What would a picture book be without the wonderful illustrations which bring them alive? Today we focus on some of the unsung heroes who do just that. There are thousands of fantastic children’s book illustrators out there, but we have chosen just five to showcase (you can click on the illustrations to see them better)…
David Tazzyman – the illustrator of the Mr Gum books
David illustrated the very funny You Can’t Take an Elephant on the Bus, published by Bloomsbury. This delightful picture book explains why you can’t take an elephant on the bus; or why a tiger should not travel by train; or how you should never let a bear near an ice cream van. But if you were an elephant, or a tiger, or a bear – how should you travel? (We’ll have to have a word with Boris about that!) Reading Age: 6
Yasmeen Ismail – here are some of Yasmeen Ismail’s illustrations
Time for Bed, Fred!
Fred is a very naughty dog. He doesn’t want to go to bed one bit! He’s off! In to the garden, up a tree, rolling in the flower beds, jumping in puddles, and splattering the washing with mud, he’s one troublesome puppy. Only one thing for it – a bath! Reading Age: 5+
Specs for Rex
Rex doesn’t like his new glasses. They are big and round and red and he’s embarrassed to wear them at school, in case people laugh at him. Rex tries to hide them under his hair and inside his sandwich, he covers them with paint and even wraps toilet paper around his face, but it’s no use. He is going to have to learn to love his specs. Reading Age: 4+
Rebecca Cobb – illustrator of ‘Paper Dolls’ by Julia Donaldson
A little girl makes a string of paper dolls with her mother, and then takes them off to play in an imaginative world of her own in this lyrical picture book from Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson. Reading Age: 6+
And Rebecca also pens her own books as well as illustrating them. Here’s Lunchtime by Rebecca Cobb…
It’s lunchtime for one little girl, but she’s just not hungry. Then crocodile, wolf and bear appear – and they are starving! Reading Age: 5+
Mark Chambers, illustrator of ‘Noisy Bottoms’ by Stella Gurney, and more…
In this hilarious noisy book, we follow Little Bear as he goes through the forest and discovers that all the animals have rather noisy bottoms. Reading Age: 5+
Rabbit & the Big Red Scooter also by Stella Gurney and published by Templar.
Rabbit loves riding his blue bicycle, until he spots Hare on a big green scooter. Feeling envious, Rabbit buys himself a big, red scooter, but it is too powerful and he crashes it. Once Rabbit learns that he doesn’t need to copy others to feel special and that it is much better to be a nice person, life goes back to normal… Reading Age: 3+
Sharon Rentta – illustrator and author of ‘Dogs Go Shopping’
Max and Mummy are shopping for a birthday present for Daddy, and where do dogs go shopping? In the ‘Just for Dogs’ shopping centre of course! Reading Age: 6+
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