In Focus - Hardcover

Editor at Caterpillar Books and a book review blogger at Through the Wardrobe, Libby's days are filled with writing, reading and dreaming up new books. After graduating as an animation director from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Barbara began working as an art director, character & background designer for a TV series and also a few short films. She likes to go adventuring with lots of ideas in her head and a lot of pens in her pocket. After starting off as a junior in the greeting card world many years ago and facing the challenges of modern styles Chester has now turned his hand to illustration. This opportunity within the book world it has given him a perspective on where his interests lie and so we should be seeing more of his illustration work soon! Founded by the two designers Alexandre Verhille & Sarah Tavernier, L'Atelier Cartographik is a creative studio which offers visual solutions in illustrated map, data-visualization and pop up engineering. Chris Chatterton spent several years working in design and animation before making the move into illustration. In his spare time he enjoys film, TV and stuffing his face with a burger or two. He lives and works in Durham surrounded by his every growing picture book collection. Jessie lives in sunny Brighton, amongst seagulls and ice-creams, she can be found most days in her studio, surrounded by bits of cut up paper and colouring pencils. She likes stripy socks, Jaffa cakes, and has a raging addiction to Desert Island Discs. As Thomas spent the majority of his education daydreaming and staring blankly into space, his teachers thought he'd never amount to anything. But it looks like he got the last laugh because since graduating with a BA (Hons) in Illustration from Falmouth University, he now makes a living daydreaming! Clair graduated in 2014 from Falmouth University, and has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since. She especially loves illustrating for children, hand rendered typography and food illustration. Lindsey is a freelance illustrator based in North West London where she works from her home-studio for a broad range of international clients. Her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, books on packaging and other products. Jen is an artist, designer, and animator. She attended University of the Arts, where she earned herself a fancy degree. She loves to illustrate children's books and is currently living happily ever after in New Jersey with her husband and fluffy puppy, Daisy. Tracey has been working as an illustrator for 10 years and works in a number of mediums and styles. She has worked for magazines, publishers and design teams and likes to use vintage art books for inspiration.

Gr 2–6—Employing a unique approach, this title was created by 10 illustrators concentrating on 10 subjects each. The illustrators chose familiar and unfamiliar areas to focus on, such as homes, space, landmarks, and vegetables. Each artist gets a spread with full-page foldout flaps. The illustrators' drawing styles are different and range from slightly comic to exquisitely detailed. The visuals are intricate and intriguing and invite readers to find out more. Colors are soft but saturated; the text font is easy to read. Simple diagrams discuss concepts, and dotted lines are used to label parts and lead from the artwork to explanatory boxes of text. The tone is conversational in style, though the phrasing is periodically awkward or convoluted. VERDICT A fun selection that will nicely augment the current curriculum emphasis on STEAM subjects.—Gretchen Crowley, Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA