‘I can remember very clearly, even now, what it was like when we climbed over the wall into the garden of the big house. We knew we weren’t supposed to… but we were on the lookout for adventure.’ A boy and a girl escape the boredom of their aunt’s house and plunge deep into a … Continue reading
‘Since his parents couldn’t stop taking about Father Christmas, Julien had decided to pretend to believe in him for another year. So he had written a letter to ask for a present.’ Julien is getting to old for Father Christmas, or so he has been led to believe. But he’s not quite ready to let … Continue reading
In my recent review of Laura Carlin’s Ceramics I was remided of an exhibition curated by the then Children’s Laureate Quentin Blake at the National gallery in 2001. Tell me a Picture placed fine art next to the work of some of the world’s greatest illustrators – an unusual concept even today, and one which came … Continue reading
I’d seen clips before of this unique Quentin Blake Jackanory series a few years ago. But it’s brilliant to be able to see an episode of the Adventures of Lester in its entirety. Jackanory was a children’s storytelling series in which actors and writers brought classic and contemporary children’s books to life. Bernard Cribbins was … Continue reading
It’s not often that I see my dad avidly reading a children’s book. He usually prefers something with a bit more espionage, or physics. But I came home recently to find him leafing through my copy of J.B.S Haldane’s My Friend Mr Leakey. ‘He was a very well known scientist you know?’ he told me … Continue reading
I’ve been banging on about Roald Dahl without Quentin Blake for quite some time now. So I thought I’d better redress the balance and look at the work of the man who was in my opinion an equal partner in their creative relationship. Another equally important collaboration began several years before his work with Dahl. … Continue reading
I ummed and aahed for a long time about which Quentin Blake book to include in the advent calendar. Although he never produced a Christmas story with Roald Dahl (as if), he has brought his own unique take to many other seasonal tales, from A Christmas Carol to Michael Morpurgo’s nativity story, On Angel Wings. … Continue reading
