The Silver Spoon for Children

I thought that the design and layout is very smart. Also as an illustration student i really appreciate cute hand drawn illustrations. This cookbook is aimed for children so the illustrations are very simple and clear but at the same time they work perfect. You are not bored after couple of pages too. Typography looks playful and cute. I love he fact that not everything is illustrated but that there are photographs as well as illustrations. 

Alice in Wonderland pop up book

Alice in Wonderland Pop-up book by Maria Popova

This book looks really engaging and paper engineering looks astonishing and clever considering the fact that even text boxes are pop ups and pull outs. Reader gets interacted throughout the book while reading it. Characters look friendly too. 

Roughs for Children Book

My chosen recipe - Eggless sponge

A little bit of research about egg collecting during WWI:

• The National Egg Collection for the wounded was started in August 1915.
• People were collecting eggs to send to wounded soldiers and sailors overseas.
• There were over 2000 egg collection points in the UK.
• Half a million eggs were wanted weekly!
• Eggs were sent in special boxes and any that were broken during the transition were redistributed to hospitals in the UK. 
• Children were encouraged to write their names and addresses on eggs. 

One wounded soldier sent this poem by way of thanks:

“We thank you here, kind lady
For the nice eggs you have sent,
Our appetite they did restore
And we pray God you send more.
We all wish you may prosper, 
And live the allotted span, 
That is the prayer you have, 
From many a wounded man.” 
J Gibbs, 8th Gordon Highlanders, 18th general hospital, France

And my roughs - a little bit of character design and 2 layouts :

Eggless sponge recipe!

Brian Wildsmith

I have chosen Brian Wildsmith because I find his drawings eye-catching. All of his work is really rich in texture and saturated colours. He paints with so much detail because he believes that children appreciate details as well as colour. Wildsmith wants children to observe the beauty and harmony in nature. There is like one big mess in his drawings but at the same time they look beautifully crazy. Moreover, it is known that children like to get involved into the story and so Brian Wildsmith hides animal behind all that crazy mess, for example behind tree leaves. So in this way children can point things out and get involved into the story even more.

Brian Wildsmith also says that when he paints animals, he imagines them as a child would. By doing that he want children to make personal connections to the animals in his books. Also interesting fact about him that he says that his children are his judges. If he shows an illustration and children do not say anything he knows that he has to redo his illustration one more time.

Brian Wildsmith believes that beautiful picture books are vitally important in subconsciously forming a child's visual appreciation, which will bear fruit in later life.  

His most well-known books are: ABC (1962) that was a winner of the Greenaway Medal, The Owl and the Woodpecker (1971), Little Wood Duck (1972).