Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Structured primarily as a resource for educators, this assortment of storytelling and illustration prompts and practices from celebrated British Children's Laureates is classroom-ready. In dedicated chapters, contributors detail some facet of their creative practice. Quentin Blake talks of "putt[ing] yourself inside" a story and offers inkblot-esque drawings of fantastic vehicles waiting for a tale of their own, Michael Rosen explores how a single word ("bobble") might spark the start of a poem, Malorie Blackman offers an example of how different points of view can shift a story, and Lauren Child explains how she developed her signature illustration style. Twenty suggested creative activities and short contributor biographies round out the book. Illustrations from the included artists offer a sampling of their diverse styles, while design treatments-mock notebook pages, trompe l'oeil sticky notes-liven up the presentation. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Britainâ€TMs first ten Childrenâ€TMs Laureates, from Quentin Blake (1999â€"2001) to Lauren Child (2017â€"2019), discuss their writing and/or illustrating processes, supply creative prompts, and show samples of their own work. The result is an encouraging set of examples for young creators of how ideas can become stories or illustrations. With twenty additional “ideas for creative projects†appended and â€~More About the Laureates,â€TM this volume should serve as a useful resource. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
To celebrate 20 years of the U.K.'s Children's Laureate program, the first 10 to be appointed to the position offer remarks on their craft.The roster of contributors is heavy with honored names, bookended by Quentin Blake, the first laureate (1999-2001), who writes about stylistic relations between pictures and story, and Lauren Child (2017-2019), describing how her stories develop in a dynamic mix of writing and drawing. In between, Michael Rosen grows a poem from one funny-sounding word, "Bobble"; Michael Morpurgo ruminates on finding just the right voice; Jacqueline Wilson presents a short story in diary form; and Chris Riddell visually lays out a five-point strategy for making drawing a constant daily activity. Malorie Blackman, the only person of color in the lineup, follows a set of brainstorming questions with a fable written from three points of view. Some contributions, such as Morpurgo's tale of a heroic librarian, "I Believe in Unicorns," Anne Fine's selection of original bookplates by various eminent illustrators, and Anthony Browne's Shape Game, have appeared elsewhere in print or online, but the personal statements are new and the contents assembled in an appealingly informal way that invites younger audiences to the party as well as readers who have grown up with these authors and illustrators. Riddell's caricatures at the end are alone worth the price of admission.A genial salute to and from the original corps of children's-literature ambassadors. (Anthology. 10-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
