iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 22h

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Zanna Goldhawk illustrating the South African story of a young girl who throws ash into the sky and creates the Milky Way, from A Universe Full of Stories, 50 tales about the skies and space. Retold by Angela McAllister. Frances Lincoln 8 Oct. @quartokids.bsky.social

0172

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Andrew J Ross from his picturebook The Incredible Other Side. Multimedia image including collage and individually drawn bricks, and figures like Tomi Ungerer’s Three Robbers. Story with a twist to make you smile. Frances Lincoln paperback 1 Oct. @quarto-kids.bsky.social

0195

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Emily Gravett from her picturebook Don’t Feed The Troll, with fairytale characters. Rudeness is what feeds the troll, and making other people feel unhappy. Kindness shrinks him. Hand-drawn with dexterity, humour and rich colour. Two Hoots 1 Oct @twohootsbooks.bsky.social

194

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Half a spread by Leo Timmers from his stunning picturebook Kiki and me, Gecko Press 1 Oct, translated from Dutch by David Colmer. About the relationship between a horse and its owner. Skilled black-and-white drawings on other pages suggest Thelwell. @geckopress.bsky.social

0147

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Mikey Please from The Thieves Beneath The Floorboards, in which René finds a sharing solution to having accidentally occupied the territory of other creatures. Characteristically bold and odd. HarperCollins 10 Sept. @mikeyplease.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social

053

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Emma Yarlett. Policeman‘s house from Finding Mister Tibbles, lift-the-flap picturebook with twists. Walker 10 Sept. Yarlett reminds us this is a drawing through irregular details (see the windows) that look like crayon. @emmayarlett.bsky.social @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

063

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Shinzo Nagasaki from The Squirrel Family’s Treehouse in The Mobile Construction Company series, for readers who love diggers & other construction vehicles (this is a grab loader). In a naive style with sticky-looking paint. Do Re Mi Books 24 Sept @doremibooks.bsky.social

073

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Cambridge School of Art MA Lyndsay Roberts Rayne. From The Messenger, an almost wordless picturebook telling the tale of a beloved dog trained to carry messages in the 1st World War. Making rich use of texture & light. Bloomsbury 24 Sept. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

073

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Petr Horacek from his picturebook How to Scare Blue Monster (he has never been afraid). Energetic image hand-made from media including collage, printing stamps, wax crayon, pencil, inks. Otter-Barry Books 26 Sept. @petrhoracek2025.bsky.social @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

2227

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Emily Sutton from Rewild, a poem by the late Benjamin Zephaniah. The figures, among teeming decoration, echo medieval art, as the child in the blue top travels through time to a hopeful present. Magic Cat 17 Sept. @emilysutton.bsky.social @magiccatpublishing.bsky.social

0134

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Bulgarian illustrator Kalina Muhova, based in Rome, & working in pastel & pencil crayon. From Footprints, with text by Stephen Davies telling the story of Mary Leakey’s discovery of Lucy, from a species between ape and human. Post Wave 17 Sept. @postwavebooks.bsky.social

076

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Half a spread by Rob Biddulph from his picturebook South, about a young goose who’s left behind when the rest of his family migrates. Snowy landscape with sunrise in candy colours. HarperCollins Children’s Books 10 Sept. @robbiddulph.bsky.social @harpercollins.bsky.social

0125

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Julia Hansson from Grown-Ups Are Hard Work! Text by Eric Wennstam reverses roles & Sidney takes Dad to the office. Hand-drawn in pencil & digitally coloured. Translated from Swedish by Polly Lawson. Floris Books 17 Sept @florisbooks.bsky.social @juliahansson.bsky.social

184

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Annie Booker, from her debut The Great Bear which this week won the children’s picturebook category of the Wainwright Prize (for books about nature). Graphite & watercolour with astonishing use of scale. Two Hoots. @wainwrightprize.bsky.social. @twohootsbooks.bsky.social

0124

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by trained printmaker Lo Cole, from Night Night, Otto, his picturebook about a baby owl in the wrong nest, and reading bedtime stories. Succinct visual storytelling making effective use of the dark. Rocket Bird Books 10 Sept. @rocketbirdbooks.bsky.social @locole.bsky.social

0186

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Charm & precision by Isabelle Follath from Jeanne Willis’s What Are Little Boys Made Of? A book of revisionist nursery rhymes saying boys can be anything they like as long as that includes caring & kind. Nosy Crow 10 Sept. @nosycrow.bsky.social @isabellefollath.bsky.social

