Quentin Blake

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Professor Quentin Saxby Blake, CBE (born December 16, 1932 in Sidcup) is a British cartoonist, illustrator and childrens' book author.

He sketched his first drawings at age 16 for the magazine Punch. He took a degree in English Literature at Downing College, Cambridge (1953-6) before working at the Royal College of Art.

Quentin Blake gained a reputation as a fantasy-like and humorous illustrator of numerous children's books and has illustrated over 300 books. Meanwhile, his illustrations for the stories of Roald Dahl have brought him international fame. In addition to his collaborations with Dahl, Quentin Blake has also written numerous books of his own. His artistic style is very distinct, composed of fast and scribbly ink lines, but with a precise stroke. He colours in pen-and-ink drawings afterwards with watercolour painting. The spontaneity of his style is achieved by allowing himself a free hand at first, and then tracing elements from the first draft onto subsequent drafts.

With Russell Hoban, he was jointly awarded Whitbread Award for Children's Book for How Tom Beat Captain Najork & His Hired Sportsmen.

Since 1989, he has been visiting professor at the Royal College of Art. In 1999 he was made the first Children's Laureate in the UK.

In 2002 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his contributions to children's book illustration.

He was appointed an OBE in 1988, and subsequently was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2005 New Year's Honours List for services to Children's Literature.

Quentin Blake is also a patron of "The Big Draw" [1] which aims to get people drawing throughout the UK.

In 2006 he was a 'castaway' on the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs.

[edit] Bibliography

(this list only covers those books which were both written and illustrated by Blake)

• Angel Pavement
• Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered with John Cassidy
• Mrs Armitage Queen Of The Road
• Laureate's Progress
• Loveykins
• Quentin Blake's Abc
• A Sailing Boat In The Sky
• Fantastic Daisy Artichoke
• Words And Pictures
• Zagazoo
• The Laureate's Party
• The Green Ship
• Mister Magnolia
• Mrs Armitage And The Big Wave
• Mrs Armitage On Wheels
• All Join In
• Clown
• The Story Of The Dancing Frog
• Simpkin
• Quentin Blake's Nursery Rhymes
• Cockatoos
• The Adventures of Lester

Other

• The Learning Journey (Illustrated versions, for parents, of key stages 1 and 2 of the National Curriculum for England)

[edit] External links

• Official Quentin Blake Website
• Interview with Quentin Blake - In free streaming video (Real), on the Northwestern University Library website
• Quentin Blake at www.contemporarywriters.com