Does Santa Know How Old I Am? Christmas Campaign goes live TODAY!
Buy You’re One! to You’re Five! HERE
There’s a Baddie Running Through This Book & Blast Off! hit Christmas Lists!
BOOMERANG BOOKS By Dimity Powell
It’s Christmas!! Almost. Don’t scramble for a last minute gift idea. Buy a book! Timeless, entertaining, informative, beautiful FUN! Check out some of my picture book stocking filler recommendations this week. Boomerang Books
There’s a Baddie Running Through This Book by Shelly Unwin and Vivienne To
This book is rife with baddies, or rather one small masked little bandit who is leaving gaping holes on every page as he pilfers scraps of To’s beautiful illustrations. He is quick and sneaky, too, dashing from one page to the next, sometimes up, other times down, always just one step ahead of the crowd, until he takes one wrong step…This is a book of fast paced rhyming fun encouraging kids to keep up with the pictures and explore their spatial awareness. Anyone from three years and up will get a kick out of this treat-nabbing baddie tale. Allen & Unwin Children’s September 2018
Artsplorers – 20 Gorgeous Australian Picture Books From 2018
Never mind the hard covers and pointy edges, I am of the opinion that books are the warmest, fuzziest gifts that you can give a kid. Picture books, in particular, are most children’s earliest exposure to art and literature, so I think a beautiful book is one step in the right direction of growing a lifelong arts lover. I have fallen in love with many Aussie picture books this year, so I’m rounding of 20 of the gorgeous Ausstralian picture books (in no particular order) that have made me starry eyed in 2018. Any of these would make a stunning gift for your children, grandchildren, cousins, neighbors, class birthday kids, childcare centre …basically, if you know a kid, there’s a book on here for them!
Space lovers – this one is for you! Written in such clever verse, this book follows a couple of junior astronauts as they visit each planet. My kid is a bit of a 5 year old astronomy fanatic, and one thing I particularly appreciated about this book is that all of the facts at each planet aren’t necessarily the ones that you tend to hear over and over. Plus, the illustrations are darling. I think around 4 – 6 would be a great age for this out-of-this-world charmer. (Random House Australia)Artsplorers.com
Blast in to Space with your own copy HERE!
Some of our favourite local authors have some magnificent titles for Christmas. Shelly Unwin’s There’s a Baddie Running Through This Book (A&U) A&U site is so much fun to read out loud with a group of kids. It invokes those same emotions we all felt when first reading There’s a Monster at the End of this Book (Jon Stone, Golden Books).
How author and Mum Shelly Unwin makes education fun
THU 13 JULY 2017
Sometimes with kids books there can be a bit of a separation between education and fun – you’ve got the counting and alphabet picture books in one corner and stories in another.
Shelly Unwin is a Mum of two and an author who has managed to bridhe that gap with her “You’re” series. The books are aimed at kids one to five and celebrate each year with rhymes that also help kids learn about counting and the world.
Shelly opens up about how she turned a dream into an adorable and clever book series and what the future holds.
There’s a Baddie Running Through This Book gets a Sunday Times review!!
You’re One!
Shortlisted for The Speech Pathology Book of the Year – Younger Readers
Blast Off! blasts off!
Over the last few weeks I’ve had the enormous joy of launching my latest picture book, Blast Off! 
in Sydney and Canberra. It is such a fun book to launch with kids. I’ve transformed them into little astronauts before we’ve taken a trip around the solar system alongside the characters in the book.
At Baker College, the boys loved testing their astronaut reaction times and launching a rocket at the end of a dramatic countdown – love the teachers face in that photo! (can you spot the rocket flying through the air?)
At the Lindfield Learning Hub I was joined by the amazing Ben Wood who illustrated Blast Off! He created an awesome whacky planet with the kids ideas, they loved his alien with 32 legs, and the fruity sky, as well as playing with their own ideas on black paper with oil pastels.
At the Deep Space Communication Complex, Moon Rock Cafe in Canberra we had fun in the NASA astronaut suit, and the kids tested their astronaut fitness levels as well as trying to put a puzzle back together wearing Space Gloves. And how amazing does their artwork look against the backdrop of a Canberra blue sky and a satellite dish?!!!
At Harry Hartog, Woden I was interviewed by the beautiful Claire, who wanted to know all about my favourite planet, which planet I would visit if I had the chance, and who I would take with me. The mini astronauts tested their bravery and did some wonderful star jumps before we went adventuring into space.
I’ve been signing lots of books too, you’ll find signed copies at Dymocks Canberra City, The National Library of Australia book shop, Paperchain in Manuka, Dymocks Belconnen, Harry Hartog Woden, Kinokuniya Sydney, The Children’s Bookshop Beecroft and The Lindfield Learning Hub.
A HUGE thank you for event support to:
James & Claire – Harry Hartog Woden
Paul & Beth – The Children’s Bookshop Beecroft
Louise & Lindy – The Lindfield Learning Hub
David – The Moon Rock Cafe, Deep Space Communication Complex, Canberra
All of the gorgeous staff and children at Barker College
Photo credits to Leanne Barrett and Amelia Mcinerney.
Launched!
The first of the launch parties took place on friday last week, and what a wonderful day and experience. The kids had a blast listening to the stories, singing along and of course, eating cake. Here are some pics from the big day…
Counting Down to Release Day
It feels a bit like being on Master Chef, we’ve had 2 hours (2 years) to get ready for the release of these books at a (fairly) leisurely pace and now we’re in the last two minutes (2 weeks), frantically plating up (preparing to launch). So much has to happen in the last couple of weeks. Here are a few of the things we’ve been up to…
(Above: Katherine has prepared some artwork that will be framed in time for the launch.)
(Above: We’ve recorded a video of Katie reading You’re One! to beautiful one year old, Minnie, to be played at the launch)
(Above: Cupcakes have been baked (and eaten!) In celebration of the arrival of my copies of You’e One! – You’re Five!)
I can’t wait to see the first books hit the shelves on the 24th May and to Launch the books officially on the 1st June, with a number of launch parties to follow. Check out my blog post ‘Launch Time’ for details of how you can get involved in a launch.
You’re One! You’re Two! You’re Three! You’re Four! and You’re Five! Picture Book series with Allen & Unwin. Due for release on the 1st June 2017. Illustrated by Katherine Battersby.
Illustration sneak peek.
Signed, Sealed and so excited!
Have you got an illustrator? Yessss!!!
Due for release in early 2018
A non-fiction Picture Book, Blast Off! with Penguin Random House. To be illustrated by the amazingly talented and incredibly funny Ben Wood. https://shellyunwin.com/2016/11/14/ http://www.benwoodillustrations.com
