My favorite books for travelling in different or strange circumstances

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a Belgian illustrator and author of children's books. My mother works in a library so I was constantly in contact with books, especially children's books. Stories with beautiful pictures were always a big fascination of mine. Drawing keeps me looking for stories and stories keep me drawing. Everything is an inspiration: a funny moment, a good conversation, or just life. In my university, I renewed my passion for children's books thanks to my teacher Kris, also a children's book illustrator. In my final school years I got the chance to work with one of the best publishers in Belgium: De Eenhoorn (the unicorn) they gave me the chance to grow and...tell stories. 


I wrote...

Crocodile's Crossing: A Search for Home

By Yoeri Slegers,

Book cover of Crocodile's Crossing: A Search for Home

What is my book about?

Crocodile is tired, scared, and hopeful as he searches for his new home. Everything will be better where I’m going! he thinks. But where is that?

Crocodile’s Crossing: A Search for Home introduces children to the complex topic of immigration. Featuring bright artwork packed with playful details, this thoughtful tale sensitively portrays the challenges faced by refugees and other newcomers.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Umbrella

Yoeri Slegers Why did I love this book?

I'm always attracted to drawings first. So a book with only drawings and your imagination is a plus for me. It's about a little black dog that finds a red umbrella that takes it around the world. With enough drawings designed to reel you in.

By Ingrid Schubert, Dieter Schubert,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Umbrella as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

A little dog finds an umbrella in the garden on a windy day.  The moment the dog picks up the umbrella, it catches the wind and pulls the dog skywards.  This is the start to fantastic journey around the world.  The wind carries the umbrellas and the dog all over the world, from the desert to the sea, from the jungle to the north pole.


Book cover of The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business

Yoeri Slegers Why did I love this book?

I always write a humour story next to my more adult or serious topics. If people ask me what's a funny one it's my top pic. One day a mole wakes up, sticks his head out of the ground and get a pile of poo on it's head. The journey to find the culprit is hilarious and makes me laugh every single time.

By Werner Holzwarth, Wolf Erlbruch,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The outrageous bestseller is back - now in a hilarious pop-up edition! Who did their business on the mole's head? Join the intrepid mole as he sets out to find the culprit and exact his revenge in his own little way. "The Story of the Little Mole" is a favourite story loved by children and their parents all around the world with over a million copies sold! And now, you play along with compelling pop-ups, tabs to pull and flaps to lift!


Book cover of Little Monkey

Yoeri Slegers Why did I love this book?

If you're small you have to prove yourself even more. I am 1.94m tall. My wife is 1.5. So I have first-hand experience. But like in real life, you don't need to prove anything. Being small or the smallest doesn't matter to the people who love you.

By Marta Altes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Little Monkey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's hard being a little monkey in a big troop, in an even bigger jungle - and this little monkey has had enough of always missing out! She's off to climb to the top of the tallest tree in the jungle and she's going to do it all on her own!

Except that there's someone following close behind. Someone with claws and stripes and rather sharp teeth . . .

Little Monkey is a beautiful, funny and empowering picture book from renowned author/illustrator, Marta Altes. Little Monkey shows us that the world is a big, wild and wonderful place where…


Book cover of A River

Yoeri Slegers Why did I love this book?

Once again a wordless picture book. But the style of graphic and college art just blew my away. You'll get lost in this one. Everything seems possible and you'll want to go to the places he depicts. Without using words you'll want to discover how the story ends.

By Marc Martin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A River as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

A beautiful geographical story with lush landscapes and poetic text from an award-winning Australian illustrator. A River follows on from Marc Martin's incredible A Forest - winner of the 2013 Crichton Children's Illustration Award.

There is a river outside my window.
Where will it take me?

So begins an imaginary journey from the city to the sea. From factories to farmlands, freeways to forest, each new landscape is explored through stunning illustrations and poetic text from this award-winning picture-book creator.


Book cover of Island

Yoeri Slegers Why did I love this book?

A dear colleague of mine, a few years back he decided to just go for it. He used all his experience and did stuff he never did before. The result, an explosion of colour and beautiful use of different techniques. These pictures just keep on giving and giving. Every time you'll spot something new. Once again wordless, but children necessarily don't need words to understand a story.

By Mark Janssen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Island as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dive into an enchantingly watery world full of surprises!

Shipwreck! A father, daughter and their dog wash up on a small island. Little do the castaways know that the island isn't what it seems at all.

The island shows the family the wonders of life at sea. Colourful fish dart in the waves and birds swoop in the sky. Island life is full of the unexpected. The island protects the family against all kinds of dangers, from tropical storms to arctic snow. Menacing animals lurk underwater, and the island has its own secret, too. Eventually, the family is rescued, and…


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From Cells to Ourselves: The Story of Evolution

By Gill Arbuthnott, Chris Nielsen (illustrator),

Book cover of From Cells to Ourselves: The Story of Evolution

Gill Arbuthnott Author Of The Keepers' Daughter

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author History nut Science nerd Mystery lover Feminist

Gill's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

4.5 billion years ago, Earth was forming - but nothing could have survived there…

From Cells to Ourselves is the incredible story of how life on earth started and how it gradually evolved from the first simple cells to the abundance of life around us today. Walk with dinosaurs, analyse fossils, and join Charles Darwin on the voyages that inspired his Theory of Evolution.

Written by Gill Arbuthnott and beautifully illustrated by Christopher Nielsen, From Cells to Ourselves is the story of life itself and the extraordinary creatures that have inhabited our planet.

From Cells to Ourselves: The Story of Evolution

By Gill Arbuthnott, Chris Nielsen (illustrator),

What is this book about?

From the Big Bang to the abundance of life that surrounds us today, this beautiful book - the third by the award-winning duo Gill Arbuthnott and Chris Nielsen - is the story of evolution, from the very first cells to ourselves.

How old exactly is the Earth? How do we know what was here before us? Are we still evolving? From Cells to Ourselves is the story of the beginnings of life around 3.8 billion years ago, to the millions of species alive today, including humans.

Learn about mythology giants who formed the Earth, analyse fossils, walk with the dinosaurs,…


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