0156

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Polly Dunbar adds impact to the last section of Michael Rosen‘s poem London Airport with this touching image. From Peas On Your Knees: a life in the poems of Michael Rosen, an anthology of favourites with five illustrators. Walker Books 10 Sept. @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

0309

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jane Ray. From The Tale That Time Sews and the Threads That Bind, with text by Sita Brahmachari. A story of lifetimes, and the love that links generations. Illustrated with such tenderness and decorative loveliness. Templar Books 10 Sept. @templarbooks.bsky.social

094

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Sarah Massini. Half spread from her picturebook Once Upon a Tiger, a lyrical story about friendship and courage. A shy tiger the colour of a sunset finds a home in a busy turquoise castle. Simon & Schuster 10 Sept. @sarahmassini.bsky.social @simonandschuster.bsky.social

1188

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Victoria Ball from Tomorrow Bright Before Us: An Inspiring Quote for Every Day of the Year (250 rich spreads). Nosy Crow 10 Sept. @nosycrow.bsky.social. 15 Sept: ‘It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end’ Ursula Le Guin

083

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I’ll be celebrating his epic series Mortal Engines with Philip Reeve at Bath Festival on Saturday 26th September at the Guildhall 6-6.45pm. Join us to hear about cities that eat each other, names inspired by biscuit tins, and the new prequel Bridge of Storms. www.bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/cel...

bathboxoffice.org.uk

Celebrating Mortal Engines with Philip Reeve

Bath Children’s Literature Festival in association with Longleat presents

021

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay from Sam Usher’s WARNING No More Silliness! ‘DEFINITELY DO NOT pick your nose.’ Fine example of Usher’s comic draughtsmanship & of how much illustration can add to text. (The pageboy on the right is thinking about copying.) Bloomsbury 10 Sept. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

093

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Britta Teckentrup from her book The Chairs, about community, and hostility to, or acceptance of, outsiders. An important and beautiful story notable for its astonishing use of texture and of sunlight, moonlight and firelight. Prestel 8 Sept. @brittateckentrup.bsky.social

0154

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Circle Yuen from her picturebook Mama’s Wedding, about little flower girls and a blended family. Lantana 3 Sept. Joyous spread in crayon & watercolour, finished digitally. @circleyuen.bsky.social @lantanapub.bsky.social With good wishes to anyone getting married today.

0135

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Axel Scheffler from Gruffalo Granny, his latest collaboration with Julia Donaldson. Macmillan 10 Sept. A celebration of stories that alludes to their previous books. Showing Scheffler’s ability to make a threatening scene comical and endearing. @panmacmillan.bsky.social

072

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Brita Granstrom from Nature’s Heroes: Great Conservation Campaigners, with Mick Manning’s text. Otter-Barry Books 3 Sept. Scene in watercolour & other media of John Muir, father of US national parks, taking President Teddy Roosevelt camping. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

0104

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Forest Xiao, Cambridge School of Art MA, who today won the Klaus Flugge Prize for Seven Babies. Recalling Oxenbury, the book comes from Xiao’s experience that one new baby feels like seven, and from sketchbooks full of observation. Walker Books @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

0137

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Cathy Fisher from A Wild Lullaby, with lyrical text by Jackie Morris about animals and the approach of night. Templar Books 3 Sept. Precisely observed drawing, with the highlight of a white bird, and sunset colours. @templarbooks.bsky.social @cathyfisherartist.bsky.social

2124

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jim Field from I Saw a Tree, with text by Kes Gray. Hodder 27 August. Unusual work for this caricaturist, in a thoughtful book about protecting woodland. Juxtaposing an outline of a figure with a painterly background landscape in shades of green. @hodderbooks.bsky.social

074

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

2/2 Second #NewIllustrationOfTheDay today (catching up from holidays). By Michelle Pereira from The Forest is a Part of Me with text by Elizabeth Wathuti. Little Tiger 27 Aug. The destruction of a tree. Using stencils & cut-outs. Combining drama, tenderness & abstraction. @littletigeruk.bsky.social

1134

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I/2 #NewIllustrationOfTheDay. There will be two posts today because some were missed in August. This page is an example of Holly Swain’s arresting comic storytelling from Colin’s Monster out in paperback Farshore 27 Aug. Using neatly echoed shapes. @farshorebooks.bsky.social @hollyswain.bsky.social

0176

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Pamela Zagarenski from The Not So Quiet Life of Marcel Marceau, a stunning picturebook with text by Jenn Bailey & Sherry Bushue, about Marceau in the Resistance. Here, Marcel as a boy practises mime among whispers of war. Allen & Unwin 27 Aug. @laurasmythepr.bsky.social

