A bit of a quadruple-header for our #Booky100Keepers entry today, with four author-illustrated books from a creative who just knows exactly how to put together the perfect picture book. Though we love Benji Davies' collaborations with others, it's always in his own books that we find his most amazing work, balancing between simple heartfelt stories and truly gorgeous illustrations.

"The Storm Whale" was undoubtedly one of the books that brought Benji's talents to a wider audience. The simple story of a young lad who lives quite an exciting existence with his dad (and umpteen cats) on a remote island. Noi always waits patiently for his dad to come back from his fishing trips - but while out adventuring on the island he finds a poor stranded whale. Nought but a baby but still quite a handful for Noi to wrestle back to the bath, until the whale can be properly nursed back into the sea.

Noi does his best, and then dad comes back and realises what has happened. Time for the baby whale to be reunited with its mum!

Benji followed up with "The Storm Whale in Winter" some time afterwards, again reuniting Noi and his rescued whale pal in a high adventure actually on the sea itself this time.

In fact the Whale might be the one doing the rescuing as Noi and his father realise just how harsh winter at sea can be.

Both books are really beautifully told, but it goes without saying that Benji isn't just some one-trick pony who bashes out a series of books with minor tweaks between each. Each story has its own charm, its own pace and a thrumming heartfelt message to convey.

Noi appears once again in our keepers list in the sublime "Grandma Bird"...

 This time Noi is staying with his Grandma for the summer holidays.

She seems a bit of a stern old bird, but begins to show Noi a side to her that he hadn't known existed.

She boils seaweed to eat, and is generally quiet and believes that children should be seen and not heard - but when Noi is swept up in a dramatic and adventurous rescue, Grandma Bird and Noi bond in an amazing way.

As much a book about our relationship with other generations, as a celebration of grandparents and how amazing they are to us, this one's another little beauty.

Then there's "Grandad's Island"...

We've seen a great many books about grief, and books that aim to try and help a child understand what it's like when they lose someone they love - and what happens when they aren't there any more.

Syd's Grandad lives at the bottom of the garden in a wonderful little grandad-house. Syd can come and go any time he pleases, but one day when he goes to visit Grandad, he can't find him anywhere - until he does finally discover Grandad next to a secret door in the attic - a door that leads to a fantastic and fabulously colourful island where Grandad wants to stay. Syd can't stay with him alas, and once he returns home he really misses his grandad very much. But always has the cherished memories of how happy they were together.

It's so beautifully illustrated again, full of colour and happiness - and in fact it's that rare thing, a book about loss and grief that doesn't dwell on the darker side of how those emotions feel, concentrating instead on the joy of having happy memories of someone who is no longer with us any more.



We feel it's also worth mentioning that Benji's collaboration with Linda Sarah ("On Sudden Hill") is also in our Keepers list but wanted to highlight Benji's books themselves, he's one of those folk who pushes the envelope for kidlit every time he puts pen to paper, so we hope if you've not heard of these you'll go track 'em down, they belong in every kid's collection.

Original Reviews (as you can see, no stranger to our "Book of the Week" slot!

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week ending 19th July 2013 - "The Storm Whale" by Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster)

ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 16th September 2016 - "The Storm Whale in Winter" by Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's Second Book of the Week - Week Ending 3rd July 2015 - "Grandad's Island" by Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

ReadItDaddy's Third Book of the Week - Week Ending 19th October 2018: "Grandma Bird" by Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

....and with Linda Sarah:

ReadItDaddy's Book of the Week - Week Ending 29th August 2014 - "On Sudden Hill" by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies (Simon and Schuster Children's Books)

We chat to the utterly awesome team behind one of the most beautiful children's books of the year - "On Sudden Hill" - Hi to Linda Sarah and Benji Davies

Yes, once again we had to stretch things to a third picture book of the week this week - but this one's well worth stretching for...!

I think we were totally unprepared for the sheer impact this week's Chapter Book of the Week had on us both...

There's always cause for celebration when a new Benji Davies book arrives in all its splendour...

What does it take to make us "Book Happy"? It's the new Hygge, I'm telling you...!

I truly don't know how he does it...! Benji Davies once again reigns supreme in our first Book of the Week slot this week with the fabulous sequel to "The Storm Whale"...

Here's a funky new book from two blog favourites. Fusing peerless rhymes with glorious visuals, it's "The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight" by Elli Woollard and Benji Davies.

