Textured children's book

Here's a twist on an old classic with Hairy Maclary and Friends: a Touch and Feel Book.

Each page of this book has a textured element, clearly designed to appeal to very young children. This tactile experience is also something that can't be simulated by an ebook.

Because of the extra physical material glued into each page, the pages are very thick and board-like, also suitable for young children who may not have the fine motor skills to be gentle with thin pages.

Cool children's book typeface

I found this rather charming children's book Stuck.

I think this is a really successful cover.

• The title is easy to read because of its size and contrast, even though it is in an uneven typeface with a hand-lettered feel to it. 
• The title's typeface also suits the illustration style, and the positioning of the letters between the tree branches anchors the title to the cover image. 
• The typeface for the author's name matches the typeface used for the inside lettering (more on this below).

Here is a page spread from the book:

The typeface used for the text is a child's scribbly pencil handwriting (is it still a typeface if it's hand-written?). This suits the scribbly nature of the illustrations, and makes the narrator seem more authentic. I particularly like how in the photo below, the narrator has had two tries at spelling a difficult word (rhinoceros) and crossed out the first attempt.

This book also has cover flaps, and designs on the inside of the cover, a nice additional touch.

Papyrus Alert!

Spotted this children's book the house that went to sea. The title is in our friend Papyrus, with the first letter of each word in smallcaps. Even though this is a very recognisable font, I think it suits this cover as the curved lettering is reminiscent of gentle waves.

Children's book layout - 'The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?'

I've included this sample from the children's book The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? to show how it effectively uses a simple two-column grid system for each page.


This grid here has been used to show the pigeon's thought-process as he gets increasingly upset about the duckling getting a cookie. The different background colours for each square make each thought into a separate mini-scene, adding emphasis. The last thought before the page-turn is given extra emphasis as it covers two squares instead of one.


The typeface for the story has clearly been chosen for its old-fashioned, simple, 'typewriter' feel, which complements the plain backgrounds and uncomplicated line-drawings of the illustrations.