Black Dog wins the Greenaway!

Templar Publishing are very proud to announce that
Levi Pinfold's beautiful picture book Black Dog is the WINNER 

of the 2013 CILIP Kate Greenaway Award!

We are over the moon and so very pleased for Levi - it is thoroughly well-deserved!

‘Of all the books considered for this award, BLACK DOG was the one that I most hoped would be recognised. Levi is an outstanding talent and we are immensely proud to be publishing him.’ Amanda Wood, Templar's Creative Director.

Here is a clip of Levi talking to our Art Director, Mike Jolley about his win:

http://youtu.be/wLSpBdQaaX8

Huge congratulations are also in order for our sister company, Hot Key Books, as Sally Gardner's Maggot Moon is the winner of the 2013 Carnegie Award! A very proud day for Bonnier!

Olive and the Bad Mood written and illustrated by Tor Freeman – Reviewed by Holly Surplice

Olive and the Bad Mood
By Tor Freeman

Olive and the Bad Mood by Tor Freeman is something that grown-ups & little people can all enjoy & relate to because lets face it, who doesn't get in a bad mood from time-to-time?! My nearly four year old was totally engrossed in the story and loved the unusual and abrupt approach of the grumpy Olive! She really enjoyed pointing out when Olive was being unkind, and sympathising with the other characters.


The fantastic use of white-space in this book makes it clear to see what is going on and really emphasises the main character's journey through the book which makes for a really lovely page-turning experience. The very clever visual description of a bad mood is brilliant done, and I love how contagious that little black cloud above the head is! Even without reading the words, this picture book has such clear visual narrative that it is one that non-readers can enjoy 'reading' by themselves which I always think is a wonderful thing.


For me, I found myself reminded, in a really great way, of Richard Scarry's Busytown books which I loved as a child, there is just something that is so funny about the characters that Tor has created for these books that I'm sure will lead them to be classics too. This very clever & witty book with universal appeal to both girls & boys is a great addition to any bookshelf, and has the bonus feature of teaching a very important lesson, what ever happens, you must ALWAYS share your sweets!

This review was written by Holly Surplice Follow her on Twitter @HollySurplice

GP by very talented Holly Surplice!

Visit Tor Freeman's blog here http://www.torfreeman.com/ 

Find out how to draw Olive HERE  

COMING SOON - There, There written by Sam McBratney and Illustrated by Ivan Bates

Introducing There, There, Publishing this May (in plenty of time for Fathers Day)
Written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Ivan Bates

Little Hansie Bear loves to pretend, but walking like a duck can be hazardous, especially when he falls into a deep-down ditch and has to be helped out by his dad. With a "There, there" and a hug, Hansie is soon off to play again. So when Dad hurts his foot, Hansie knows just what to do - a "There, there", a big hug, and everything is all right again.

We are thrilled to be able to show you an exclusive preview of some of Ivan's delightfully touching character development sketches ...

We think you'll agree they are utterly adorable.

Visit our Facebook page to see more!


You can follow Ivan on Twitter @IveBates 

 

Guest post from Gemma O'Neill!

Hello there. My name is Gemma O’Neill and I’m a UK based illustrator. I’m absolutely thrilled to be a guest blogger today and I’m ecstatic about the publication of my first picture book with Templar Publishing Oh Dear, Geoffrey! on the 1st January.

The tale revolves around a rather tall and clumsy giraffe called Geoffrey. He annoys all the other animals with his long legs and neck, until one day he finds he can show his friends something they have never seen before; the stars.

Geoffrey first appeared during the final year of my degree at University College Falmouth in 2011. I’ve always loved animals and natural history, so it seemed logical to base a story around one of my favourite animals. I love how tall giraffes are and their beautiful patterns. Texture, rich colours, and organic form play a large part in my work, so it was an absolute dream to start developing a giraffe as a central character. Then it wasn’t long before a concept based around the advantages and disadvantages of being so tall took shape. I have a tendency to overcomplicate ideas, so the more simplified the initial concept is the better.

By the time the Bologna Book Fair came around in Spring 2011, Geoffrey had his very own picture book, a cover and four coloured double page spreads. A few friends and I had been planning a trip to the fair since the summer before. So off we went with our illustration hampers. These included dummy books, portfolios, sketchbooks, business cards, sample illustration sheets and other goodies. We even replaced our identification necklaces with our business cards just to stand out.

We visited the Templar stand first and were greeted by the lovely Helen Boyle, who took the time to sit down with us and have a look at our work. We were then introduced to the wonderful Amanda Wood, who invited us to the London Book Fair the following week. I had absolutely no idea that my first book deal was just around the corner. I thought all the feedback would be great for the professional practice unit of my degree and a great warm up for taking our illustration hampers to New York a month later. It was a real adventure, surprise and without a doubt the happiest moment of my life to date was when the Templar team said they would publish my book.

So I left my degree with the book deal. I started developing Geoffrey further after my first visit to the exciting Templar headquarters. The book ended up having a lot more pages than originally planned and even more characters. I was very surprised and flattered not to be told to alter my illustrative style in any way. I work very intricately and traditionally using gouache, watercolours and collage, but tweak the work using Photoshop. The Templar team were an absolute dream to work with and the whole book making process felt very natural.

It’s obvious now, that I’ve been on an illustrative path since my childhood. As far back as I can remember I’ve always been creating, crafting, making, doodling, colouring and inventing. Or if I wasn’t doing that, I was tucked up in my favourite armchair with a book, tea and biscuits. I knew I wanted to be an author/ illustrator well before the end of school and my A-level choices of English Literature, Business, Art and Design reflected this. I was absolutely determined to do a degree in Illustration afterwards. However, I still decided to go through an art and design foundation course. I’m really glad I did, as it confirmed my love for illustration even further and gave me the confidence to travel form the North Coast of Ireland to Cornwall.

