Coral Tulloch.  We have signed copies of their recent picture books celebrating the Moon Landing. Moonwalkers, Terry Denton and Mark Greenwood, published by Penguin Random House. Touch the Moon, Coral Tulloch and Phil Cummings, published by Allen & Unwin The 117-StoreyTreehouse  is now officially released!  Copies, signed by Terry Denton, are available for sale and a stunning new print of the cover is also available!   Limited edition Giclee print  With the focus on the ever popular Treehouse series it's worth a reminder that you also have the special opportunity to purchase original illustrations by Terry from The 26-Storey Treehouse ... see the range on our website: www.booksillustrated.com.au. ILLUSTRATION INSPIRATION Jeannie Baker Talking About Collage To celebrate the release of her new book, Playing with Collage, Jeannie Baker spoke to Claire Nichols on ABC Radio National about her long career, her love of collage and her passion for the environment! Listen in here.  And you can purchase her book here!

OTHER AUGUST EVENTS   CBCA Children's Book Week August 17 - 23  Celebrations of this week are held in every state and territory in Australia. The Announcement of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards will be held in Melbourne this year, on Friday August 16  Details on the CBCA website                                                      Saturday August 10 Check out your local Bookshop for celebratory events . Ann James will be taking a story time and signing copies of her new picture book Goodbye House Hello House at the Moonee Ponds Collins Bookshop at 11am . Breaking Taboos: What's Off-limits in Children's Books?   Meet Morris Gleitzman, current Australian Children's Laureate Thursday August 15 6.30pm to 8.00pm A chance to meet our current Australian Children's Laureate at a Bold Thinking event presented by La Trobe Universtity at the State Library of Victoria  Details and booking Story Time exhibition at the National Library of Australia Opens August 22 Seven Little Australians, The Magic Pudding, The Rainbow Serpent,  The Deltora Quest and Where Is the Green Sheep? are much-loved children’s books that have been read and shared over decades.  Story Time, an exhibition of Australian children’s literature from the colonial period through to the present day, will appeal to anyone who has experienced the magic of these stories.  Alison Lester Magic Beach Pottery Robert Gordon Pottery have collaborated with Alison Lester to release new products in their children’s range.  The plates, mugs and bowl are inspired by her bestseller, Magic Beach To be released in mid August, pre orders open now  https://alisonlester.com/collections/new-releases AWARDS Congratulations to all whose books have been shortlisted in the 2019 Speech Pathology Awards  - 5 catergories ! THE AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN'S LAUREATE CALENDAR: AUGUST   Morris's Stories Make Us Calendar  The August Theme: Stories Make us Curious  Morris says ... "Why do we have to Ask The Question August when we should be asking questions every month of the year? Good question. I'll leave it with you" Visit the Laureate website for Morris's thoughts on the theme,  great reading suggestions and book related ideas.  Share Tweet Forward

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