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Chris Riddell
Chris Riddell ( ) (born 13 April 1962) is a South African-born British illustrator and occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for the '' Observer''. He has won three Kate Greenaway Medals - the British librarians' annual award for the best-illustrated children's book, and two of his works were commended runners-up, a distinction dropped after 2002. Books that he wrote or illustrated have won three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes and have been silver or bronze runners-up four times. On 9 June 2015, he was appointed the UK Children's Laureate. Life Chris Riddell was born in 1962 in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was a "liberal Anglican vicar" and was opposed to the system of apartheid. The family returned to Britain when Chris was one year old, where he spent the rest of his childhood with his sister and three brothers, who now live in South Africa, Brighton, and Egypt. He attended Archbishop Tenison's Grammar School in Kennington. Chris d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest (after Johannesburg). Colloquially named the ''Mother City'', it is the largest city of the Western Cape province, and is managed by the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The other two capitals are Pretoria, the executive capital, located in Gauteng, where the Presidency is based, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital in the Free State, where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located. Cape Town is ranked as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city is known for its harbour, for its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region, and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point. Cape Town is home to 66% of the Western Cape's population. In 2014, Cape Town was named the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wind In The Willows
''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets into trouble. It also details short stories about them that are disconnected from the main narrative. The novel was based on bedtime stories Grahame told his son Alastair. It has been adapted numerous times for both stage and screen. ''The Wind in the Willows'' received negative reviews upon its initial release, but has since become a classic of British literature. It was listed at No. 16 in the BBC's survey The Big Read, and has been adapted multiple times in different mediums. Background Kenneth Grahame married Elspeth Thomson, the daughter of Robert William Thomson in 1899, when he was 40. The next year they had their only child, a boy named Alastair (nicknamed "Mouse"). He was born premature, blind in one eye, and was plagued by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fergus Crane
''Fergus Crane'' is a 2004 children's book written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It won the Nestlé Children's Book Prize Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ... Gold Award the same year. Plot summary Fergus Crane is a young boy, who lives in the Archduke Ferdinand Apartments with his Mother Lucia. A mysterious little flying box arrives at his house three different times which has letters in it from his 'long lost uncle Theo', warning him that he is great danger and is sending help. After this, a flying horse arrives at his window and takes him to a magnificen ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulliver's Travels
''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, satirising both human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary subgenre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. Swift claimed that he wrote ''Gulliver's Travels'' "to vex the world rather than divert it". The book was an immediate success. The English dramatist John Gay remarked: "It is universally read, from the cabinet council to the nursery." In 2015, Robert McCrum released his selection list of 100 best novels of all time in which ''Gulliver's Travels'' is listed in third place as "a satirical masterpiece". Plot Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. ;4 Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Parkins
David Alan Parkins (born 2 November 1955) is a British cartoonist and illustrator who has worked for D.C. Thomson, publisher of '' The Beano'' and '' The Dandy''. Now based in Canada, he illustrates children's picture books. Parkins was born in Brighton, but moved to Grantham, Lincolnshire at the age of five. He didn't take up art until sixth form, when he also began drawing caricatures of his teachers. He studied Wildlife Illustration at Dyfed College of Art for a year, before switching to graphic design at Lincoln College of Art, specialising in illustration. Graduating in 1979, he became a freelance illustrator, working on postcards, school textbooks, newspapers and magazines as well as comics. Parkins' first work for ''The Beano'' was on "Billy Whizz" in 1989. He quickly made his mark on the strip and the character, and made several changes, the most notable of these being the introduction of Billy's new lightning bolt tracksuit in May 1992. In 1990, he started to draw "Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pirate Diary
''Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter'' is an account of the pirate life cast as the journal of a young cabin boy, written by Richard Platt and illustrated by Chris Riddell. It was published by Walker in 2001, two years after ''Castle Diary'', also by Platt and Riddell. Platt continued the "Diary" series with illustrator David Parkins. ''Pirate Diary'' won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal from the professional librarians, recognising the year's best-illustrated children's book published in the U.K. (Riddell), and the Blue Peter Book Award, Best Book with Facts. It was also silver runner up for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in ages category 6–8 years."Nestlé Children's Book Prize" Booktrust. Retrieved 2012-11-29. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Platt (writer)
