Journey to Book Island: new children's press opens

from BooksellersNZ

1 Oct 2012

Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich, Sir Mouse to the Rescue and Bernie and Flora are three stunning picture books soon to be released by Book Island, an up-and-coming children’s book publisher located in the Kapiti Coast.
Owner and publisher Greet Pauwelijn’s goal is not only to publish outstanding children’s books in English and Dutch, but also to add an extra dimension to the stories by organising activities inspired by them – enabling children’s enjoyment of each book to extend far beyond its pages.

In Book Island’s first title, Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich, a small boy builds the biggest sandwich in the world. Following in his footsteps, we invite you to come and help us build our own gigantic sandwich at the book’s launch on 11 November using recyclable materials – bring your own recyclable materials and see how high we can get! There will also be exciting activities based on Sir Mouse to the Rescue, which chronicles the adventures of Mouse, a stubborn knight and her long-suffering friend Dragon, and Bernie and Flora, a heart-warming tale of friendship and flowers.

The publication of these three titles will fittingly mark the three-year anniversary of Greet and her family’s move from Belgium to New Zealand – a country, she says, that has been incredibly supportive of her endeavour to become a children’s publisher.
The inspiration for this career move came as Greet was translating New Zealand author Barbara Else’s The Travelling Restaurant (Gecko Press, 2011) for a Belgian publishing house. “While translating this book – my first from English to Dutch – I suddenly realised that, instead of telling other publishers about possible bestsellers, I might as well translate and publish these books myself.”
Publishers, editors and translators were all fortuitously present in Greet’s social circle – “Even our accountant had been working in publishing for years!” she laughs. “I also met a publishing consultant while waiting at the traffic lights in Wellington, and my son’s friend’s parents turned out to be well-known book designers here…”
Greet says it felt “like lucky stars were falling from the sky”, and she knew that she’d made the right move. She welcomes you and your family to join her on 11 November to celebrate both the release of these books and the beginning of a new chapter in the Book Island journey.

Kapiti Coast Book Launch, 11 November – ALL WELCOME
Book Island’s first three titles – Sammy and the Skyscraper Sandwich, Sir Mouse to the Rescue, and Bernie and Flora will be launched at 2pm, Sunday 11 November at Raumati South Memorial Hall, Tennis Court Road, Kapiti Coast. The launch will include activities for children, including the construction of a gigantic, recyclable sandwich. To acknowledge the books’ Belgian origins we will also be singing Dutch and Flemish children’s songs, and six hundred Belgian crepes have been ordered. So come along to feed your appetite for stories … and sandwiches!

Wellington Book Launch, 19 November – ALL WELCOME
The books will also be launched at The Children’s Bookshop, Shop 26, Kilbirnie Plaza, Kilbirnie on Monday 19 November, 7.30–9.30pm. At the event, Book Island publisher Greet Pauwelijn will be giving a talk about Belgian children’s book illustrations. This is a unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the art of illustrating – so don’t miss out!