Creativity definitely defined my childhood, teenage years and I can’t wait for it to define the years to come. Roll on churning out the next book with Templar Publishing and I hope Oh Dear, Geoffrey brings some warmth to this January for you!

Happy New Year!

Thank you very much to Gemma for starting off our 2013 with this fab blog post! Find out more about Oh Dear, Geoffrey! here or on our website.

A quick Q&A with Thomas Docherty

 Author and illustrator Thomas Docherty answers our questions in a quick fire Q&A.

 His newest picture book, Wash-a-Bye-Bear is out June 2012.

 One of your books, Ruby Nettleship has been selected for the Summer Reading Challenge this year, congratulations! How does it make you feel?

It’s a wonderful feeling to think of all the children who will be reading my story and enjoying the pictures this summer. The book has a very positive, inclusive message, as well as being a lot of fun and I’m proud that the libraries have picked up on it and decided to include it in the challenge. I’m very fond of the story in particular as a lot of it was inspired by the area where I live and work in Bristol.  

Do you think libraries are important for children?

I think libraries are important for everyone. I am lucky enough to live near a brilliant local library and it is a hub of community activity and always full of a wide range of people of all ages. When I take my own children to the library I like the way that they have the freedom to choose their own books and are able to experience a wide range of ideas and styles and make up their own minds about what they read or look at.  When I was young, I was lucky enough to be taken to the library by my mum and dad, and as someone who found reading quite difficult, it was the picture books and comics that I found there that kept me interested in reading.

Do you remember the first book you loved?

I read a lot of books when I was young and loved them all but the first books I discovered for myself (in the library) and still love to this day are the Asterix books. Their ingenious combination of words and pictures probably played a large part in me wanting to write my own picture books.

Wash-a-bye-bear is a gorgeous book, where did you get the inspiration from? 

 The idea came from two places. An image in my head of a child seen from behind, sat in front of a washing machine, watching a bear go round and round (I don’t know where that came from!). Alongside that was the idea of how children explore very adult emotions through playing with their toys. As the story progresses, Flora is learning all about unconditional love and all the anxieties and rewards that go with it. I think that is something that all children and parents can relate to.

 

Did you have a special bear growing up?

I never had a bear that I could not do without but I did have a bear that had belonged to my grandma that I was very fond of. He was called Big Ted and he was so old that he was stuffed with straw and quite hard and scratchy. He had been so hugged and loved over the years that he was darned and patched all over and had a lot of character. I think he must still be somewhere in my mum and dad’s house.

What are you currently working on?

Two things. A rhyming picture book written by my wife Helen called ‘The Snatchabook’ about a night time book thief. And I am just about to start on a new picture book with Templar called ‘The Driftwood Ball.’ The only way to describe it is West Side Story with woodland creatures and of course, a happy ending.

Want to know more? Visit www.thomasdocherty.co.uk or http://www.templarco.co.uk/picture_books/thomas_docherty/thomas_docherty.html

Word Up! Festival

Three days at Word Up! the new South London children's book festival held in Dulwich saw Templar's Adam Stower, Emma Dodd and Kelly Gerrard and Simon Bartram play to sold out events. First up with Adam and despite a young fan knowing that the doggy was in fact a bear, and kept on shouting this out - Adam, as ever, was delightful with the children who just love guessing his drawings. The parents are pretty keen on him too!

That was on Saturday, then on Sunday - it was a Roman Rescue graphic novel session with Emma Dodd and Kelly Gerrard - and this being an area of very motivated children they really got stuck in with their graphic novel spreads - based on the Red Riding Hood scene - with Emma scaring herself with her own picture of the wolf. It was one of the children's suggestions that Red Riding Hood arm herself with a gun, but we are pleased to say that no wolves were harmed in this event.

Monday morning, bright and early had Simon Bartram in the main theatre at Alleyns School, which was the venue for the Word Up! festival. Very smart school - even have a Costa Coffee on site. Again, a packed house literally brought the house down with their excitement and shouting. A best alien fancy dress competition was judged - and following the X Factor lead we had best boy, best girl and best group winners.

Simon's writing and drawing workshop was well attended and some brilliant ideas were discussed, drawings done and a superb alien drawn by the children at the end of the session.

Thanks so much to Word Up! for inviting us - its was very well run and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Emma Dodd and Thomas Docherty at the Discover Children's Story Centre

It feels like we haven't seen Jayne for ages! She was out and about last week with Simon Bartram and Emma Dodd and on Sunday (6th March) she spent the day with Emma again as well as picture book creator Thomas Docherty at the Discover Centre in Stratford. She has been keeping in touch with her blogs, however, and here is what happened over the weekend.

Click here to see more of Emma's books
Click here to see more of Thomas' books

The Big Write is a festival of children's literature run by the Discover Children's Story Centre in Stratford, east London, during March. On Sunday, two Templar authors and illustrators, Emma Dodd and Thomas Docherty told stories, drew wonderful pictures and charmed the children and their parents.

Thomas had a storytelling event and picture drawing workshop and even the tiniest tot joined in. His wife, Helen and two children Lucia and Bethan came along too and joined in with the others. Thomas put a huge piece of card on the floor and asked all the children to help him draw a magical playground - and they did! Wonderful imaginative work by all. I do hope this picture goes up on the wall alongside all the others.

The magical playground takes shape...

Emma's audience once again enthusiastically joined in with all the animal noises for her Miaow Said the Cow reading and their drawings too were lovely.

The fans queue up to get their books signed by Emma

Thanks to all at Discover for making us so welcome and to all those who came along for joining in and making it such a fun time.