Flights of Fancy: discover stories, pictures and inspiration from all ten Children's Laureates in the brand-new book

Published on: 11 February 2019

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Waterstones Children’s Laureate, the incredible authors and illustrators who have held the title have made a magical anthology to help children’s imaginations soar.


Detail from the front cover of Flights of Fancy © 2019 Quentin Blake

This year, incredibly, marks 20 years of having a Waterstones Children's Laureate in the UK.

For two decades, top author-illustrators have been inspiring children and firing imaginations: from the first Waterstones Children's Laureate, the adored Quentin Blake, to our current Laureate, Charlie & Lola creator Lauren Child.

Find out more about the 20th anniversary

Now, for the very first time, all ten Children's Laureates have come together in one exciting book: Flights of Fancy (Walker Books). Quentin Blake has designed the cover; Michael Morpurgo has provided the foreword; every single Laureate has their own section for readers to explore. It's jam-packed with lots of fun and creative ideas for children. 

In lovely "gifty" hardback, Flights of Fancy is a beautiful keepsake from the biggest names in children's publishing – and for every copy sold, £1 will be donated to BookTrust.

Have a peek inside the book

Front cover of Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © 2019 Quentin Blake
Malorie Blackman ideas for 'Taking a Word for a Walk' from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): Introduction and "The Hunter and the Lion" © 2018 Malorie Blackman and photograph © Paul Akinrinlola
From Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): "The Shape Game" © Anthony Browne
20 ideas for creative projects from Flights of Fancy: © 2019 Walker Books Ltd
Stamp illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell
Stamp illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell
Illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell
Front cover of Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © 2019 Quentin Blake

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Malorie Blackman ideas for 'Taking a Word for a Walk' from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): Introduction and "The Hunter and the Lion" © 2018 Malorie Blackman and photograph © Paul Akinrinlola

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From Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): "The Shape Game" © Anthony Browne

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20 ideas for creative projects from Flights of Fancy: © 2019 Walker Books Ltd

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Stamp illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell

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Stamp illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell

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Illustrations of the ten Waterstones Children's Laureates from Flights of Fancy (Walker Books): © Chris Riddell

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See the creative resources full size


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Waterstones Children's Laureate: Joseph Coelho

Poet Joseph Coelho is the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2022-24.

The role of Children's Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field. Find out what Joseph's been up to.

Find out more