Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2011
Award winning Oliver Jeffers’s latest book is wholly compelling for the importance of its message and the brilliance of how that is conveyed in words and pictures. To overcome her sadness when her grandfather dies a little girl decides to protect her heart from any further suffering by putting it in a bottle. For a time it works, but living without a heart turns out to be living only part of a life and soon the little girl needs to get it back. Luckily, there is someone who can help her. A book to return to time and time again.
Award-winning picture book star Oliver Jeffers explores themes of love and loss in this life-affirming, uplifting tale, due to be featured in a major motion picture. Once there was a girl who was full of wonderment at how the world worked. She shared all her dreams and excitement with her father, who always had the answer to every question. That is until one day when his chair was empty, not to be filled again - how would the girl ever find meaning from her life again?
'This is a book that children will devour.' The Observer
'Oliver Jeffers makes impressive use of space in this affecting story of friendship. Illustrations capture feelings of loss and loneliness through the most delicate nuances of facial expression and body language.' Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian
'Beautifully illustrated, simple warm story!little children will love to share it.' Carousel
'Jeffers has a unique writing and illustrative style. It's a wonderful picture book.' Publishing News
'My picture book of the year, a joyful exploration of the power of friendship.' Irish Independentpraise for'How to Catch a Star'.
'The best recent picture book by light years, is stylishly spellbinding.' Telegraph
'A story about possibilities and disappointments with a triumphant ending, all of which Jeffers captures through the beautifully expressive changing moods of his little boy.' The Guardian
'This is a magical, beautifully illustrated tale about reaching for dreams.' Mail on Sunday
'Hail to new talent! If only all picture books could be this good.' The Bookseller
Author
About Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers has won numerous awards and delighted millions of kids and parents alike with his beautifully hand illustrated stories.
Jeffers's picture books are wonderfully accessible. They explore themes of friendship, loneliness, independence and imagination. He has written and illustrated, or "made", as he prefers to put it, five hugely successful picture books. The first three - the "boy books" - feature a small boy who sets off on a series of daunting quests. How to Catch a Star (2004), the first of them, was inspired by a Brer Rabbit story he read as a child. In Lost and Found (2005) the boy heroically rows to the south pole for the sake of an unhappy penguin, and in The Way Back Home (2007) he rescues a young Martian whose spaceship has crashed on the moon.
The Heart and the Bottle is wholly compelling for the importance of its message and the brilliance of how that is conveyed in words and pictures. This is a book to return to time and time again says Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4kids’ editorial expert.
Jeffers was born in Australia in 1977 and brought up in Belfast. He studied visual communication at the University of Ulster, and graduated in 2001. Jeffers became passionate about making picture books when he began to understand the subtle relationship between words and pictures – ‘that was what excited me. Until I got really involved, I hadn't realised how just a few words can totally change the meaning of a picture.’ Now living in New York, he works as a painter, designer, printmaker and installation artist, but remains very busy making picture books.
Did you know?
Oliver loves plastic food, suitcase handles and Elvis, and has developed a bizarre habit of endlessly writing lists he never reads. He remains hell bent on travelling all over the world.
You can see Oliver talking about his artwork in this video:
We have a super set of Oliver Jeffers activity pages to download :
