Author & Illustrators

Oliver Jeffers Books

Explore the imaginative universe of Oliver Jeffers, a celebrated author and illustrator whose distinctive artistic style and touching stories have resonated with readers worldwide. Scattered with loveable penguins, rockets and stars, his most beloved stories include Lost and Found, How to Catch a Star, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Way Back Home and Stuck.

Born in Australia and raised in Northern Ireland, Jeffers’ creative background encompasses painting, illustration and design, clearly visible in his signature combination of mixed media and expressive character design. He has earned international acclaim for his picture books, which are admired for their engaging narratives, whimsical illustrations and exploration of meaningful themes.

Jeffers’ books, generally aimed at children aged 3-7 (Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1), frequently explore themes of friendship, adventure, environment, the wonders of the world and emotional intelligence.

His works have garnered numerous awards and accolades and are frequently featured on primary school reading lists, including BooksForTopics recommended books for EYFS and KS1 booklists, recommended books for preschool, stories about space, children’s books about mental health, and books to read in Reception.

The books’ well structured story arcs and loveable characters make them favourite choices among teachers. Some of the books also have free classroom resources available to download.

If you’re searching for heartwarming picture books, beautifully illustrated stories or books that encourage curiosity and emotional literacy in young children, explore the imaginative works of Oliver Jeffers.

Author’s Website: https://www.oliverjeffers.com/

If you are new to Oliver Jeffers’ books for children, we recommend How Catch a Star as a good book to start with.

I’m Very Busy: A (Nearly Forgotten) Birthday Book

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

As a child, our birthday is perhaps one of the most important days of the year. As a child we imagine everyone around us is also thinking about our birthday for as many weeks in advance as we are! This is the premise of Oliver Jeffers’ ‘I’m Very Busy’. This is a playful but poignant picture book that uses striking and stylised images of Bridget, our birthday girl, as she visits her friends in anticipation of a birthday party. As each of her friends in turn tells her of their busyness and so inability to see her ‘later’, her disappointment grows.

If it is important to you to have a happy ending, this book does as it dawns on each character that it is Bridget’s birthday and clearly, that is much more important than the tasks that had been taking their time. The book encourages us to re-evaluate how we spend our time and what we value.

Stuck

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

Delightful chaos ensues when a young boy gets his kite stuck in a tree in this laugh-out-loud new picture book from award-winning, internationally best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers!

Floyd gets his kite stuck up a tree. He throws up his shoe to shift it, but that gets stuck too. So he throws up his other shoe and that gets stuck, along with… a ladder, a pot of paint, the kitchen sink, an orang-utan and a whale, amongst other things!

Will Floyd ever get his kite back?

A hilarious book with a wonderful surprise ending.

Once There Was a Boy

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

An irresistible little library slipcase containing four fabulous stories by internationally acclaimed, award-winning picture books star, Oliver Jeffers!

Once there was a boy, and one day…

Enjoy four exciting adventures of the boy, as he learns how to catch a star, journeys to the South Pole and the moon – making new discoveries and finding friendship along the way.

The award-winning picture books: ‘How to Catch a Star’, ‘Lost and Found’, ‘The Way Back Home’ and ‘Up and Down’ are now presented in this beautiful hardback slipcase edition to be treasured.

A Child of Books

Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston

Picturebook

In this inspiring, lyrical tale about the rewards of reading and sharing stories, a little girl sails her raft “across a sea of words” to arrive at the house of a small boy. There she invites him to come away with her on an adventure. Through forests of fairy tales and across mountains of make-believe, the two travel together on a fantastical journey that unlocks the boy’s imagination. Now a lifetime of magic lies ahead of him… But who will be next?

The Day the Crayons Quit

Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

Debut author Drew Daywalt and international bestseller Oliver Jeffers team up to create a colourful solution to a crayon-based crisis in this playful, imaginative story that will have children laughing and playing with their crayons in a whole new way.

Poor Duncan just wants to colour in. But when he opens his box of crayons, he only finds letters, all saying the same thing: We quit!

Beige is tired of playing second fiddle to Brown, Blue needs a break from colouring in all that water, while Pink just wants to be used. Green has no complaints, but Orange and Yellow are no longer speaking to each other.

The battle lines have been drawn. What is Duncan to do?

The Way Back Home

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

Once there as a boy, and one day, he found an aeroplane in his cupboard…

He didn’t remember leaving it in there, but he thought he’d take it out for a go right away. At first, all went well and the plane flew higher and higher and higher until… suddenly, with a splutter, it ran out of petrol. The boy was stuck on the moon… and he was not alone…

Up and Down

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

The boy and the penguin still enjoy spending all their time together… That is, until the penguin starts to dream of flying, ignoring the boys advice that it is impossible.

Running away, the penguin visits place after place, searching for a chance to get his feet off the ground. But will flying be everything he had hoped? And is the boy missing him, as much as he is missing the boy?

A heart-warming story about friendship, love and reaching for your dreams, from highly-regarded, multi-award-winning author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers.

Where to Hide a Star

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

Twenty years after the publication of Oliver Jeffers‘ much-loved debut picture book How To Catch a Star, a new picturebook has landed on our shelves to take us back into worlds of boys, penguins and stars – bringing together everything that has gone before and moving us on to new resolutions.

The boy, the penguin and the star play hide and seek, but the hiding goes wrong and the friends end up unable to find each other (a familiar scenario to any children who have got too much into a game of hide and seek before!). Unable to find the star, the others seek help from a Martian friend to find him.

Meanwhile, a girl who longs for a star strikes lucky when one washes up on the shore in a throwback to How to Catch a Star, which saw the boy in a similar scene. This time though, a joyful conclusion emerges that enables the boy and the girl to both gain a happy outcome.

The reassuring watercolour artwork, familiar characters and scenarios, warm tone and freshness of a new story arc come together to bring a not-to-be-missed treat for fans of Oliver Jeffers.

What We’ll Build

Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

A spectacular new title from world-renowned artist Oliver Jeffers, creator of the global phenomenon Here We Are!

What shall we build, you and I?

I’ll build your future and you’ll build mine.

We’ll build a watch to keep our time.

A father and daughter set about laying the foundations for their life together. Using their own special tools, they get to work; building memories to cherish, a home to keep them safe and love to keep them warm.

From renowned, internationally bestselling picture-book creator and visual artist, Oliver Jeffers, comes this rare and enduring story about a parent’s boundless love, life’s endless opportunities and all we need to build a together future.

The Crayons Love our Planet

Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers

Picturebook

The crayons from the #1 New York Times bestselling The Day the Crayons Quit are ready to celebrate our planet!

The Crayons love our planet and are proud of their contributions. White ice caps, Green trees, Blue oceans and skies, Brown soil . . . and more! Even Beige is proud of his contribution: Wheat!

This funny book shows the beauty of our planet – and why it needs our help. Perfect for Earth Day!

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