The authors create such transcendent worlds and also manage to weave in these beautiful poetic moments. The books that really arrested my attention were The Hobbit, His Dark Materials, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Moomin Trolls. Maybe that is why I formed a sustained interest in children’s literature, because I realised there was this whole world of amazing work that had passed me by. We had novels too, Roald Dahl was there of course, but I didn’t seem to find the really good ones until I was a teenager. The worlds he created could draw me in for hours. Some that I loved at that age aren’t worth mentioning, but we had some classic picture books like The Eleventh Hour and Animalia, both by Graeme Base.

We had all kinds of books in our home growing up. It encourages the reader to be present with their child and absorb the things that are happening all around them. The story brings attention to the beauty in the everyday that surrounds you, from making a special pancake breakfast together, to noticing a spider's web and a falling feather. In this heart-warming, poetic story, a father and child share the last few moments of quiet before the school year begins and it leaves you with all the feels. His recent book “ A Day that is Ours” is a moving story for parents to share with their little ones as they take their first steps into school. He doesn’t need to, because his work seems to find its way to the hungry soul.

Blake is not one that is interested in trying to impress or push his work onto others. He views the world in a cautious and serious way, yet has an epic sense of humour noting the funny, weird things that life has to offer. There was something about their home that seems to call out to your childhood self - asking you to put away adulthood for a moment to join in the adventure of blissful, uninhabited imagination.īlake is a man with a gentle and kind soul. In the centre of their home is a long wooden table often sprinkled with children’s drawings, fresh fruit and the crumbs of bakery goods.

They are a family that oozes coolness, and their everyday lives project a beautiful simplicity.īlake and his family live in a newly renovated home that is drenched in light with floor to ceiling windows that capture the enormous snow-covered mountaintop in a frame. Tucked away at the base of Mount Wellington, Tasmania, lives children’s book author Blake Nuto, with wife, Danika, and their three kids - Teddy, Daisy and Goldie.

First In by Danika Bloom