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Global Readers : Stories for our young readers with Caldecott Medal and Advance Global Icon Award Winner, Sophie Blackall


We initially created #GlobalReaders for families in lockdown. It was so popular we are expanding the range of stories for young global Australian readers. These stories are read by Sophie Blackall.

Sophie Blackall is the Advance Global Icon Award winner in 2020. She is a Brooklyn-based multi-award winning Australian artist who has illustrated over forty books for children and was the first Australian to win the 2016 Caldecott Medal (the most prestigious award for an illustrated book in the United States) and again in 2019 for the book, Hello Lighthouse, which has also been shortlisted for a 2020 Australian Children’s Book Award.

Sophie’s work has been widely celebrated in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, and MoMA, where her work is sold. Her Ivy and Bean series has also been on the New York Times bestseller list, and has sold over 5 million copies. Sophie has taught at the School of Visual Art in New York and at workshops in Brooklyn, NY; Valladolid, Spain; Kinshasa, DRC; Kigali, Rwanda and Thimpu, Bhutan, as well as giving presentations about her work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, The Gates Foundation in Seattle, New York University and many other colleges and conferences around the country.

Recordings

IF YOU COME TO EARTH

A New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2020, Time Magazine Best YA and Children’s Book of 2020, a Smithsonian Magazine Best Children’s Book of 2020 | Watch

If You Come to Earth is a glorious guide to our home planet, and a call for us to take care of both Earth and each other. This stunning book is inspired by the thousands of children Sophie Blackall has met during her travels around the world in support of UNICEF and Save the Children. 


HELLO LIGHTHOUSE

Winner of the Caldecott Medal 2019 | Watch

“I will be surprised if a more exquisite picture book is published this year … her illustrations evoke American folk art, early Renaissance painting and traditional Japanese seascapes, but in a synthesis all her own.” – New York Times

“Painted with the featherlight touch that distinguishes Caldecott Medalist Blackall’s work, this graceful account of a lighthouse keeper’s life celebrates a lost era … A jewel of a creation and a gift to those who dream of retreat.” –Publishers Weekly


FINDING WINNIE

#1 New York Times Bestseller and Winner of the Caldecott Medal about the remarkable true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh | Watch

“A perfect melding of beautiful art with soulful, imaginative writing… Children everywhere will enjoy this tale for years. A must-have.” – School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Blackall’s warm, beautiful gouache-and-ink illustrations capture an impressive depth of feeling…” – Booklist, Starred Review


About Sophie Blackall

  • You can see all the books illustrated by Sophie Blackall | Here
  • Acceptance speech by Sophie Blackall for the Advance Australian Global Icon Award 2020 | Watch and Read