Tag Courtney Dicmas

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Courtney Dicmas
Templar Publishing
Courtney Dicmas’ delightful story follows Pippi and Burt swallows’ forays into the big wide world in search of a new abode that will more comfortably accommodate them and their eight younger brothers and sisters. They fly forth from their cliff top nest into the night sky looking for somewhere that is a better fit for Rupert’s stinky feet, Maude’s judo and Cecil’s band practice.
Morning comes and with it a likely looking place certainly large enough and pretty sturdy looking …

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But perhaps a bit on the hard side.
Maybe a fluffier spot would be better but not that one – (a cheetah’s back), nor the pointy place they discover next …

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Why is nothing quite what they’d expected?

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Eventually the two together come to a realisation that it’s a case of ‘east, west home’s best’ for none of the places feels as homely and snuggly as that small nest of theirs with all their siblings for company.
Cleverly constructed and totally engaging at every turn of the page; those birds are adorable, every one of them. And the other animals are equally winningly portrayed in Courtney Dicmas’ super spreads.
Her best book so far in my opinion.
(Some of my audience of 5s to 9s were inspired to create their own birds to add to the family.)

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A super hero swallow, a recorder player, a hockey player, a ballet dancer, a school bird and a book reader.

 

Use your local bookshop      localbookshops_NameImage-2

If you’re in or near London at the end of October don’t miss the opportunity to visit the exciting Children’s Book Illustration Art Exhibition on in Piccadilly from 23rd to 29th

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Louis Lemur, Laundry Lemur

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Lemur Dreamer
Courtney Dicmas
Templar Publishing
Somnambulist Louis, resident of the top floor of 32 Pebbly Lane, worries the fellow residents of his apartment block with his nightly wanderings. But one night when Louis actually leaves the building

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and snuffles out into the lane, they feel compelled to trail him as his dream-filled wanderings take him to the very edge, whereupon his fearless followers execute a daring rescue.

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Once safely on terra firma, Louis recounts his dreams to his rescuers only to discover how he and they have passed the night. But Louis is one lucky lemur for not only do his friends forgive him immediately, but the following day present him with a wonderful cheer-up gift, guaranteed to keep their erstwhile wanderer securely grounded in his own home.
From the title page,

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we know we are in for a treat with this one. Dicmas’ choice of colour palette is just right for those whimsical, dreamy scenes

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every one of which is a joy to behold and the perfect counterpart to her dead pan telling.

Last year there was a plethora of possums: are lemurs to be the favourite animal inhabitants of picture books in 2015, I wonder. There’s another in

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There’s a lemur in my laundry!
Jo Lodge
Nosy Crow
A top quality small chunky board book in a new ‘Slide + seek’ series for adults to enjoy with the very youngest, where sliding the lower or upper part of the page reveals the particular animal that has taken up residence in an unlikely place in the narrator’s home. So, as well as the title creature we have a sink with a seal, a frog in the fruit bowl,

 

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a snake in the sock drawer, a lion in the lampshade and a bear in the bed. In addition to the delight of revealing the animals themselves in Jo Lodge’s rainbow coloured pictures, there are animal sounds and the repeat ‘I don’t believe it!’ to join in with, and lovely alliterative sentences to relish.
Great for beginner readers to share with toddler siblings too.
Use your local bookshop localbookshops_NameImage-2

Don’t forget February 14th ibgdposterlarge