Here is a familiar scene. The author and/or illustrator of picture books for children is at the end of a long school visit. Parents and children are queueing up to buy books. Young Basil from Year 3 would like the picture book his class had enjoyed earlier. But there is a look of horror from Basil's anxious parent: “No, no, Basil darling, you are reading chapter books now, these books are for babies.” There is an exasperated sigh from the author as Basil is pulled away disappointed.

Picture books are not just for babies and pre-schoolers - they are for everyone. To encourage appreciation of the art, Booktrust has launched The Big Picture campaign, and a panel of judges has selected the ten best new illustrators published in the UK since 2000. Here are ten emerging and varied talents, adding to the quirky and thrilling picture book canon, which stretches from William Nicholson to Shirley Hughes. In our increasingly visual culture, picture books offer a bridge to literacy, but they are also a rich source of simple aesthetic pleasure and storytelling.

Best New Illustrators exhibition: the Illustration Cupboard, London, from April 17 to May 3. Details of this and other events at bigpicture.org.uk

Oliver Jeffers was born in Australia, but grew up in Belfast. He is a painter and conceptual artist, as well as an author and illustrator. His first book was How To Catch A Star, inspired by sitting on a jetty in Sydney and looking at the stars. This was followed by the brilliant Lost and Found, the story of a boy and a lost penguin (the character of the penguin reminded me of Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov). Oliver seems able to combine a wide-eyed storytelling, breathtaking illustrations in an original and pared-down style and an enormous emotional rush.~
Image from The Incredible Book Eating Boy
HarperCollins, £5.99

David Lucas's first published work was a picture book with text by Ted Hughes, called Shaggy and Spotty. He uses what at first glance looks like traditional ink line and water colour wash in his illustrations, but I suspect they may also be subject to electronic manipulation and enhancement. His spidery, witty line and self-referring invented worlds bring to mind such great exponents of graphic art as Saul Steinberg and Paul Klee. David is working on a graphic novella called The Lying Carpet, which will be published by Andersen Press in September.
Image from The Robot and the Bluebird
Andersen, £10.99

Joel Stewart is a graduate of Falmouth College of Arts. He grew up in Sheffield and his work shows a literary understanding of character. At first glance the images appear to have been conventionally made with a pen, paper, and wash. He manipulates the images electronically, although the result is not mechanical-looking or like the glossy 3-D renderings associated with computer graphics. He has illustrated Lewis Carroll and Hans Christian Andersen, as well as writing his own texts.
Image from Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie
Doubleday, £5.99

Lisa Evans works in a sensitive style, using what appear to be conventional drawing materials; smudgy pencil and coloured crayon or pastel on tinted papers, although it may turn out that the pictures were rendered on a computer. Her characters have a touching and soulful look, reminiscent of the sad-eyed waifs of Bernard Buffet, the French painter and darling of the 1950s, or the even the gentle lyricism of Peynet. Her palette is subdued. She uses tiny touches of colour and it would be interesting to see her broaden out and use stronger colour and contrast.
Image from The Flower, words by John Light
Child's Play, £10.99

Polly Dunbar is another graduate from the illustration course at Brighton University. She has been writing and illustrating since she was 16. Her recent books, Shoe Baby, have included a collaboration with her mother, the author Joyce Dunbar. Her picture book, Penguin, won the 2007 Booktrust Early Years Award for Best Pre-School book. Polly uses a spirited and enviably free line in her drawings. Her children are recognisably childlike andhave something of the immediate quality of Edward Lear's figures from his limerick drawings.
Image from Penguin
Walker, £7.99

Catherine Rayner's work features a strong and free style of drawing in ink and paint with vivid pattern-making, similar to the work of Brian Wildsmith, the pioneer of “modernism” in the picture book. Her work is born from natural observation, both of her own animals and - for her first picture book Augustus and His Smile - the tigers in Edinburgh Zoo. In 2006 Catherine was awarded the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years awards. Her second picture book, Harris Finds His Feet, will be published this month.
Image from Augustus and His Smile
Little Tiger Press, £5.99

Emily Gravett won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2005 for her first picture book Wolves. She uses a mix of drawing, either in pencil, crayon, and watercolour, chalk, and collage. The edges of some pages of Little Mouse's Book of Fears, for instance, appear to be burnt, scuffed and mouse-nibbled. There are flaps to lift, spaces for the reader to add their own comments, and even a completely black page to show fear of the dark. There are attached maps to follow, and hidden things to discover. Her books repay constant attention and rediscovery.
Image from Little Mouse's Book of Fears
Macmillan, £10.99

Mini Grey worked as a theatre designer, before training as a primary teacher. Six years of teaching in South London schools has given her invaluable experience in making child-friendly books. Mini specialises in taking familiar themes and playfully turning them on their heads, releasing them from the confines of expectation. Her masterpiece is The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon, giving those two characters from Hey Diddle Diddle a “noirish” adventure as a Bonnie and Clyde of the utensil world. Delicious fun, and drawn with great gusto.
Image from The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon
Red Fox, £5.99

Alexis Deacon - I had the great pleasure of seeing Alexis Deacon's degree show at Brighton University in 2001. It was obvious straight away that here was a significant talent. He seems to use a variety of media, drawing with crayon and pastel on different textures of paper and, I suspect, subsequently scanning and electronically manipulating the results. No amount of new technology, however, will add to such natural observation and understanding of form, or produce the emotionally charged atmosphere that he achieves in his work.
Image from While You Are Sleeping
Red Fox, £5.99

Vicky White - it is good to see some inspired nonfiction illustrations on the list. Vicky White worked for several years as a zookeeper, which has given her an understanding of the way animals move and react. She studied natural history illustration at the Royal College of Art, and Ape is her first picture book. The presence of the animals is palpable, with great attention to facial expression and relationships. All drawn simply and tenderly with what looks like black crayon on paper and subtle touches of colour.
Image from Ape, words by Martin Jenkins
Walker £10.99

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