Nicolette Jones
@nicolettejones.bsky.social
Author
Hon FRSL
Sunday Times Children's Books.
#NewIllustrationoftheDay
www.nicolettejones.com (site relaunched shortly)
Events: phil@showmetherabbit.com.
RLF Bridge Yr 11/12 writing wkshops: bridge@rlf.org.uk
Art by John Jones: www.johnedwardjones.co.uk
Hon FRSL
Sunday Times Children's Books.
#NewIllustrationoftheDay
www.nicolettejones.com (site relaunched shortly)
Events: phil@showmetherabbit.com.
RLF Bridge Yr 11/12 writing wkshops: bridge@rlf.org.uk
Art by John Jones: www.johnedwardjones.co.uk
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Australian author/illustrator Bob Graham from A Hatful of Dreams, a picturebook about domesticity and magic, family and community, imagination and Grandad's hat. Light-heartedly drawn, prettily coloured & carefully observed. Walker Books 6 Nov. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 9:09 AM
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Australian author/illustrator Bob Graham from A Hatful of Dreams, a picturebook about domesticity and magic, family and community, imagination and Grandad's hat. Light-heartedly drawn, prettily coloured & carefully observed. Walker Books 6 Nov. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by John Devolle from Humans, a book of funny, flat, graphic images and few words, in the Big Science for Little Minds series. Look for the bats, flea, mouse, moth, spiders, seagull, badger, robin, chicken, other wildlife and pets. Pushkin 6 Nov. @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by John Devolle from Humans, a book of funny, flat, graphic images and few words, in the Big Science for Little Minds series. Look for the bats, flea, mouse, moth, spiders, seagull, badger, robin, chicken, other wildlife and pets. Pushkin 6 Nov. @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
From the green room at Stroud Book Festival yesterday. With Jamila Gavin, publisher Cally Poplak, and Michael Morpurgo. The event with Jamila and Michael about writing about the First World War was both moving and, unsurprisingly, a pleasure to chair. @stroudbookfestival.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
From the green room at Stroud Book Festival yesterday. With Jamila Gavin, publisher Cally Poplak, and Michael Morpurgo. The event with Jamila and Michael about writing about the First World War was both moving and, unsurprisingly, a pleasure to chair. @stroudbookfestival.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jane Ray from Anya‘s Quest, the story, based on Hindu mythology, of a girl trying to save the planet. By Jasbinder Bilan, Walker Books 6 Nov. Ravishing and magical use of colour and decoration and fantastical Hindu imagery. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social @janeray.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jane Ray from Anya‘s Quest, the story, based on Hindu mythology, of a girl trying to save the planet. By Jasbinder Bilan, Walker Books 6 Nov. Ravishing and magical use of colour and decoration and fantastical Hindu imagery. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social @janeray.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Lou Baker-Smith from Welsh Children's Laureate Nicola Davies' The Secret World of Seahorses. An absorbing and beautifully composed and coloured scene of the destructive practice of turning sea horses into potions and trinkets. Walker Books 6 Nov @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
November 8, 2025 at 7:22 AM
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Lou Baker-Smith from Welsh Children's Laureate Nicola Davies' The Secret World of Seahorses. An absorbing and beautifully composed and coloured scene of the destructive practice of turning sea horses into potions and trinkets. Walker Books 6 Nov @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Joe Lillington. One of his straightforward illustrations in black & orange for A M Dassu’s Wild Journey, 5 stories about kids in 5 countries who see starlings flock & begin their own journeys. @headofzeus.bsky.social 6 Nov @joelillington.bsky.social @amdassu.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Joe Lillington. One of his straightforward illustrations in black & orange for A M Dassu’s Wild Journey, 5 stories about kids in 5 countries who see starlings flock & begin their own journeys. @headofzeus.bsky.social 6 Nov @joelillington.bsky.social @amdassu.bsky.social
This event I'm chairing at Stroud Book Festival is selling out fast. I shall be talking to Michael Morpurgo and Jamila Gavin about First World War stories, at noon this Sunday 9 November. The eloquence of both is always breathtaking. stroudbookfestival.org.uk/events/first...
First World War Stories - Stroud Book Festival
On Armistice Sunday, we’re honoured to welcome two distinguished children’s authors to talk about writing stories set during the First World War. “My Soul, A Shining Tree”, the marvellous new children...
stroudbookfestival.org.uk
November 6, 2025 at 5:51 PM
This event I'm chairing at Stroud Book Festival is selling out fast. I shall be talking to Michael Morpurgo and Jamila Gavin about First World War stories, at noon this Sunday 9 November. The eloquence of both is always breathtaking. stroudbookfestival.org.uk/events/first...
