British Pop artist Peter Blake has an eye for the quirky and the overlooked. Best known for designing the cover of The Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Blake has never stopped working. This charming ABC is composed from the extensive collection of objects and ephemera he has gathered in his studio during his long career. Designed in close collaboration with the artist, Peter Blake’s ABC displays the strong graphic sensibility and the love of popular culture for which he is renowned. This charming book will delight young and old alike.

Ever since Dick Bruna first created Miffy in 1955, she has endeared herself to generations of young children. She is now one of the best-loved children's characters of all time. In this charming new addition to her story, Miffy takes inspiration from a visit to an art gallery and decides to become an artist herself. Looking at the colour and shapes of the world around her she discovers what fun it can be to make pictures of the things she sees. By bedtime, her walls are full of all her wonderful artworks. The perfect gift for a budding artist, this is a charming book from one of the master illustrators of our time.

Susan Hiller was born in the United States in 1940. Rather than attending art school she studied anthropology, moving to London in the early 1960s where she became an artist. Employing a wide variety of media, Hiller has done much in recent decades to redefine what a work of art can be. Much of her work is centred on the subconscious mind and ideas of the paranormal present in cultures around the world. Specific works have investigated auras, extra sensory perception, close encounters, dreams and automatic writing. Many are large-scale installations, variously employing film, audio, video and projection. She makes use of found material, ranging from overlooked aspects of popular culture like wallpaper and postcards, to audio interviews with members of the public. Comprehensive and extensively illustrated, this book will cover Hiller's entire career. It will include an introductory essay by Tate curator Ann Gallagher; a conversation between the critics Guy Brett, Yves-Alan Bois and the artist; and, fresh perspectives on her work from Jorg Heiser, Alexandra Kokoli and Jan Verwoert. Also reprinting key, previously published responses to Hiller by critics, this will be the most thorough and up to date survey of this extraordinary artist yet published.

Here's a superb activity book bursting with creative ideas. By the same team that created the hugely successful The Big Book for Little Hands, The Big Book of Shapes is crammed full of things for young children to enjoy, letting every reader invent their own colourful world out of squares, circles and triangles. The large format and spiral binding make the book easy to use and the heavy paper is suitable for pencils, felt-tips, crayons or paint.

n a lush green forest, a sloth sleeps. Can you see him? CLANG! Machines come to tear down the trees, but the sloth still sleeps... will he wake up? Turn the pages of this ingenious and stylish pop-up book, which tells the story of one lazy sloth who hangs on in there as the forest is destroyed and then reborn.

Meet Mouk, the adorable and intrepid little bear, who sets off on a journey around the world. Join him as he discovers different cultures and makes new friends around the globe. Bursting with colour and authentic detail, Around the World with Mouk is a remarkable book of fabulously detailed illustration, reminiscent of the best work of Richard Scarry, but with an international twist. Mouk invites his readers to explore with him eleven vividly illustrated countries and to join in the fun with 40 reusable stickers. The book is suitable for all active youngsters and is virtually indestructible, with extra-thick and glossy paper, and padded covers. Its large format means that there are hundreds of different scenes and adventures to explore.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929) is arguably Japan's most famous living artist. Her originality, innovation and powerful desire to communicate have propelled her through a career that has spanned six decades. During this time, Kusama has explored painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, collage, film and video, performance and installation, as well as product design. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s Kusama lived in New York and was at the forefront of many artistic innovations in the city. Returning to Japan in her forties, she rebuilt her career, waiting years for the international recognition she has recently achieved. Now in her eightieth year, she continues to make art, extending the range of her large-scale, dazzling installations and relentlessly hand-painting extensive series of minutely detailed figurative fantasy paintings. Kusama has exhibited widely around the world, including representing Japan at the Venice Biennale, and her work is in many major collections. Accompanying the first major retrospective exhibition of the artist's work to be staged in the UK, this lavishly illustrated book features an introductory essay by Tate curator Frances Morris as well as four other substantial essays by leading international critics. Topics covered include Kusama's time in New York, her career after her return to Japan, her installation works and an exploration of her art from a psychoanalytical point of view.

