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Saluting the scribbling brilliance of the
former Children's Laureate...
Fantastic
Mr Blake » Selected
works » Blake
on the web »
Fantastic
Mr Blake
Children's illustrator supremo Quentin Blake has
found his work linked indelibly
with the master children's storyteller, Roald Dahl.
Since 1975 his unique scribbled
characters have been used to illustrate umpteen of
Dahl's childrens works and
anthologies - everything from 'The BFG' to 'The
Enormous Crocodile', 'Matilda'
and beyond, and each collecting numerous awards and
selling phenomenal
copies. Blake's funtastic sketches capture the
gleeful energy of Dahl's works.
And seeing as Dahl is the biggest selling children's
author of all-time, one can
assume that Mr Blake is close to being
the most successful children's illustrator
of all-time too...
But of course, Blake hasn't just worked for
Roald Dahl. He has illustrated close
to 200 titles, amongst them works by Carroll,
Dickens, and Lear as well as writing
and illustrating so many of his own tales like
'Fantastic Daisy Artichoke', 'Parrots'
and 'Mr Magnolia'. He has also worked regularly with
authors like Michael Rosen,
Russell Hoban and John Yeoman - indeed his first
ever picture book work was
for Yeoman's 'A Drink Of Water' published in
1960. It was Blake who brought
Nils-Olof Franzen's Agaton Sax into life in the UK.
His illustrations graced the
Target paperback editions in the 1970's and they
also featured on tv, courtesy
of the adaptations on the BBC's 'Jackanory'. Actually,
he was a regular illustrator
on that long-running series too. He was also
responsible for bringing Joan Aiken's
Mortimer and Arabel books into pictorial life.
These fun tales starring a little girl
and her mischievous raven were later adapted into
a BBC series which featured
puppets based on Blake's designs. Repeats of the
show acontinue on CBBC
today, and the Mortimer books are still being published.
In 2003 Robert Harrop, the ceramics and models
studio released the first
of an ongoing collection of figurines based
on Blake's Roald Dahl drawings.
A must-buy for Quentin's fans, surely...?
from 1991 looking at railway safety.
It's written by Roald Dahl and brilliantly
illustrated by Mr Blake. His toons
depict the end results that arise from
disobeying railway safety messages.
Thus we are shown a kid being struck
by an express train, another young girl
being dragged along the platform,
a lad being zapped by an electrified rail
and even a poor chap losing his head
when leaning out of a moving train!
Yep, Dahl and Blake don't pull any
punches with this guide, and because
of that it's actually a very effective
deterrent....
Then, a couple of years ago he was appointed the first ever Children's Laureate
- a title picked by school children themselves, which just shows his enduring
popularity with his target audience. But he remains equally popular with us
Big Kids too. Blake has given an extraordinary amount to the world of
illustration. He regularly contributes to charitable publications, events and
schemes. In the 1960s he progressed from being a part-time lecturer at the
RCA to being Head Of Illustration there, juggling his career with his tuition.
Although he gave up full-time lecturing in 1986 he is still a visiting professor
today. He has also written two insightful volumes concerning his Children's
Laureate in whhich he reveals his thoughts and progress through that two
year appointment and beyond.
Blake's straw-haired kids, hook-nosed witches and ragged crows appear
mischievously simple in their construction; gleeful, kinetic creations dropped
hither and thither on the page. But Blake is keenly versed in aesthetic form
and placement. There is much method in his mad sketches. Quentin
Blake's creations have been with us for some forty years now, but although
the artist himself may be getting on in years, his artwork remains timeless.
He's simply, childishly brilliant.
