“This is an odd book,” A.A. Milne wrote in 1917 (long before Pooh bear) of his “Fairy Story for grown-ups.” In a later edition he was still finding it hard to classify. “But, as you see, I am still finding it difficult to explain just what sort of book it is. Perhaps no explanation is … Continue reading
David Lucas is a picture book maker in the classic mould. He works with simple shapes and beautiful decorative patterns to create stories that have a timeless feel. His storytelling is deeply rooted in fairy tale and fable, communicating simple but profound truths about our world all delivered with a sly sense of humour. But … Continue reading
As a child, along with books, the other essential thing in my life was my top loading cassette recorder with its library of half recorded songs from the top 40. I also had in my collection a handful of ‘listening and reading’ story cassettes which played till they stretched, warped and unravelled inside the machine. … 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
After Raymond Briggs left art college in 1957 he took his portfolio to Oxford University Press where he was asked by editor Mabel George 'How do you feel about fairies?' Biting his tongue and suppressing his art school cool he replied 'Yes, fairies, lovely'. Briggs soon discovered that Fairy tales and nursery rhymes were, 'the … Continue reading
Original Bad Girl Goldilocks wasn’t always so young. The first written version by Robert Southey describes her variously as an impudent, foul-mouthed, ugly, dirty, vagrant old woman who needed locking up. The Goldilocks handed down to Raymond Briggs for inclusion in the 1972 Fairy Tale Treasury was the one written by Flora Annie Steele in … Continue reading
Welcome to tygertale, a blog about brilliant children’s books Continue reading
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