This lavish book is bursting with sparkling images and intriguing activities exploring the world of shape. It gives children a fresh and informal introduction to both 2-D and 3-D shapes, as well as to concepts such as tessellation, symmetry and pattern. Superb photographs celebrate the wealth of creativity that is possible by combining squares, triangles and circles or cubes, cylinders and cones. Hands-on projects help give children a firm understanding about shape and encourage them to use their own creativity and imagination. Designed and photographed by Silence, the acclaimed design partnership of Zoe Miller and David Goodman.

«McSweeney's is an award-winning American publishing house, known for its innovative design and use of illustration and its belief in the book as a desirable object. Founded by Dave Eggars, the author of books including «A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius» and the novelisation of Maurice Sendak's «Where the Wild Things Are», McSweeney's publishes books, a quarterly journal, a magazine («The Believer»), DVD's and a website, all of which have evolved their own distinctive visual aesthetic. This book showcases the extraordinary visual appeal of productions across the range of their activities. Hundreds of images — from napkin sketches to final objects — give insights into the creative process, and interviews with participating designers, artists and illustrators explore the incidental, accidental and even deliberate ways McSweeney's has transformed the experience of reading. Contributors include Michael Chabon, Rick Moody, Jonathan Lethem, Charles Burns, Dave Eggers, David Byrne, Nick Hornby, Joyce Carol Oates, Jordan Crane, William T. Vollmann, Lawrence Weschler, Sean Wilsey, Marcel Dzama and many more.»

There's nothing quite like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Described by The Times on its first publication in 1865 as an excellent piece of nonsense, this inspired tale of a young girl's adventures in a strange and magical world has gone on to become one of the most popular books ever written, translated into over 125 languages and said to be the most frequently quoted book after the Bible, Koran and Shakespeare. In Tove Jansson, the story of Alice finds an illustrator worthy of its enchantment and surreal beauty. Jansson is renowned worldwide for her hugely successful Moomin books. What is less well known is that in 1966 she devoted her unique gifts as an illustrator to recreating the remarkable world of this most famous of children's characters. Over forty years after she presented Lewis Carroll's masterpiece to a Scandinavian audience, Tove Jansson's beautifully illustrated edition of the original text of this classic work is finally made available to an English-speaking audience.

London is a labyrinth of streets, a whirlpool of impressions. To appreciate it, the best method is to jump right in. This is what artist Badaude invites readers to do in London Walks!, a unique, hand-drawn guide to the city that is packed with quirky observations and out-of-the-way treasures. From crowded street markets and department stores to open-air swimming pools; through parks and city squares, in and out of museums, to the river: Badaude's intricate and charming drawings catch the bustle, the architecture, the people and the atmosphere of London as no other guide has done. Best appreciated on foot, London shares its charms with those who strike out on their own. With Badaude as your companion, we can't guarantee you won't get lost along the way, but we defy you not to enjoy the process!

J.M.W. Turner was an original and prolific painter who produced effects such as dissolving form, rendering diaphanous expanses of light, and using colour with subtlety and control. Turner used not only his powers of natural observation, but was also intensely involved with the culture of his times, using landscape as a vehicle for ruminations on society, politics, and the human condition. This work assesses the range and complexity of Turner's work, investigating his artistic and literary influences and interpreting his political views. However, it focuses primarily on describing the evolution of his approach techniques — from his early detailed topographical watercolours to his later almost abstract paintings, which foreshadowed modernism.

Together with Holbein, Anthony van Dyck (1599 — 1641) is one of the most important names in British pre-18th century art. Born in Antwerp he was a precocious talent, rising swiftly to become the chief assistant to Peter Paul Rubens, then Northern Europe's most prominent painter. His importance to British art cannot be overstated; during the turbulent years of the reign of Charles I, he single-handedly reinvented portrait painting, leaving behind a legacy that would influence later generations.Van Dyck first came to Britain in 1620 to work for James I. Between 1621 and 1627 he worked in Italy, adding to his clientele of wealthy patrons. Charles I recognised in van Dyck the potential to be the perfect creator of the royal image. The artist returned to London in April 1632 and was almost immediately knighted and provided with an enviable property and pension, becoming the chief painter of the court. His portraits of the royal family and courtiers, imbued with an understated authority and relaxed elegance, were an instant success. His pictures of Charles especially seemed to represent the king as both a powerful sovereign and 'nature's gentleman'. His popularity stemmed from his ease when moving in aristocratic circles, and his talent for flattering almost all subjects. Thomas Gainsborough famously said on his deathbed 'We are all going to heaven and van Dyck is of the company'. The authors will not only explore van Dyck's years in England, but also his enduring influence on British art and culture in the centuries following his death, reflected in the way 18th and 19th century British sitters wanted their portraits to convey the gravitas and sophistication the earlier painter had mastered so well. Extensively illustrated, this is the most thorough examination ever published of van Dyck's English sojourn and the influence it had on the cultural life of the nation.

