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The aim of Tilbury House is to publish picture books that nourish and cultivate a child’s imagination. Picture books must be beautiful, of course, or they will not be opened. They must entertain or they will not be read. And they must be accurate, even when exploring a complex concept. But sparking the imagination is the most important thing, and the hardest.
If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy Newbold and illustrated by Greg Newbold
If someone asked you to paint a snowman, you would probably start with three white circles stacked one upon another. Then you would add black dots for eyes, an orange triangle for a nose, and a black dotted smile. But if Picasso painted a snowman…
From that simple premise flows this delightful, whimsical, educational picture book that shows how the artist’s imagination can summon magic from a prosaic subject. Greg Newbold’s chameleon-like artistry shows us Roy Lichtenstein’s snow hero saving the day, Georgia O’Keefe’s snowman blooming in the desert, Claude Monet’s snowmen among haystacks, Grant Wood’s American Gothic snowman, Jackson Pollock’s snowman in ten thousand splats, Salvador Dali’s snowmen dripping like melty cheese, and snowmen as they might have been rendered by J. M. W. Turner, Gustav Klimt, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Georges Seurat, Pablita Velarde, Piet Mondrian, Sonia Delaunay, Jacob Lawrence, and Vincent van Gogh. Our guide for this tour is a lively hamster who―also chameleon-like―sports a Dali mustache on one spread, a Van Gogh ear bandage on the next.
“What would your snowman look like?” the book asks and then offers a page with a picture frame for a child to fill in. Backmatter thumbnail biographies of the artists complete this highly original tour of the creative imagination that will delight adults as well as children.
Available on Amazon. Ages 6-9; 36 Pages; MSRP $17.95
If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy Newbold and illustrated by Greg Newbold
In this sequel to the tour de force children’s art-history picture book If Picasso Painted a Snowman, Amy Newbold conveys nineteen artists’ styles in a few deft words, while Greg Newbold’s chameleon-like artistry shows us Edgar Degas’ dinosaur ballerinas, Cassius Coolidge’s dinosaurs playing Go Fish, Hokusai’s dinosaurs surfing a giant wave, and dinosaurs smelling flowers in Mary Cassatt’s garden; grazing in Grandma Moses’ green valley; peeking around Diego Rivera’s lilies; tiptoeing through Baishi’s inky bamboo; and cavorting, stampeding, or hiding in canvases by Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, Franz Marc, Harrison Begay, Alma Thomas, Aaron Douglas, Mark Rothko, Lois Mailou Jones, Marguerite Zorach, and Edvard Munch. And, of course, striking a Mona Lisa pose for Leonardo da Vinci.
As in If Picasso Painted a Snowman, our guide for this tour is an engaging hamster who is joined in the final pages by a tiny dino artist. Thumbnail biographies of the artists identify their iconic works, completing this tour of the creative imagination. Color throughout.
Available on Amazon. Ages 6-9; 40 Pages; Hardcover $17.95
Mother Earth’s Lullaby by Terry Pierce and illustrated by Carol Heyer
When Mother Earth bids goodnight, / the world is bathed in silver light. / She says, “Goodnight, my precious ones.” / Nature’s song has just begun.
Mother Earth’s Lullaby is a gentle bedtime call to some of the world’s most endangered animals. Rhythm, rhyme, and repetition create a quiet moment for children burrowing down in their own beds for the night, imparting a sense that even the most endangered animals feel safe at this peaceful time of day. In successive spreads, a baby giant panda, yellow-footed rock wallaby, California condor, Ariel toucan, American red wolf, Sumatran tiger, polar bear, Javan rhinoceros, Vaquita dolphin, Northern spotted owl, Hawaiian goose, and Key deer are snuggled to sleep by attentive parents in their dens and nests under the moon and stars.
Brief descriptions of each animal appear in the back of the book. Color throughout.
Available on Amazon. Ages 4-7; 36 Pages; Hardcover $17.95
How Nature Works: Don’t Mess With Me: The Strange Lives of Venomous Sea Creatures by Paul Erickson and photographs by Andrew Martinez
Why are toxins so advantageous to their possessors as to evolve over and over again? What is it about watery environments that favor so many venomous creatures? Marine biologist Paul Erickson explores these and other questions with astounding images from Andrew Martinez and other top underwater photographers.
Scorpions and brown recluse spiders are fine as far as they go, but if you want daily contact with venomous creatures, the ocean is the place to be. Blue-ringed octopi, stony corals, sea jellies, stonefish, lionfish, poison-fanged blennies, stingrays, cone snails, blind remipedes, fire urchins―you can choose your poison in the ocean. Venoms are often but not always defensive weapons. The banded sea krait, an aquatic snake, wriggles into undersea caves to prey on vicious moray eels, killing them with one of the world’s most deadly neurotoxins, which it injects through fangs that resemble hypodermic needles. The Komodo dragon, an ocean-going reptile, tears into a water buffalo with its blade-like teeth, then secretes a deadly toxin into the open wounds.
Available on Amazon. Ages 3-7; 48 Pages ; Hardcover $17.95
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Stuff Those Stockings with Children’s Books from Tilbury House! 📖🎄🎅🏼 ENTER TO WIN ALL 4 BOOKS! Enter as many times as you like! Open to U.S. (void in HI & AK) For a chance to win: 1) Follow @thereviewwire 2) Tag 2 Friends in this Post (more tags = more entries!) 3) Like This Post Eligible for entry Dec 10th @ 2pm EST to Dec 14th @ 5pm EST. Winners must have a public account. The winner will have 24 hours to claim the prize: if they do not respond we will draw a new winner. . This giveaway is no way sponsored by Instagram. By entering you are confirming you are 18+ years of age, you release Instagram of any/all responsibility, and you agree to Instagram’s terms of use. . #giveaway #entertowin #prizes #contest #books #kids #kidsbooks #kidlit #readingisfun #tilbury #picasso #davinci #instagiveaway #instabooks #bookshelf #whattoread #stockingstuffers #booksforchildren #educationalbooks #cincinnatiblogger #whattoread #giveawaycontest #giveawaytime
One reader will receive all four books from Tilbury House: If Picasso Painted a Snowman, If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur, Mother Earth’s Lullaby, and How Nature Works: Don’t Mess With Me: The Strange Lives of Venomous Sea Creatures ($72). See below for terms & conditions. Open to U.S. residents of the 48 contiguous United States. You must be 18 years old to enter to win. This giveaway ends at 5:00 PM EST on 12.14.18
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Renee Rousseau says
Books are the best gifts ever, they keep on giving. Great selections of gift ideas!
gloria patterson says
I like seeing write up on childrens books. My great niece is 2 and I want her to love books. So I am always getting her books. But if I read a review that sounds really good I will add it to my wish list for her.