Magic Pencil : Children's Book Illustration Today

This highly illustrated volume features the work of 13 of the top contemporary children's book illustrators working in the UK.

Each chapter contains a commentary by the illustrator, introducing their work and explaining how they started to illustrate children's books, and features several original artworks by each one.

Quentin Blake's introduction reflects on the complexities of providing an illustrative response to the characters and activities of a writer: Joanna Carey, formerly Children's Book Editor of the "Guardian", contributes to an illustrated essay on the history of children's book illustration, from the work of Cruikshank, Ardizzone and Walter Crane, to the instantly recognizable pictures from Winnie the Pooh and the tales of Beatrix Potter.

The illustrators featured are: Angela Barrett; Quentin Blake; Lauren Child; Patrick Benson; Raymond Briggs; Sara Fanelli; Stephen Biesty; John Burningham; Michael Foreman; Tony Ross; Posy Simmonds; Emma Chichester Clark; and Charlotte Voake.