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Dermot Flynn from Fia and the Last Snow Deer. Verse novel set in prehistoric Ireland, by Eilish Fisher. Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. Reindeer, “Deer Mother“ & magic feast, in a room as “bright as the sun“. Puffin pb 6 Nov @puffinbooksuk.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 8:52 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Dermot Flynn from Fia and the Last Snow Deer. Verse novel set in prehistoric Ireland, by Eilish Fisher. Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. Reindeer, “Deer Mother“ & magic feast, in a room as “bright as the sun“. Puffin pb 6 Nov @puffinbooksuk.bsky.social
For Bonfire Night, #NewIllustrationoftheDay by Grahame Baker-Smith is from The Flickering Fires, in a series that puts the history of humanity's relationship with the 4 elements into a story. Decorative tracery of trees and dramatic use of light and dark. Templar pb 6 Nov. @templarbooks.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 6:11 AM
For Bonfire Night, #NewIllustrationoftheDay by Grahame Baker-Smith is from The Flickering Fires, in a series that puts the history of humanity's relationship with the 4 elements into a story. Decorative tracery of trees and dramatic use of light and dark. Templar pb 6 Nov. @templarbooks.bsky.social
I'm very pleased that 40 of the 62 nominations for the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration have also featured in my #NewIllustrationoftheDay on Bluesky (and on Instagram). Congratulations to all the artists who demonstrate the range & skill of picturebook illustration.
@carnegiemedals.bsky.social
@carnegiemedals.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 10:07 AM
I'm very pleased that 40 of the 62 nominations for the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration have also featured in my #NewIllustrationoftheDay on Bluesky (and on Instagram). Congratulations to all the artists who demonstrate the range & skill of picturebook illustration.
@carnegiemedals.bsky.social
@carnegiemedals.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Goldsmiths graduate Yibing Deng from her A Song of the Seasons, which follows a mother bear and her cubs through the year. Gentle, decorative pencil illustration with simplified shapes, pretty colours and a sense of softness. Post Wave 23 Oct. @postwavebooks.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 7:18 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Goldsmiths graduate Yibing Deng from her A Song of the Seasons, which follows a mother bear and her cubs through the year. Gentle, decorative pencil illustration with simplified shapes, pretty colours and a sense of softness. Post Wave 23 Oct. @postwavebooks.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Luke Pearson from Hilda and Twig Wake the Ice Man. The latest in a graphic novel series that became a Netflix franchise. (Twig is a ‘deerfox’.) Classic cartoon strip with a hint, I think, of Mafalda. Flying Eye 6 Nov. @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social @lukepearson.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 7:38 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Luke Pearson from Hilda and Twig Wake the Ice Man. The latest in a graphic novel series that became a Netflix franchise. (Twig is a ‘deerfox’.) Classic cartoon strip with a hint, I think, of Mafalda. Flying Eye 6 Nov. @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social @lukepearson.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by German illustrator Michele Ganser from non-fiction study Amazing Shark, with narrative by Michael Stavaric. Painstaking, monochrome image with the elegance of an old-fashioned etching. Pushkin Children’s 6 Nov @michaelstavaric.bsky.social @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 8:43 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by German illustrator Michele Ganser from non-fiction study Amazing Shark, with narrative by Michael Stavaric. Painstaking, monochrome image with the elegance of an old-fashioned etching. Pushkin Children’s 6 Nov @michaelstavaric.bsky.social @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
Last night’s #HalloweenBooksGiveaway (of which this is the tip of the iceberg) was fun. Many lovely kids choosing books with care and enthusiasm. Makes me sad though that some say ‘no thanks’. I hope it’s not because someone has made reading an unhappy experience for them.
November 1, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Last night’s #HalloweenBooksGiveaway (of which this is the tip of the iceberg) was fun. Many lovely kids choosing books with care and enthusiasm. Makes me sad though that some say ‘no thanks’. I hope it’s not because someone has made reading an unhappy experience for them.
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Harry Woodgate from My Small World Frozen. Prettily decorated fish in a scene composed of many textures & patterns. Collage includes plasticine and sheet music. Text by Caryl Hart. Simon & Schuster paperback 6 Nov. @simonandschuster.bsky.social @harrywoodgate.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 7:44 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Harry Woodgate from My Small World Frozen. Prettily decorated fish in a scene composed of many textures & patterns. Collage includes plasticine and sheet music. Text by Caryl Hart. Simon & Schuster paperback 6 Nov. @simonandschuster.bsky.social @harrywoodgate.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Merve Atilgan from her book The Forest of Dreams about adventures in a little girl’s imagination. From Big Picture Press. It’s been out a few months but it’s a witchy picture for Halloween, full of movement, magic and luminous use of colour, that I’m sorry I missed.
October 31, 2025 at 10:11 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Merve Atilgan from her book The Forest of Dreams about adventures in a little girl’s imagination. From Big Picture Press. It’s been out a few months but it’s a witchy picture for Halloween, full of movement, magic and luminous use of colour, that I’m sorry I missed.