Selected works
What follows are a few of Mr Blake's book credits. Some publishing dates
may not be entirely accurate, due to regular republishing of titles. The Agaton
Sax books were originally published in the 1960s. Dates here are for the Target
paperback versions. The Mortimer books are also proving intriguing. The more
recent BBC tie-in books actually feature new cover art by Malcolm James
in the style of Mr Blake. They're very similar. Anyway, no more excuses -
here are the credits:
Patrick (1968)
Band Of Angels (1969)
Mister Magnolia (1980)
Quentin Blake's Nursery
Rhyme Book (1983)
Miss Armitage On Wheels (1987)
Mrs Armitage And The Big Wave (1988)
Quentin Blake's ABC (1989)
All Join In (1990)
Cockatoos (1992)
Simpkin (1993)
Clown (1995)
The Story Of The Dancing Frog (1996)
The Green Ship (1998)
Patrick (1998)
Fantastic Daisy Artichoke (1999)
Zagazoo (1999)
The Laureate's Party (2000)
Words And Pictures (2000)
Tell Me A Picture (2001)
A Sailing Boat In The Sky (2002)
Loveykins (2002)
The Laureate's Progress (2002)
Mrs Armitage, Queen Of
The Road (2003)
with John Yeoman:
A Drink Of Water (1960)
Beatrice And Vanessa (1974)
The Puffin Book Of Impossible
Records (1975)
The Puffin Annual 2 (1975)
The Wild Washerwomen (1979)
You Can't Catch Me (1982)
The Boy Who Sprouted Antlers (1987)
Our Village (1988)
The Do-It-Yourself House
That Jack Built (1996)
The Princes Gifts: Magic Folk Tales
From Around the World (1997)
Sinbad The Sailor (1998)
The Heron And The Crane (2000)
with Michael Rosen:
You Can't Catch Me! (1982)
Quick, Let's Get Out Of Here (1985)
Don't Put Mustard In The Custard (1985)
Mind Your own Business (1996)
Wouldn't You like To Know (1996)
Tea In The Sugar Bowl (1997)
Under The Bed (2000)
Spollyollydiddlytiddlyitis: The
Doctor Book (2001)
Agaton Sax books
by Nils-Olof Franzen:
Agaton Sax And the
Diamond Thieves (1973)
Agaton Sax And The Scotland
Yard Mystery (1973)
Agaton Sax And The Bank-note
Robbers (1973)
Agaton Sax And The
Criminal Doubles (1973)
Agaton Sax And The Colossus Of
Rhodes (1975)
Agaton Sax And The London
Computer Plot (1975)
Agaton Sax And The
Haunted House (1975)
Agaton Sax And The Big Rig (1976)
Agaton Sax And The Max Brothers (1977)
Agaton Sax And Lispington's
Grandfather Clock (1978)
Agaton Sax And The League Of
Silent Exploders (1979)
Arabel & Mortimer books
by Joan Aiken (+ Lizza Aiken):
Arabel's Raven (1974)
Mortimer's Tie (1976)
Mortimer And The Sword Excalibur (1978)
The Spiral Stair (1979)
Mortimer And Arabel (1980)
Mortimer's Cross (1983)
Mortimer Says Nothing (1987)
Mortimer's Portrait On Glass (1990)
The Bread Bin (1990)
The Mystery Of Mister Jones's
Disappearing Taxi (1990)
Mortimer's Mine (1994)
Mayhem In Rumbury (1995)
Arabel And The
Escaped Black Mamba (2002)
On
the web
Quentin
Blake
http://www.quentinblake.com/index.htm
The official site with up-to-date
info on Mr Blake and his wonderful
works, a proper biography and more...
Scarthin
Books
http://www.scarthinbooks.demon.co.uk/Quentin.html
Scarthin Books of Cromford present
this very useful scrolling
page interview with the former Childrens
Laureate, reflecting on his
days at Cambridge University...
Roald
Dahl Fans
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/index.php
Kristine Howard's fab site is devoted
to Roald Dahl and his
works, and as a consequence features
a plethora of Mr Blake's
book covers from around the world.
There's some terrific
reference material here, with thumbnails
leading to larger pics.
The index page feeds you off in the appropriate
directions...
Young
Writers
http://www.mystworld.com/youngwriter/authors/blake.html
A deep link to a Young Writers online
interview with Quentin, asking
questions about his motivation and technique.
Only one page, but
interesting nonetheless. Surprisingly,
this is still online, but for how
much longer? - Check it out whilst you can...
Chris
Beetles Gallery
http://www.chrisbeetles.com/
Chris is an official art dealer for
Quentin Blake, and he also has
an extensive list of famous artists
on his gallery pages...
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