Books to cherish every day
We are going to be at Book Expo in Sydney this weekend, showcasing our beautiful books, merchandise and exciting things to come. And our fabulous author Duncan Ball will be there on both days doing events. Come and see us there and say hi! By the way, we still have a few free tickets available… email us for details on contact@christmaspresspicturebooks.com
And check out our Facebook page for Book Expo updates.
Fabulous news: we have won a small business grant from Australia Post,as part of their Our Neighbourhood Grants for 2015!
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We are delighted to announce that Two Tengu Tales from Japan has received a five-star review from reviewer Merle Morcom in the new(October) issue of Good Reading Magazine! Here’s an extract:
Duncan Ball retells these two old Japanese tales so simply, while David Allan weaves pure magic on every page with his classic Japanese-style art. A perfect book to introduce young children to the magic world of Japanese folklore.
Another lovely review to add to the growing list for this beautiful book! Here’s an extract:
Highly recommended. Christmas Press continues their celebration of stories from around the world. This impressive, beautifully illustrated picture book is a retelling of two Japanese folk tales. Duncan Ball author of the Selby the talking dog and Emily Eyefinger series introduces the tengu, magical forest goblins who grant wishes to people who need a miracle. They are tricksters and there is always a sting in the tail. There’s always a consequence, often unexpected. Good and evil, poor and rich are themes that resonate here….David Allan’s art nouveau styled scenes, inspired by Japanese paintings and linocuts, are wonderful, bringing the stories to life. They evocatively set the scenes, showcasing the traditional ways of life, the mountains and countryside. An engaging read for families and classes, one to share with young and old.
Read the whole review here.
This year, as readers know, we moved to hardcover for our beautiful picture books. Doing so introduced a whole new level of complexity, especially as this also meant offshore printing, but our passage to hardcover was eased considerably by working with an absolutely excellent book production manager, Karen Small, of Small but Mighty Productions. Today we want to feature Karen’s fantastic work, both with our books--she has now handled three of them–but also a range of book projects, emanating from both small-press publishers like ourselves and self-publishers, as well as companies. Read what we and others have to say here. We highly recommend her services!
Another great review for the beautiful Two Tengu Tales from Japan, by Duncan Ball and David Allan: review published in Buzz Words. Here’s a short extract:
Thank goodness for Christmas Press which works hard to introduce young Australian readers to legends, myths and folklore from other countries! Here is its latest offering, a lively retelling by a well-known children’s author of stories about tengu, magical beings from Japan who grant wishes to those who ask them. However, tengu are tricksters…
This is a gorgeously presented book, well-designed with illustrations in the Japanese tradition which are so attractive they make you want to pore over them.
You can read the full review here.
Enjoy!
We have great Teachers’ Notes for all our folktale collections, and have just put up a set for Two Tengu Tales from Japan, which features a great article by Duncan Ball, illustrated with his photos, about his encounters with the folklore of Japan, especially the tengu. You can down load it for free on the Teachers’ Notes page. Note: all copyright in the notes remains with Christmas Press, and all copyright in the article and photos remains with Duncan Ball.
Christmas Press had a big presence at the recent Booked In children’s literature festival in Armidale, NSW. Our latest book, Duncan Ball and David Allan’s gorgeous Two Tengu Tales from Japan, was launched. As well, two of our authors–Sophie Masson, author of Two Trickster Tales from Russia, and John Heffernan, whose book with us, Two Tales from Ancient Mesopotamia, is coming out next year–were on a panel on retelling traditional tales, chaired by Tom Penrose from the New England Writers’ Centre. And no less than four of our illustrators were on an Illustrator Panel in the afternoon, discussing the illustration life: chair Trish Donald(who had illustrations in Once Upon A Christmas); David Allan(illustrator of Tricksters, Twins and Tengu) Fiona McDonald(illustrator of Selkies and Fearsome Fairy Tales) and Kate Durack(who is illustrating John Heffernan’s book of Mesopotamian tales). It was an exciting and interesting time, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it! Here are a few photos from the illustrator panel.
Today is the day we are officially launching Duncan Ball and David Allan’s gorgeous book, Two Tengu Tales from Japan. The launch is being held at the Armidale and Dumaresq Library, at 4pm. If you’re a local, or visiting Armidale, do pop in and celebrate with us!
Christmas Press 