Richard Platt (born 15 April 1953) is a British writer of nonfiction and information books and multimedia works, primarily for children. Platt was born in Northumberland, England. He started writing when aged 27 with how-to articles and books about photography. By 1992 he had begun writing non-fiction books for children, initially collaborating with Stephen Biesty in a successful series that capitalized on the illustrator's facility for cross-sectional drawings. Since then, Richard Platt has gone on to complete some 100 books for UK publishers Oxford University Press, Kingfisher, Dorling Kindersley and Walker Books (Candlewick Press in the U.S.). Most have been for children and young people, though he also writes books for adults on maritime themes, especially smuggling. Diary series One of Platt's famous books is '' Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter'', illustrated by Chris Riddell (Walker, 2001), a 64-page first-person journal. He won the annual Blue Peter Book Award in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathryn Cave
Kathryn Cave (born 1948 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England) is a British children's book author. She was awarded the very first international UNESCO prize for ''Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance'' for ''Something Else''. The book was later made into a TV comic series by TV Loonland. A theatre company, Tall Stories, has adapted ''Something Else'' as a children's production, and they ran a UK tour in Autumn 2009. She has three children, Eleanor, Joseph, and Alice, and six grandchildren. Kathryn has previously worked as an editor for Penguin and Basil Blackwell, and she currently works under contract for Frances Lincoln, an independent publishing house in North London. She lives in Hampstead, North London. Books * Dragonrise (1984) * Just My Luck (1987) * Poor Little Mary (1989) *'' Henry Hobbs, Alien'' (1990) * Running Battles (1992) *'' Andrew Takes the Plunge'' (1994) * Best Friends for Ever (1994) *''Jumble'' (1995) *'' The Emperor's Gruck ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Something Else (book)
''Something Else'' is a 1994 children's picture book written by Kathryn Cave and illustrated by Chris Riddell. Cave and Riddell were awarded the very first international UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ... prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance for ''Something Else''. The book was later made into a TV comic series by TV Loonland since 2001. Plot Something Else (the name of the protagonist and Something's best friend) is excluded from everything because he looks different. He does not play the same games, eat the same food or draw the same pictures. Then one day Something turns up and wants to be friends. However, Something Else does not want to be friends with this creature as he believes that they are ''not'' the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Stewart (writer)
Paul Stewart (born June 1955) is a writer of children's books, best known for three series written in collaboration with the illustrator Chris Riddell: ''The Edge Chronicles'', the ''Free Lance'' novels, and the ''Far Flung Adventures'' series. Background Stewart was born in London in 1955. His family lived first in Muswell Hill, North London and later in Morden, South London, where he went to school. His favourite subject at school was English and he hated Mathematics. When Stewart left school, he went travelling, spending several months in Greece, where he took various jobs, including picking oranges and grapes, and whitewashing hotels. From 1974 to 1977, Stewart studied at the University of Lancaster, majoring in English, (which included a Creative Writing unit) with a minor in Religious Education. On graduation, he went travelling again, before enrolling in 1978 to do an M.A. in Creative Writing with Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury at the University of East Angli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Edge Chronicles
''The Edge Chronicles'' is a children's fantasy novel series written by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. It consists of four trilogies, plus four additional books, and other books related to the universe (The Edge). The series was originally published by Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, and has sold more than three million copies, according to its publisher. The stories of ''The Edge Chronicles'' take place in the fictional world of The Edge, a vast cliff with no apparent bottom. The majority of books are grouped into sagas, with each saga focusing on one character. The series covers a 600-year period, divided into three "Ages of Flight". In The first age, floating rocks were used to stay airborne but then stone sickness, which made the rocks crumble, hit. Then, floating wood was used, and finally phrax-power. The power of flight is a major theme of the books, with each age defined by the current technology used for air travel. The series is notable for its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaye Umansky
Kaye Umansky (; born 6 December 1946) is an English children's author and poet. She has written over 130 books for children and her work ranges from picture books to novels. She is best known for the Pongwiffy & Jim Series. Early life Kaye Umansky was born in Plymouth, Devon. Her mother was a music teacher and encouraged her to play from a young age and her father was also a teacher who encouraged her reading. As an only child, Kaye wrote stories and plays, which she tried to get her friends to act in. After Kaye left school, she went to London to train as a teacher. Kaye enjoyed teaching music, drama and creative writing, but not mathematics. Alongside her husband, Kaye formed a soul band and played in the evenings and at weekends; she says they "never became rich and famous, but we had a lot of fun". She continued writing as a hobby and began writing full-time when her daughter was born. Personal life She lives in North London with her husband Mo, an engineer, they have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
