Children’s laureate Chris Riddell spells out joy of doodling
9 June 2015
From the section Entertainment & Arts
Chris Riddell with one of his dragon illustrations from The Emperor of Absurdia
Illustrator and author Chris Riddell wants to encourage “drawing every day” as part of his new role as children’s laureate.
The ninth laureate, Riddell, creator of the Goth Girl series, has now taken over from Malorie Blackman.
“I’m interested in illustration in all its forms,” said Riddell.
“Not only in books for children but in posters, prints and performance, as a way of drawing people into books and stories.”
Riddell, 53, was officially appointed on Tuesday at a ceremony at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) in London.
He said he planned to put “visual literacy” at the heart of his term of office, which runs until 2017.
He intends to keep an online visual diary of his time in the role, the Laureate’s Log, and encourages families to keep their own visual diaries.
Speaking to the BBC, Riddell said: “There comes a point where children decide that they can’t draw. I want to say, ‘don’t stop drawing – carry on, and do a sketch a day.’
“I think stories can grow out of the visual. It can be an engine for literacy.”
Riddell praised the UK’s “brilliant heritage” of children’s books such as Alice in Wonderland – which has its 150th anniversary this year. “It is the first truly modern children’s book – the illustrations are extraordinary and have entered the public imagination.”
Chris Riddellauthor and illustrator of the Goth Girl novels, the first of which won the 2013 Costa Children’s Book Award
two-time winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration in children’s books (Pirate Diary, 2002, and Jonathan …read more
Source:: BBC Entertainment
