"strands of seaweed trailing behind her"

I have been a lifelong advocate for good quality children’s picture books, those created by writers and artists, rather than those put together with little thought other than to link with TV/film etc. I first started being interested when, in my first few years of teaching, I took on the task of creating a library for the First School where I was working - I was given a budget and researched the best books to buy. Since then I have bought books for our own children,  the children of friends, for use in schools where I was working and finally for grandchildren. I have always searched out hardback copies of the best books and they have lasted in the hands of many children and their parents and teachers.

Now I have no children to buy books for . . . so for the first time I am buying them for myself. 

Here is one that arrived today: The Fogcatcher’s Daughter by Marianne McShane and illustrated by Alan Marks. It is one of a long list of books selected for the 2023 Yoto Carnegie Medal for illustration. I really like it. Set in Ireland and based on folk lore, it features fairies, spells and potions . . . and a spirited young girl. The illustrations are just delightful, full of wonder and enchantment and character, each page a work of art where the words and the pictures work together and weave magic. 

I may buy a few more from the list . . . just for me.