Albert Ullin first opened The Little Bookroom’s doors in 1960 with a vision of establishing Australia’s first children’s book specialist store. Over half a century later, The Little Bookroom stands as the world’s oldest. Since then, Ullin’s impact on children’s literature and young readers has been well recognised: he received the Dromkeen Medal in 1986, and in 1997 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to children’s literature in Australia and beyond.
The notion that a picture is worth a thousand words is never truer than in children’s picture books; the images and illustrations we absorb as young readers shape our views of the world, from our sense of humour to our sense of style. With that in mind, we draw together some of the best in the business to explore the craft of illustrating for young readers – how they illustrate, why they illustrate, and the role illustrated books play in educating young readers.
Jane Tanner, Sally Rippin, Marc Martin and host Oslo Davis will come together to celebrate some of the books and illustrators who’ve changed our lives with their wit, felt-tips and imaginary worlds.
Featuring
Jane Tanner
Jane Tanner is an author/illustrator who has been creating picture books for over 30 years. Her award-winning books include There's a Sea in my Bedroom with Margaret Wild, Drac and the Gremlin with Allan Baillie, The Wolf with Margaret Barbalet, The Fisherman and the Theefyspray with Paul Jennings and her own Playmates and Isabella's Secret.
Sally Rippin
Sally Rippin is the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2024 – 2025 and has written over 100 books for children and young adults, many of them award-winning, including Come Over to My House, the Billie B Brown, and the ...
Marc Martin
Marc Martin is an illustrator, artist and book maker based in Melbourne, Australia. His illustrations have been commissioned by clients such as Monocle, Wired, the Financial Review, Capital, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and various festivals.
He is also the author and illustrator of four books, A Forest (Penguin Books, 2012), Silent Observer (Erm Books, 2011), The Curious Explorer's Illustrated Guide to Exotic Animals A-Z (Penguin Books, 2013) and Max (Penguin Books, 2014).
Marc's books are published internationally, and A Forest won the 2013 Crichton Award for Children's Book Illustration.
Oslo Davis
Oslo Davis is an illustrator, cartoonist and artist who has drawn for a number of organisations worldwide, including the New York Times, the Age, the Monthly, Meanjin, SBS and the Guardian.
He has also been commissioned to draw for the National Gallery of Victoria, the Golden Plains music festival, State Library Victoria and Melbourne Writers Festival, among many others. Oslo’s latest book is Overheard - The Art of Eavesdropping.