Tuesday: Weekly Book Review—Polly Dunbar & The Tilly Series

I love my library. It is a smaller library but they are up to date on their children’s books while keeping the good ol’ classics around too. Whoever is in charge of finding and purchasing new books should receive an award; they have the best taste ever! They led me to discover author and illustrator Polly Dunbar and her series of Tilly books.

Polly started out as a children’s book illustrator and became a writer “accidentally.” In an interview with Book Trust children’s books she shares the following:

I think the younger [readers] are, the more freedom you have with being experimental. Very young kids will accept anything. Their eyes are still so wide open. That’s why picture books for me are the most exciting area to work in. I’ll show my work to a grown up, who will just sort of flick through it and say, ‘I like that colour.’ A child will be absorbed in a different way, and that’s lovely and really rewarding.

Doesn’t reading that just make you want to hurry and collect all her books? You can read the rest of the interview here.

I hadn’t realized I mentioned her in a past post about a poem book she illustrated.

The Tilly books are a series and one of my favorites is Happy Hector. The plot is adorable. It tells of a young girl named Tilly and her friends, one of whom is the pig Hector. Hector starts off the story happily sitting on Tilly’s lap, but when the other animals want to join in too, he finds himself squashed and competing for Tilly’s attention. He runs off upset but fortunately Tilly and the others soon make him feel better again. Happy Hector is perfect for my girls who need to learn to share Mommy’s attention!

Polly Dunbar, where have you been all my life? I am going to pick up all her books today because I just know I will love every single one. I have definitely added her to my favorite children’s author list!

Tags: children's books, polly dunbar

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