Welcome to London
Marcos Farina
Button Books
London seems to be a very popular picture book destination at present and Marcos Farina’s quirky, retro style illustrations certainly make it look an exciting one.
Surrealism abounds right from the arrival at a station whose platform will be familiar to fans of Harry Potter. From then on it’s a case of spot the literary references; chortle at the crazy cast of characters or giggle over the multitude of other visual anomalies scattered throughout as we visit the various famous London landmarks and encounter the multitude of characters that make it such a dynamic and vibrant city.

If like me, you know London, you’ll likely never look at it in quite the same way again: you’ll always be on the lookout for a storybook character lurking somewhere, or an animal emerging from the next taxi that stops close by one of its famous stores.

Marcos Farina’s London encompasses parks, sporting venues, bridges,

palaces, galleries, shopping venues, iconic buildings and much more. His clear, graphic, design led illustrations make almost every page a potential poster for the city.

Jane Foster’s London
Jane Foster’s New York
Jane Foster
Templar Publishing
In bold bright colours, designer Jane Foster introduces the very youngest children to two of the world’s most popular tourist cities.
Set against vibrant, sometimes patterned backgrounds, she places famous landmarks, objects and occasional less likely images such as the red squirrel (I wish there were more of those in London), although New York includes a grey squirrel.

Her intricately patterned imagery is sure to engage both toddlers and adults as they enjoy such iconic London sights as the red bus, Big Ben, the London Eye and Tower Bridge but also fish and chips and a pair of wellington boots. New York boasts the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park as well as Broadway theatre and Staten Island ferry. Interestingly both cities have pigeons.
Foster’s characteristic eye-catching mix of strong colour, pattern and retro-styling do these famous cities proud.

I’ve signed the charter