On a cold, dark and miserable winter’s day,  reading and sharing picture books is one of the best things to brighten up your day.  The words bounce, float, and soar along the page and the illustrations can transport you to places far, far away.  The good thing about picture books is that they almost always have a happy ending that leaves you smiling.  Here are a couple of fantastic new picture books:

Hester and Lester is the latest book by award-winning New Zealand author, Kyle Mewburn and  it’s beautifully illustrated by Harriet Bailey,  the winner of the inaugural Storylines Gavin Bishop Award for Picture Book Illustration.  The book is about big sister Hester who finds her brother, Lester sitting sadly in the forest.  She tries to cheer him up and so they go on an imaginary adventure in the forest, building a castle, filling it with gold and jewels and assembling a troop of snail soldiers.  This is a great story about siblings and using your imagination, with beautiful illustrations that highlight our special flora and fauna.

Waiting for Later is the new book by Tina Matthews, author and illustrator of the award-winning Out of the Egg.  Nancy is bored so she goes to each of the members of her family to ask if they will play cards, come for a swing, or tell her a story, but they all say ‘Later.’  Nancy decides to climb a tree to wait for later, when her family will have time for her.  In the tree she sees her mother ‘wondering up words and writing them down,’ and hears the little creatures in the tree and the autumn leaves saying ‘We will tickle you, until you wriggle and giggle.’  I loved this sweet story with all the descriptions of the things Nancy sees and hears, and the wood cut and stencil illustrations are stunning.