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by the late Geoffrey Hayes, from his peaceful, pocket-sized 1976 book, Bear By Himself, about the joys of solitude. Among its charming, square, green-and-brown, ink-and-wash images, this is “Smelling the rain“. Reissued on 4 November by NYRB Kids. @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social
October 30, 2025 at 7:59 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by the late Geoffrey Hayes, from his peaceful, pocket-sized 1976 book, Bear By Himself, about the joys of solitude. Among its charming, square, green-and-brown, ink-and-wash images, this is “Smelling the rain“. Reissued on 4 November by NYRB Kids. @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay Sumptuous handmade image by Molly Crabapple whose work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. From Tiger Slayer, the story of Nur Jahan, 17th-century Empress of India. Text by Ruby Lal. Norton Young Readers Sept. @mollycrabapple.bsky.social
October 29, 2025 at 7:36 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay Sumptuous handmade image by Molly Crabapple whose work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. From Tiger Slayer, the story of Nur Jahan, 17th-century Empress of India. Text by Ruby Lal. Norton Young Readers Sept. @mollycrabapple.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jackie Morris from One Cheetah, One Cherry: a Book of Beautiful Numbers. A playful board book about counting to 10 with rich animal paintings embellished with gold leaf, like heraldry or illuminated manuscripts. Otter-Barry Books 30 October. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 8:28 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jackie Morris from One Cheetah, One Cherry: a Book of Beautiful Numbers. A playful board book about counting to 10 with rich animal paintings embellished with gold leaf, like heraldry or illuminated manuscripts. Otter-Barry Books 30 October. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay, as we approach Halloween, by Julia Sarda, from her book The Witch in the Tower. Walker Studio, Sept. The story of an unhappy girl who learns from a witch to have confidence in herself. Stylised and surreal, with striking patterns and caricatures. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 8:38 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay, as we approach Halloween, by Julia Sarda, from her book The Witch in the Tower. Walker Studio, Sept. The story of an unhappy girl who learns from a witch to have confidence in herself. Stylised and surreal, with striking patterns and caricatures. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Tove Jansson from Comet in Moominland's new 80th anniversary edition. A story about being welcoming to outsiders, published by Sort Of Books on 23 October. This image would feel timeless too, if we didn't know how long Moomin, Snuffkin and Sniff had been around. #Moomins
October 26, 2025 at 11:37 AM
#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Tove Jansson from Comet in Moominland's new 80th anniversary edition. A story about being welcoming to outsiders, published by Sort Of Books on 23 October. This image would feel timeless too, if we didn't know how long Moomin, Snuffkin and Sniff had been around. #Moomins
#GetBritainReading if you sign up to The Sunday Times’s campaign you can access my newsletter piece today with advice about how to get children to read. @thetimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 11:20 AM
#GetBritainReading if you sign up to The Sunday Times’s campaign you can access my newsletter piece today with advice about how to get children to read. @thetimes.com
At its 75th anniversary, my piece on The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in The Sunday Times.
"Lewis’s childhood was unhappy — at his Hertfordshire boarding school he was 'beaten, cheated, scared, ill-fed'.... His mother died when he was nine."
www.thetimes.com/magazines/cu...
@thetimes.com #Narnia
"Lewis’s childhood was unhappy — at his Hertfordshire boarding school he was 'beaten, cheated, scared, ill-fed'.... His mother died when he was nine."
www.thetimes.com/magazines/cu...
@thetimes.com #Narnia
www.thetimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 6:37 AM
At its 75th anniversary, my piece on The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in The Sunday Times.
"Lewis’s childhood was unhappy — at his Hertfordshire boarding school he was 'beaten, cheated, scared, ill-fed'.... His mother died when he was nine."
www.thetimes.com/magazines/cu...
@thetimes.com #Narnia
"Lewis’s childhood was unhappy — at his Hertfordshire boarding school he was 'beaten, cheated, scared, ill-fed'.... His mother died when he was nine."
www.thetimes.com/magazines/cu...
@thetimes.com #Narnia
W H Auden reviewing C S Lewis: "There are good books that are only for adults, because they presuppose adult experience. But there are no good books that are only for children."
I hope the #childrensbooker will make more adults read the best of our children's books.
Written by adults. For everyone.
I hope the #childrensbooker will make more adults read the best of our children's books.
Written by adults. For everyone.
October 26, 2025 at 6:28 AM
W H Auden reviewing C S Lewis: "There are good books that are only for adults, because they presuppose adult experience. But there are no good books that are only for children."
I hope the #childrensbooker will make more adults read the best of our children's books.
Written by adults. For everyone.
I hope the #childrensbooker will make more adults read the best of our children's books.
Written by adults. For everyone.
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Rob Biddulph from I Follow the Fox, out in paperback from HarperCollins 9 October. A picturebook about a lost toy, a lost fox cub and a wild nighttime adventure. A captivating depiction here of light on snow at sunrise. @robbiddulph.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social
October 25, 2025 at 5:37 AM
#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Rob Biddulph from I Follow the Fox, out in paperback from HarperCollins 9 October. A picturebook about a lost toy, a lost fox cub and a wild nighttime adventure. A captivating depiction here of light on snow at sunrise. @robbiddulph.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social