Oh my, there are just SO MANY great books around at the moment that our poor old "Book of the Week" slot is straining under the pressure. We're doubling up our Book of the Week nominees this week with a fantastic new tale from awesome poet and writer Elli Woollard, and equally awesome illustrator Benji Davies - and a tale of a huge giant with a rumbling tum.

"The Giant of Jum" is Elli and Benji's first collaboration (and hopefully not their last) for Macmillan, introducing us to The Giant of Jum - who loves nothing more than striding the landscape, scarfing down children. Baked in a pie, crumbled over cornflakes, the giant is hungry and nothing will stand in his way.

Only...well the thing is, the local children could do with a giant hand. Can he retrieve a lost ball? Rescue a naughty kitten stuck up a tree?

The Giant is only temporarily distracted, his true foe is Jack the Giant Killer who will be hunted down and mercilessly toasted and scoffed!

But is the giant really as menacing and scary as he wants to be?

Elli's rhymes are tight and perfect as you'd expect from the genius behind "Taking words for a Stroll". Benji's illustrations instantly feel fresh but classic, as we've come to expect from such a whopping giant-sized talent whose books are always amongst the most read on our shelves. It's a book that will become a sing-along-read-along favourite amongst younger readers who will love the way Elli plays with repetition and verse to relate the story beautifully, and of course older readers who will drink up the verse and the visuals both exquisitely clever and detailed.

We truly hope the press release is right, and that this is just the beginning of a fantastic working partnership for Elli and Benji, we absolutely cannot wait to see what they come up with next.

Charlotte's best bit: Finding Jack (in the most unlikely place!) and GIANT CAKE!

Daddy's Favourite bit: It reads as good as it looks, it looks as good as it reads, it's got "massive award winning best seller" stamped all over it. Perfecto!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Macmillan Children's Books)

It was love at first sight, at first read.

Often with the "Book of the Week" books, we know they're going to slide into our hallowed and honoured slot with ease the moment we lay eyes on them. In some cases, a book that looks gorgeous and glossy can sometimes disappoint once you dive into it, but that was definitely not the case with "On Sudden Hill" by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies.

The story of two (and then eventually three) little boys who spend idyllic summers playing and using their imaginations. Birt and Etho's favourite game is to drag their huge cardboard boxes up to the top of Sudden Hill and use those boxes for all sorts of fun games. Boxes can become anything. A medieval castle, a spaceship or just a great place for two friends to hang out and chatter long into the summer evenings until the light grows dim.

Then something unexpected happens. Shu sees Birt and Etho playing and wants to join in. He's even got his own box, and at first Shu is most welcome. But Shu and Etho spend more and more time together, and poor Birt feels pushed out, isolated. Birt smashes his box to bits and starts playing on his own, or staying in and drawing and while Shu and Etho still call on their friend, Birt no longer wants to play with them.

Can Shu and Etho win Birt round?

Children's books often evoke an atmosphere that's unique, making us recall our own childhood, or even (as is the case here) our own friendships as kids and how sometimes even the most simple dynamic could change irreparably if someone new came around and two became three. This is lovingly examined with Linda Sarah's gorgeously written story that dances with whimsy and melancholy in equal measure.

For any writer to be paired with Benji Davies must feel like winning the lottery too. Benji's artwork is utterly enchanting and fits the story like the most comfortable pair of slippers. It's ironic that the book is called "On Sudden Hill" when it really reminds me of the same carefree atmosphere that a lot of Hayao Mizayaki's movies evoke.

When the questions followed, it was another unexpected bonus. Questions from Charlotte on why Birt does the things he does when a new friend joins in, and why he smashed his beloved box. Children's books that spark questions like these obviously make adults think long and hard about taking their own relationships for granted too and that's no bad thing.

A stunning book, every single bit as good as it looks.

Charlotte's best bit: Shu and Etho's amazing way of 'winning' Birt round.

Daddy's Favourite bit: Heart warming, touching, melancholy in places, deep and complex. If anyone ever asks you why you - as an adult - read children's books, slap a copy of this across their lap and make them read it. Maybe then they'll understand.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Simon and Schuster Children's Books

Since we first saw a sneaky snippet of art from "On Sudden Hill" on Twitter, we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for what seems like ages for this lovely book to arrive. Now it has, and it's completely knocked us for six! It's stunning, and we're very very VERY lucky to be able to chat with Linda Sarah and Benji Davies, two of our favourite book folk, to find out a little bit more about the book and what inspires them. Take it away, lovelies!

