A Little Box of Learning

by Paula Knight (Illustrator)

Toddlers' first four board books will introduce children to four different aspects of early the first words babies recognize, the idea of counting, fascinating wheeled vehicles, and mother animals with their babies. An appealing, simply rendered, brightly colored illustration on each page of every book comes with a word or simple phrase that names the pictured person, animal, or object. First Words presents pictures and the words dog, cat, bed, and other familiar things designated by single-syllable words. Counting starts with "1 birthday boy" and progresses through numbers to end with "10 toes." Things That Go shows and names a car, a bus, a train, and seven other vehicles that toddlers always delight in seeing. Mommies and Babies shows and names a mommy dog and her puppy, a mommy bear and her cubs, and eight more mother animals with offspring. All ten pages of each book are thick and sturdy, and have rounded edges for safety. The four books come nested inside a brightly illustrated box.

40 pages, Board Book

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Paula is an author, illustrator and comics creator. She has illustrated numerous books for children and written three children's picture books as author. She's been a professional freelance illustrator since 1992.

Her first graphic memoir, The Facts of Life, (for adults) is published by Myriad Editions (UK) and Penn State University Press (N America). It's about the pressures on women to have children and what happens when life doesn't go to plan. An extract of it was shortlisted in Myriad's inaugural First Graphic Novel Competition in 2012. Judges included Ian Rankin, Bryan Talbot, Hannah Berry and Steve Bell.

"Intensely moving… honest and personal. It is a story told in pictures with sparse words about fertility, about loss, about growth. Of expectations - both personal and those from friends, family and society. It is about grief and pain and love. I wish I could think of a less trite way of saying this, but it makes you feel less alone."
Victoria MacDonald, Health and Social Care Correspondent, Channel 4 News

"Funny, poignant and philosophical, this elegant graphic novel challenges cultural pronatalism and examines the experience of living with a chronic, yet poorly understood, illness. I learnt a lot from this visually sophisticated and tremendously informative work, which is a must-read for anyone interested in reproductive politics." -Ian Williams, co-founder, Graphic Medicine

Paula's interests include wildlife, especially of the feathered variety. She pleads with them to prefer her garden, but local felines have other ideas. Her love of nature often inspires her writing, especially her own tiny woodland of oaklings. She dabbles in photography and considers herself an enthusiastic amateur.

Instagram: @paulajkstudio (illustration) @paulajknight (photos)