Time runs like a river, never resting, moving steadily on. But if we notice how different each minute can be, we can appreciate them before they are gone.

Rivers can be fast-flowing or still, raging or calm, just like us. This lyrical picture book from the award-winning artist Emma Carlisle explores the concepts of time and change through the ebb and flow of a river.

From the fleeting flash of a kingfisher to the slow grinding of pebbles, this beautiful book encourages readers to notice the big and small things happening in nature, as well as reflecting on things which have come and gone and those yet to be enjoyed.

Published in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the book also includes non-fiction spreads with themes of mindfulness and nature, which can be shared with children.

Emma Carlisle (Author, Illustrator)
Emma Carlisle is an award-winning artist based in Plymouth, UK. She holds a First Class Honours degree in Illustration from the University of Plymouth (2011) and an MA in Children's Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art (2014). Emma is also a lecturer in Children's Illustration at the University of Plymouth.

In 2022, her book What Do You See When You Look At a Tree? was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. In 2024, Time Runs Like a River won the Award of Excellence in Literature for Children from the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries. Emma's debut book, Lion Practice (2015), was nominated for both the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Klaus Flugge Prize. In 2013, she received a Highly Commended accolade for the Macmillan Book Prize.