Quentin Blake
Children's Laureate 1999-2001
Quentin Blake was born in 1932 and read English at Cambridge, before attending Chelsea Art College. He has won many major prizes for illustration, including the Kate Greenaway Medal (1980) and the Red House Children's Book Award (1981) for Mister Magnolia. He is also the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and in 1990 was voted 'The Illustrator's Illustrator' by Observer Magazine. A tireless promoter of children's literature – and a long-time collaborator with roald Dahl – Quentin Blake was awarded the OBE in 1988 and in 2005 he was awarded a CBE for services to Children's Literature. In the most recent New Year’s Honours list he has been knighted.
Quentin was the inaugural Children's Laureate (1999-2001), an experience he recorded in his book Laureate's Progress. During his time in the role, he celebrated children's books and children's book illustration with a range of projects and exhibitions, and conceived the idea for the House of Illustration, the world's first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.
Authored Books
Mister Magnolia
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Random House
Mr Magnolia has many things - but only one boot.
Quentin Blake's ABC
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Red Fox
Learning your alphabet has never been so much fun as with this brilliantly funny book from a favourite author and illustrator Quentin Blake.
Angelica Sprocket's Pockets
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Red Fox Picture Books
Angelica’s small chums are enchanted by the contents of her pockets which include mice, cheese, hankies, frying pans, umbrellas and much more!
Jack and Nancy
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Red Fox
Jack and Nancy long to have an adventure - and then one day a strong wind and an umbrella make their wish come true.
The Green Ship
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Random House
Two bored children climb over a neighbour's wall in search of adventure...
Patrick
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Red Fox
Setting out to buy a violin, Patrick finds that playing it transforms not only his outlook on life, but the lives of all he meets, be it plant, animal or human!
Cockatoos
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Random House
The eccentric and absent-minded Professor Dupont is the proud but worried owner of ten cockatoos.
Zagazoo
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Random House
One day a strange parcel arrives at Bella and George's door containing a lovely human baby named Zagazoo. But Zagazoo doesn’t remain a lovely human baby for long…
Quentin Blake's Nursery Rhyme Book
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Red Fox
This collection of lesser-known nursery rhymes from the 1950s, with lively illustrations by Quentin Blake, will introduce children to a host of intriguing characters.
The Five of Us
Author: Quentin Blake
Publisher: Tate Publishing
This book is testament to Blake's belief that all children need to be able find themselves in books.