Saturday 17 June (runs until 22 October – open Tuesday -Sunday 10am-6pm) at House of Illustration –Jacqueline Ayer’s picture books were a remarkable addition to children’s literature in 1960s America and the UK. Documenting the back lanes of Bangkok, they brought a bold vision of Asian life to the western market at a time when diverse cultures were not authentically portrayed.

Two of her five ground-breaking picture books will be reissued for the first time since 1959 by US publisher Enchanted Lion Books, to coincide with the exhibition: ‘Nu Dang and His Kite’ and ‘The Paper Flower Tree’.