«Award-winning artist and illustrator Sara Fanelli's inspiration lies not only in the visual arts but also in literature and the theatre. «Sometimes I Think, Sometimes I Am» is a remarkable creation, in which Fanelli takes the quotations and aphorisms that inspire her work. This book contains five 'chapters' that make up this unique work.»

In 1848, seven inexperienced young artists banded together to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, one of the first and most distinctive group movements in modern art. A century and a half later, their art still has the power to shock, as well as fascinate its audiences. Through the detailed analysis of the materials, techniques, and working pratices of the artists, this lavishly illustrated book examines how Pre-Raphaelite pictures compel the viewer to see more, and more vividly, than traditional painting styles. This intensity of observation reinforces the distinctive subject matter of the pictures: the natural world and the human model, gender identities and sexual relationships, debates on politics, science and religion. Elizabeth Prettejohn is widely acknowledged to be a leading authority on the Pre-Raphaelites, and The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites is seen as a classic introduction to the movement. Outstandingly successful as a hardback, it is now published in a new, affordable format by public demand.

J.M.W. Turner was a fascinating and enigmatic figure. Both astonishingly prolific and extraordinarily innovative, he is widely seen as the greatest British landscape painter of them all, anticipating and surpassing the Impressionists in his dramatic interpretations of the effects of light and colour. The Turner Book goes beyond the usual interpretations of the artist, revealing the extraordinary self-belief and ambition that allowed him to continue steadfastly with his experimentation in the face of hostile critical attack. The book examines in detail key works and the techniques by which Turner realised them and features revealing extracts from his notebooks, travel journals and poetry. Beautifully illustrated with both famous and unknown works and ranging over the entire course of the artist's career, this is the essential guide to Turner's life and work. Sam Smiles is Professor of Art History at the University of Plymouth at Exeter and the author of numerous acclaimed books, including J.M.W. Turner, Two-way Traffic: British Art and Italian Art 1880-1980 and The Image of Antiquity: Ancient Britain and the Romantic Imagination.

The Rossetti Boxed Notecards are from the new Tate Notebooks and Notecards range, featuring four of Tate's best-loved artists: Rossetti, Turner, Sargent and Whistler. Each boxed set contains 16 notecards, that are 171 mm high and 121 mm wide, featuring 2 artworks from

«British artist Tacita Dean (b.1965) will be the twelfth artist to transform the spectacular Turbine Hall space at Tate Modern as part of «The Unilever» series, through which, since 2000, over 25 million people have experienced some of the most remarkable and original installations in contemporary art. Although Dean originally trained as a painter, and works in a variety of media including drawing, photography and sound, she is best known for her use of 16 mm film. Dean's films avoid conventional narratives, capturing instead a sense of history, time and place. She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1998 for her film «Disappearance at Sea», which focused on the story of yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, who vanished mysteriously during a round-the-world race. She won the Kurt Schwitters Prize in 2009 and the Hugo Boss award in 2007, and has had many solo shows internationally. She lives and works in Berlin.»

«London is a city of contradiction. To the eyes of the explorer, everything is new and yet everything is old. Tradition rubs shoulders with innovation. Style rubs shoulders with tastelessness. Every corner of the vast British capital boasts a chaotic collection of signs and graphics, which produce a visual spectacle at every turn. Far from the usual cliches, «Made in London» compiles a visual cocktail gleaned from the wondrous and varied life of the city.»

*First books to be translated into English by award-winningBelgian author/illustrator *Endearing characters in everyday situations make thesebooks perfect for early readers *Distinct illustration style underpinned by a humanist sensibility This delightful series of picture books expresses the humour, frustrations and profundities of the parent/child relationship through two endearing insects, Poka and Mia. Despite their multiple limbs and cellophane wings, children and adults alike will immediately identify with Poka and Mia and the situations they find themselves in, making these books ideal for children learning to read. Illustrated in the inimitable style of Kitty Crowther, which is at once both dark and sweet, these charming creatures will ingratiate themselves to even the most hardened cynic.