We were so thrilled to welcome back Libby Hamilton and Paul Black from Andersen Press and especially excited to meet Joseph Coelho and Fiona Lumbers, the author-illustrator team behind Luna Loves Library Day.
Breaking with tradition, I’m not going to tell you about the evening because, in a first for #picturebookclub, we broadcast Libby’s fantastic interview with Joe and Fiona and you can view it here. Isn’t modern technology a wonderful thing?! But sadly even Facebook live cannot transmit flapjacks so you did miss out on sampling the flapjack library if you weren’t there IRL (-;
Instead I am going to talk about the book. Which is truly lovely. You should buy it.
It is a beautiful thing quite literally in every sense. A visual, verbal and tactile joy. I’ll start with the cover. Covers like this are why picture books need to be physical objects and not ebooks. It feels lovely with raised lettering and illustration with an old-fashioned, comforting cloth-bound feel. I’m stroking it now! Then you open it to begin the adventure and Fiona’s delightful characters jump off the page. Books with real children are unashamedly right up my street and Fiona has a gift for conveying emotion and fun in her illustrations. Luna is a super little character but I also loved the girl with glasses who likes to read in unusual positions. Fiona’s colourful, thoughtful illustrations perfectly complement Joseph’s text. And what a story! I won’t spoil it but this is about so much more than a trip to the library! If you are an aspiring picture book writer then read this book if you want an example of ‘show, don’t tell’. I can’t pick out a favourite spread because there is something to love at every page turn.
We were so privileged to meet the whole team behind this special book. I can’t wait to see what Fiona and Joe get up to next!
