The Illustrator book series from Thames and Hudson

Book seller blurb: An overview of the life and work of Oliver Jeffers, the Belfast-raised illustrator, bookmaker, painter, designer, campaigner and global superstar of the world of visual communication. A phenomenon of 21st-century bookmaking, Oliver Jeffers has carved an extraordinary career that shows no sign of slowing. Still only in his forties, he has published an array of hugely popular books, both as illustrator and author–illustrator. This overview of his life and work – so far – charts his passion for the environment and his quest to understand humanity’s major challenges, and the impact this has had on his creative and intellectual output. The list of Jeffers’s accomplishments is long and glittering: he has held numerous one-man shows, in both the UK and the USA, and was appointed an MBE in 2022 for services to the arts. Most importantly, however, he has tirelessly pushed the boundaries of what a picturebook can be. His regular exploration of existential issues – whether through illustration or other media such as site-specific installation or film – has exerted a major influence on the practice of authorial picturebook-making.

If you have a favourite illustrator or you want to know more about these important contributors to world of children's books, these reference titles from Thames and Hudson contain a wealth of background information and heaps of examples of their work. There are nine books in this series (so far). Judith Kerr; Posy Simmonds; Ludwiig Bemelmans; Oliver Jeffers; Dick Bruna; Raymond Briggs; Walter Crane; Miroslav Šašek and Tove Jansson. When you click on the image of each cover on the publisher page (above) you can see sample pages. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with some of these names - so this post might be a jumping of point for your exploration of their books. 

Bookseller blurb: An appreciation of the life and art of Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomin books, which are adored by children and adults across the globe.

This book provides fresh insights and a deeper appreciation of the life and art of Tove Jansson (1914-2001), one of the most original, influential and perennially enjoyed illustrators of the 20th century. Jansson’s flourishing Moomin books are examined in detail, as are her interpretations of such classics as Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Hunting of the Snark, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Born in Helsinki among the Swedish-speaking Finnish minority, Jansson was brought up with a love for making art and stories in a supportive artistic family. Her first illustrated tales were published when she was fourteen years old. From a year later until 1953, she drew humorous and political cartoons as well as striking front covers for the satirical magazine Garm, responding to the Second World War and its aftermath as she developed from art student to painter and muralist, bohemian and lesbian. This book also explores the emergence of her Moomin world, appearing in her first children’s book in 1945 and then in newspaper strips. These would lead to her being headhunted by the London Evening News, the world’s biggest-selling evening paper, to write and draw a daily Moomin newspaper cartoon. This body of work is one of her great achievements, expanding her stories, settings and cast and invigorating her drawing and writing. Jansson also wrote many novels, documented here along with personal commentaries from her own writings.