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I’m incredibly chuffed that Weasels has been chosen by School Library Journal in the US as one of their Best Books of 2014. It’s astonishing to see my book on a list with some of the big dogs of the picturebook world such as Anthony Browne, Shaun Tan and Oliver Jeffers. I want to say thank you to the people at School Library Journal for deciding that Weasels is worthy of a place on their list. Weasel Leader is particularly thrilled too…
Elys Dolan
Top hats off to Usborne Publishing for their beautiful new edition of A Christmas Carol.
This is the second time I’ve worked with them on Charles Dickens’ Ghost Story for Christmas. About ten years ago I did an abridged version for the Young Readers series. I like working on these and Usborne takes great care with the adaptations; capturing the essential characters and story to entice budding readers. But I was delighted to be asked to illustrate the complete and unabridged story. There’s so much more in the detail even when you read a story you think you know.
I don’t find Dickens an easy read but he does repay the effort, and his characters, their names alone, cry out to be illustrated. They are often described as ‘grotesque’; they are vivid, certainly, but I think of them more as ordinary people in grotesque situations; fashioned and constrained by circumstance.
I’ve always liked working on mysterious and gothic stories. There is something about watercolours that really suit atmospheric, ghostly subjects; the washes so readily suggest crepuscular light, half formed figures emerging from dark spaces, foreboding shadows, mists and uncertainty.
The ghosts in the story are fantastic and frightening and profound: There’s Marley, of course, bound in the chains of his former life and career, who comes to warn Scrooge that he will be visited by three more spirits. Then comes the Ghost of Christmas Past; perhaps one of the strangest creatures in literature; ‘ - like a child, yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium.’ It’s a shapeshifter and more strangely has a jet of light coming from the crown of its head for which it carries its own extinguisher.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, preceding Coca-Cola’s red-coated evocation, is a Father Christmas figure, full of the joy of good things, but different from him in that he is aware too of darkness and hurt in the world; harbouring, as he does, children called Ignorance and Want in his robe.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come; cloaked in mystery, shows Scrooge his possible, desolate end; disregard from his fellow man and a neglected gravestone. It’s the darkest moment in a story that ends happily when the repentant Scrooge begs on his knees,’ Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!’
Alan Marks
Archie Greene and the Magician’s Secret is a children’s novel, written by me D.D. Everest, and beautifully illustrated by James de la Rue. (The book has been short-listed for the National Book Awards, for Children’s Book of the Year.)
It tells the story of a young boy called Archie Greene who receives a mysterious present on his twelfth birthday. Deep within an ancient wooden box he finds an old book, written in a language he doesn’t recognise.
With the book comes a Special Instruction – Archie must return the book to the Flame Keepers of Alexandria – a secret community devoted to finding and preserving magical books.
Set in (and below) the ancient, winding streets of Oxford, the book is very atmospheric. The action takes place at several magical locations – including the Museum of Magical Miscellany; a bookshop called the Aisle of White; and Quill’s Chocolate and Coffee House.
Any book about magical books had better be a bit special, and I was lucky enough to land Faber & Faber as my publisher. Leah Thaxton at Faber Children’s wanted to include line drawings with the book. It was clear to me from the start that this would work well – but only if the illustrator really captured the spirit and mood of the characters.
We worked with a couple of US-based illustrators, but in the end Faber chose the UK illustrator James de la Rue. I knew the moment I saw his drawings that it was the right decision. James immediately captured the quirky, Englishness of the characters, and produced what for me is the defining image of Archie himself.
For an author it is a magical moment when the characters you have created in your head come to life in illustrations. Some authors are fortunate to be blessed with drawing skills that enable them to capture the images from their imagination. Think of JRR Tolkien’s stunning drawings in the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, for instance.
My drawing isn’t up to that, so I have to rely on someone else doing my characters justice. It could be a big disappointment. But instead, it was a revelation.
By some curious process of creative osmosis, the characters that James has drawn bear a resemblance to my own children who, in turn, influenced the characters in the book. And yet when he produced them James had never seen my children – or even met me.
Reviewers have (rightly) heaped praise on the illustrations. They give the book a magical feel. Everywhere I go to promote the book, the children always ask about the illustrations. Did I draw them myself? If only!
D.D. Everest
Illustrations by James de la Rue
As you might be able to tell I was very happy to get my copy of my new book - Macbeth.
I've been working on a series of six Shakespeare books for Wayland this year. The series is called Short Sharp Shakespeare Stories, and they are cleverly retold by the wonderful author Anna Claybourne.
They are aimed at 9+ and as well as the great story there are pages and pages at the back going into all sorts of detail about Shakespeare, the times he lived in, the play, it's meanings, the globe, as well Shakespeare's relevance and influence today. It's quite a bumper little book.
I had a lot of fun inking this tale, so here for your possible delight are a few of the 50 or so illustrations in the book. I hope you enjoy them, and thanks for reading.
Tom Morgan-Jones
Congratulations to Henning Löhlein: "Fish Food" (designed by Andy Mansfield / illustrated by Henning Löhlein, published by Templar) has won the Sheffield Baby Book Award 2014.
