Celebrating the wonderful world of picture books

As parents we know there is no joy more complete than watching the rapt faces of your children when you read a picture book together. Picture books have lots of other benefits as well such as stimulating language because children have a natural responsiveness to pictures.  They are also perfect for settling children at bedtime.

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So, we've created a special section full of all our favourite picture books. And to make it easy to find ones that help your toddler in understanding the world or just books from a handful of brilliant illustrators we have created click-on tabs to reveal additional sections.

We're not the only people who understand the importance of Picture Books:

The Children's Book Reviewer of The Sunday Times, Nicolette Jones says, "Sharing picture books regularly is not only fun, it also means that babies, toddlers and infants develop faster - it gives them advantages at school, even before they start."

Julia Donaldson, bestselling author of The Gruffalo says: "If books are introduced early into a child's routine, then reading them will seem an obvious and normal thing to do."

Celebrating some Great Illustrators - New Talent and Trusted Favourites:

Catherine Rayner: A prize winning illustrator who creates stunning picture books with some delightful characters. Gorgeous, warmly coloured large scale pictures lie at the heart of Catherine’s work. For more information click here.

Tim Hopgood: Bubbling with energy, prize winning Tim Hopgood’s illustrations are also full of warmth and lots and lots of colour.  For more information click here.

Rod Campbell: The masterly creator of interactive books including classic tab and flap books. Simplicity itself in terms of design and always full of delightful surprises, Rod Campbell’s books are perfect as first introductions to concepts. For more information click here.

Emily Gravett: A prize-winning illustrator with distinctive illustrations, which are always full of wit bringing the unexpected into stories and injecting them all with delightful humour. For more information click here.

Nick Sharratt:  Nick Sharratt’s big and bold illustrations leap off the page and delight very young readers with their cheerful simplicity. For more information click here.

We hope you and the children you read with enjoy our selection.

Finally, if you are or someone you know is a talented illustrator then you might well be interested to know that one of the top children's book publishers, Macmillan has a prize for Children's Book Illustration that they give annually for the most talented up-and-coming illustrator.  The Macmillan Prize has so far launched the careers of Lucy Cousins, Ross Collins, Charles Fuge and Sarah Fanelli.  For more details please contact: lindsey.evans@macmillan.co.uk.

For more information go to www.picturebookparade.com