The Grown-Up's Guide to Picture Books
A picture book is a book with pictures, but it’s so much more than that! This A to Z guide helps you level up your picture book reading experiences, empowering yourself and the young readers in your world to dive deeper into what makes a great picture book great. With histories, insights and handy talking points for shared reading, come and explore the complexities of modern picture books.
‘I know of no other book that will so quickly improve a grown-up’s ability to engage more deeply with that which is so human – the combination of words and pictures to tell stories.’ – Matt Shanks, award-winning Australian picture book author and illustrator
‘This stunning book guides readers through storytelling structures, offering classroom activities and encouraging a lifelong love of picture books. An empowering must-own for authors and illustrators, educators and readers. Long live the power of a picture book!’ – Andrea Rowe, award-winning children’s picture book author
Dr Lara Cain Gray is a writer, librarian and storytelling advocate based in Brisbane, Australia. Her professional past spans library and museum curatorship, academic research, and corporate and creative writing and editing. She is currently Head of Acquisitions at nonprofit publisher Library For All, delivering cross-cultural children’s books to remote and low-income communities. She reads every day and will NEVER be too old for picture books.
Timothy Ide is an Adelaide based illustrator with a number of children’s books under his belt, including Tom the Outback Mailman written by Kristin Weidenbach, which won the Eve Pownall CBCA award in 2013. His most recent children’s books are King of the Outback, the Story of Sidney Kidman (2017), also by Kristin Weidenbach and Born to Fly (2019) by Beverley McWilliams. Medieval Monsters and Other Creatures (2023) is his first book as both author and illustrator. When he is not illustrating, Timothy enjoys wargaming and role-playing games as well as practising medieval fighting in full armour.
Lorena Carrington is an illustrator whose books have been published in Australia and internationally. Her works are created using photography and digital montage techniques to form richly layered images. She has worked with the likes of Kate Forsyth, Sophie Masson and Carmel Bird, and has illustrated fairy tale collections, picture books, and created covers for novels and anthologies. She also exhibits her work in galleries around Australia, and holds workshops on illustration, books and story. She is recipient of the 2020 Australian Fairy Tale Society award, for her ‘outstanding contribution to the field of Australian Fairy Tales’.
