I bought vast numbers of picturebooks on the hop last year, frantically skim reading them,  while trying to stop baby Wolf from clambering onto tables, yanking things off shelves or  scampering out into the street. One such purchase was Chis Hadfield’s The Darkest Dark.  On … Continue reading3. The Darkest Dark: If the Soprano Coughs in the First Act, She’ll Be Dead by the Last

Normally, in seeking to learn more about a singer from the past, such as American contralto Marian Anderson, a picturebook might not be our first port of call. Wouldn’t it be more useful to look her up on YouTube and Wikipedia? Well, let’s look at … Continue reading2. Marian Anderson – Strictly Come Singing

Let’s start this series of posts on biographical picturebooks by considering Barb Rosenstock and Mary Grandpre’s The Noisy Paint Box. It’s an exuberant celebration of art and creative freedom, and an inspiring example of the ability of the picturebook to bring the past into the … Continue reading1. Vasily Kandinsky – Feeling Like an Insider