Chris Riddell
Waterstones Children's Laureate from 2015 to 2017
Chris Riddell is an award-winning illustrator and acclaimed political cartoonist. He is currently the only artist to have won the Kate Greenaway Medal three times, most recently for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman's The Sleeper and the Spindle. He was recently announced as a BookTrust ambassador.
Chris Riddell has illustrated the work of many celebrated children's authors, including five Neil Gaiman titles and J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He is the author of the bestselling Goth Girl and Ottoline series and co-creator of the much loved The Edge Chronicles.
Books
Alienography
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 8+
Have you ever feared a Martian attack? This book recommends creeping up close enough to plant a big wet slobbery kiss on their slimy skins – your germs will do the rest to defeat them.
Barnaby Grimes: Legion of the Dead
Author: Paul Stewart
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Corgi
Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 11+
This booksees the return of the most adventurous and skilled among the ranks of Tick-Tock Lads. During a night of mourning at the passing of one of the city's most notorious criminal, a shaky peace among rival gangs is disturbed as the dead begin to rise from a nearby cemetery.
Blobheads
Author: Paul Stewart Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan Children's books
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 8+
Ever wondered what might rise out of the toilet when you lift the lid? In Billy Barnes' case it's the Blobheads, three incompetent aliens...
Chris Riddell's Doodle-a-Day
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 5+
Reading age: 6+
Chris Riddell's Doodle-A-Day features 366 illustration prompts, tips and artwork from award-winning illustrator Riddell, which will have you doodling every day for a year.
Corby Flood
Author: Paul Stewart Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Random House
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 7+
To cheer up their father, who is facing professional ruin, Corby Flood and her family take a cruise. But Corby uncovers a mystery: what is that strange sound coming from the hold?
Fergus Crane
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Random House
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+
Fergus Crane is the story of a young boy whose daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of tiny winged boxes carrying mysterious messages from a long-lost uncle.
Fortunately, the Milk
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Interest age: 6+
Reading age: 7+
When Dad goes out to get some milk from the corner shop, a host of completely unexpected adventures befall him.
Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 8-14
Reading age: 8+
Chris Riddell's third book in the Goth Girl series intrigues and delights with a cakey combination of adventure, love and webbed footnotes.
Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: PanMacmillan
Interest age: 7-12
Reading age: 8+
It's a musical time of year at Ghastly-Gorm Hall, which of course means another eerie mystery for Ada Goth to solve. Lord Goth is throwing a festival, with performances from the most renowned composers in the land. Ada can't wait, but is also preoccupied with the worrying fact that grandmother is trying to find her father a brand new wife, also there's a fau…
Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Interest age: 7-12
Reading age: 8+
While famous writers and their pampered pets gather for a literary dog show at Ghastly-Gorm Hall, Goth Girl Ada has a mystery to solve. This high-speed adventure is penned and illustrated by the children's laureate, Chris Riddell.
Here I Stand
Author: Various Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Walker Books/Amnesty International
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
These short stories by writers such as Sita Brahmachari, Matt Haig and Frances Harding, with illustration by Chris Riddell, put current and continuing political situations in context for young people. Not an easy read, but a necessary one.
Hugo Pepper
Author: Paul Stewart
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Random House
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 10+
Hugo Pepper is the tale of a young foundling raised by reindeer herders in the Frozen North.
Mr Underbed
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Andersen Press
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 8+
One night, as Jim is just about to drop off to sleep, a large, blue, shaggy head pops out from under the mattress and complains about how uncomfortable it is to always sleep on the floor.
My Little Book of Big Freedoms
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Amnesty International UK
Interest age: 8+
Reading age: 7+
Children's Laureate Chris Riddell has sketched 16 simple but beautiful illustrations of the freedoms that form part of the Human Rights Act. It would be hard to find anybody, young or old, not enchanted by this pocket-sized book.
Odd and the Frost Giants
Author: Neil Gaiman Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Interest age: 7-12
Reading age: 7+
Odd, a crippled orphan in a Viking village, isn't of much interest to his clan. When he leaves for adventure, he finds three talking animals that are actually gods - and they need his help. This is a wonderfully wintry, magical and mythical story.
The Castle of Inside Out
Author: David Henry Wilson Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Alma Books Ltd
Interest age: 7-9
Reading age: 7-9
This is a timeless fantastical story about overcoming greed, power and corruption. Lorina is a brave heroine, who fights for what is right against all odds. There are lots of other fun characters, too - all illustrated by the wonderful Chris Riddell.
The Edge Chronicles: Stormchaser
Author: Paul Stewart
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Corgi
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+
The second part of the Twig Saga follows Twig as he joins the crew of the Stormchaser in a dangerous quest to collect stormphrax to save the floating city of Sanctaphrax.
The Edge Chronicles: The Nameless One
Author: Paul Stewart
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Corgi
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+
Fleeing the scene of his father's murder in the city of Great Glade, Cade Quarter smuggles himself onto the Xanth Filatine, a floating skytavern that journeys over the vast landscape of The Deadwoods.
The Emperor of Absurdia
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Interest age: 3+
Reading age: 5+
The Emperor of Absurdia awakes one morning and can't find his snuggly scarf, so after checking with The Wardrobe Monster, begins to search for it.
Travels with my Sketchbook
Author: Chris Riddell
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+
This book pulls together a compilation of some of the thousands of drawings Chris made while Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2015-17. Everyone will enjoy reliving the past two years through Chris’s observant, witty and affectionate eyes.