1113

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Sorry #NewIllustrationOfTheDay has been sporadic during my hols. Back on track now with Emma Simpson’s image from Pebble and Po, a sweet picturebook making skilled use of a variety of media. A rabbit and a bear make friends and learn to ask for help. Little Tiger 3 Sept. @littletigeruk.bsky.social

0114

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Taryn Knight from Cackle Cackle: Letters from a Witch, with removable spells. Text by Annie Atkins. Magic Cat 27 Aug. Traditional, atmospheric fairytale illustrations using silhouettes. Storytelling with character. @magiccatpublishing.bsky.social @tarynknight.bsky.social

064

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by David Roberts from a collection of chilling short stories for 8-12s by Guy Bass, The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen. Little Tiger 3 Sept. Oddity & humour in a tantalising, meticulous & elegant composition of repeated, simplified shapes. @littletigeruk.bsky.social

0103

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Britta Teckentrup from The Green Child, a celebration of nature, illustrating verse text by Hollie Hughes. Post Wave 27 August. @postwavebooks.bsky.social @brittateckentrup.bsky.social. See also my interview with Britta Teckentrup in Books for Keeps: booksforkeeps.co.uk

0127

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by award-winning Bristol-based illustrator Lara Hawthorne from her collection of Aesop’s Fables. Her lovely work with its use of stylised decorative pattern is indebted to the skills of Jane Ray. Templar Books 27 August. @templarbooks.bsky.social @larahawthorne.bsky.social

092

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

In The Sunday Times this week ICYMI. My piece about The Story Museum in Oxford’s new interactive Mystery Academy exhibition which celebrates classic & new detectives, and eight detective stories to read alongside a visit. @thetimes.com @thestorymuseum.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

thetimes.com

The eight best detective stories for children

Nicolette Jones recommends the best fictional detectives for kids, from Monsieur Mustard (a mouse) to Bearlock Holmes (well, you can guess)

063

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Nick Hayes. From Frances Hardinge’s historical fantasy Traitors’ Nest, out from First Ink on 27 Aug. His pictures imitate woodblock or linocut by using a brush & black ink before swapping black for white on Photoshop. @firstink.bsky.social @nickhayeslandback.bsky.social

0154

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Christine Berrie with text by Anya Serota from a tactile & surprisingly informative board book, Look! A Tree which identifies 20 different trees, their shape, leaves and fruit. It cultivates observation in the very young. Magic Cat 20 Aug. @magiccatpublishing.bsky.social

0114

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Estonian textile artist and illustrator Kertu Sillaste from her picturebook I Am An Illustrator, a lively introduction to the possibilities of the craft. This image makes collage an appetising technique. Graffeg 20 Aug. Translated by Adam Cullen. @graffegbooks.bsky.social

02310

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

#NewIllustrationoftheDay. Spread from Bye Bye Baby Teeth by Lada Chizhova (born in Siberia, lived in St Petersburg, now lives in Germany). Little Gestalten 11 August. More stylish & fun, with its distortions & sense of movement in one direction, than most illustrations about visiting the dentist.

0154

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Canadian illustrator Jess Hannigan from her picturebook The Cow in the Dark at Night, about a cow’s surprising adventures. Flat, graphic, slightly surreal image in saturated colours, simplifying the cow, the cat & the action. Harper360, 13 August. @harper360.bsky.social

1132

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Alexi Francis from The Waking Wood, with minutely detailed penmanship and die-cut pages leading the reader further into the intricacies of the wood and progressively introducing its wildlife. The book is out from Big Picture Press on 13 August. @bonnierbooks.bsky.social

1105

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Marion Deuchars from her inspiring activity book Play With Colour. Thames & Hudson 11 August. Easy activities that nevertheless nod towards works of fine art. This simple doodle suggests a blend of Alexander Calder and Niki de Saint Phalle. @thamesandhudson.bsky.social

0135

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by American illustrator Jessica Roux from a soothing bedtime celebration, Thank You For This Day. With text by Sheleana Aiyana. Mice in a nest in one of the book’s images of the natural world, rendered in scrupulous detail. Frances Lincoln 6 August. @quartokids.bsky.social

0164

Nicolette Jones @nicolettejones.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Kate Read from A Long Tail, with text by Rebecca Atkinson. A playful & colourful invitation to follow a tail with your finger (a pre-writing skill) all the way to finding an animal called a Looperdoo. With die cuts & a gatefold. Happy Yak 6 August. @quartokids.bsky.social

0154