Mim and the Anxious Artist by Katrinia Nannestad illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

Mim, Nat (her brother) and dad along with their accompanying menagerie of animals have arrived in Paris with their horse drawn bookshop. Mim marvels at the beautiful city and Nat loves the idea of the Awful Tower, his new discovery of French culinary treats and the way he can find his favourite letter 'S' in just about any situation.

They meet a very talented artist named Pierre. His portrait art is captivating but once a painting is completed, he simply cannot give it away or give it to the person who has paid him. This is one of several dilemmas that Mim need to solve with the help of the seemingly mismatched books her father sells each customer from his bookshop. How on earth can a book about gardening help Pierre? Why does the rich lady need The Happy Handyman? And a book about bridges for a famous chef? Surely not. 

In 2021 I read the first first installment of The Travelling Bookshop series. Such a charming story with yummy cakes and the idea of giving the perfect book to a reader! I picked up this one - book three - at a recent charity book sale. I did wonder if I should have read the second installment first but no, the books in this series do stand alone - but IF you can try to get the whole set and then settled down for a delicious week or two of reading. 

In this video Katrina Nannestad talks about her series. Here is her website. You can see more of my posts which feature books by Katrina Nannestad by clicking on the label the bottom of this post. I also adore the illustrations and bright covers by Cheryl Orsini of this book and all the other titles from the series. 

This series is filled with such hope and whimsy, bringing words and the world to life for us. It is a series that I have been following since the beginning, and I am looking forward to seeing where Mim and her family go next with their wonderful bookshop. It’s such a fun series and readers of all ages will get something wonderful out of it. The Book Muse

This is the newest installment published March, 2024

Bookseller blurb: Mim Cohen roams the world in a travelling bookshop, with her dad and brother and a horse called Flossy. Flossy leads them where she will, to the place where they're needed most ... the place where the perfect book will find its way home. Now Mim has arrived in wonderful Venice, city of canals, palaces, bridges, boats and ... quarrels. Gondolier battles, cat nappings and laundry theft are just the beginning. The Magnifico family and the Forte family are at war. Mim knows they're here to help the feuding families. To show them a better way to behave. To bring an end to the vicious vendetta. If only Mim could find each of them the right book. If only they'd all stop reading the wrong books.