Linda Sarah

Hello Read it Daddy - thank you for having me on your blog!

I work mostly in bustly places like cafes, often listening to Very Loud (and very bad taste) music. This is where most stories and illustrations happen (fuelled often by fat slices of cake that sometimes magically appear - and huge amounts of strong, foamy coffee decorated with love hearts/hedgehogs/birds by the awesome R. :-) And I love The British Museum to glide around in, filling sketchbooks with drawings and ideas.

This is a photo of where I work a lot

Linda busying herself in her studio

And this illustrated biography tells a few more details (like how writing in the bath produces completely different types of stories/poems than those written 'on dry land')

http://travelandsing.com/2013/01/30/hello/

This is a picture of Bifi, the Picture Book Fairy, who is very wise and has a good grasp of grammar and often also, luckily, hangs out in cafes where I work

Bifi the Picture Book Fairy. An awesome inspiration indeed!

This is where I would like to work

Wow! Just wow!

This is the chair I often sit in to write stories (I'm not sure why there's a cat in it - I've never seen him before)

Bifi the Picture Book Fairy (We absolutely love love LOVE Linda's book "Mi and Museum City" by the way!)

Thank you! (and thank you too Linda!)

Benji Davies

I work at home - that is in my studio, the ‘spare’ room of the house that my wife and I bought in Walthamstow last year.

Benji Davies' studio. Uber-cool!

It’s an upside down house, with the living room, kitchen and dining area on the top floor, more like an apartment. The floor below that is the bedroom and the studio, and my wife’s studio(she is a fashion designer) is on the ground floor.

My studio is full of books. Some are my own work that have been sent to me from publishers. They are happily stacked and distributed at will to family and friends. Except the many foreign editions which in almost 20 languages are more of a struggle to relocate. They still haven’t got shelves - I’ve been too busy to do anything about it since we moved in.

I’m lucky to have space for two desks. I work on the computer or on the drawing table where I have a lightbox for working up roughs and for doing messier stuff with real pens and paint.

I also use sketchbooks, but they’re for when I’m not in the studio. I take them out and about, or when I want to do a bit of drawing in front of the TV or sitting at the kitchen table. I like to keep my workspace flexible I think it sometimes helps to change your environment, give you a different perspective for what you’re working on.

I’m a big fan of making a cup of tea and looking out the window when I’m stuck on something. We have a nice big sliding door and balcony which is great for cloud watching.

Heck of a view, now we know where Benji gets his awesome cloudscapes from

Huge thanks to both Linda and Benji (and the awesome Jade at Simon and Schuster) for inviting us on the blog tour for this really gorgeous book. We'll be reviewing it in full very VERY soon!)

"On Sudden Hill" is released 28th August 2014. Today in fact! Go grab it right now! Also check out the rest of the lovely bloggers below who have joined us on the tour. Awesome folk one and all!

I can only imagine what it must feel like when you're an author, and publishers link you up with one of the best children's book illustrators in the business to work on your new book. It must be a double edged sword, feeling that your story will get a fabulous visual treatment but then perhaps also feeling that your story will only be remembered for its fantastic art.

Luckily this is not the case with Pamela Duncan Edwards' "Winston Was Worried", which is a fantastic little story about a worry-wort dog who feels like he's the only doggie in the world that unfortunate things happen to. Benji ("Storm Whale") Davies is at the top of his game, and the book is glorious to look at but the story is funny, beautifully written and with plenty of neat twists along the way to make it a read-aloud favourite.

Winston injures his paw one day, and can't wait to tell his tale of woe to anyone he meets as he limps to the vet. Lovable Winston is completely oblivious to the fact that his accident prone friends are probably far worse off than he is though, so hilarity ensues as Winston seeks medical attention, meeting various other dogs along the way (including a Book-Sniffer-esque pug that is as cute as a button!)

Slickly told with an extremely brilliant last panel as Winston finally reaches his destination, with a surprise in store. Benji's brilliant doggie sketching in the end papers and throughout the book complete a fabulous woof-tastic package that's sure to be a big hit with children of all ages.

Charlotte's best bit: A sore paw is one thing. Ending up in the back of a dustbin lorry is something else! Owch!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Just love Benji's 'doggy' expressions and Pamela's fantastic flowing story. Wonderful!

“O Nature, and O soul of man! how far beyond all utterance are your linked analogies! Not the smallest atom stirs or lives on matter, but has its cunning duplicate in mind”