A biography of an illustrator Today we are going to read about the early life of Quentin Blake, a famous illustrator. We are also going to think about

A biography of an

illustrator

Today we are going to read about the early life of Quentin Blake, a famous illustrator.

We are also going to think about words with the letters ‘ill’ in them.

What is an illustrator?

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The Collins School Dictionary gives a definition of an illustrator as:

‘Someone who supplies pictures for a piece of writing’.

Chapter One - His Early Life:Chapter One - His Early Life:


Quentin grew up in Sidcup, Kent and went to Lammorbey Primary School. Later he went to Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar school.

‘My childhood was very ordinary and very happy. Except, of course when there was a war on.’


Quentin’s family wasn’t at all artistic.

“My father worked in an office and my mother looked after the house. In a way I was an only child – because my brother Ken was eleven years older than me.”

Quentin and his parents by the seaside. Later, he owned two houses of his own by the sea.

What are the clues to tell us that this an old

photograph?


He spent a lot of time reading. And he drew, and drew and drew. At grammar school, his Latin teacher, Mrs. Jackson showed Quentin’s drawings to her husband, a famous cartoonist. Soon, Quentin’s drawings were being published in a popular magazine called ‘Punch’.

“For hours on end I had a pencil in my hand. Drawing was what I always loved best!”

tion

This weeks spellings: 18th March 2002

illustration station

connection nation

situation ration

emotion action

frustration fraction

co-operation diction

jubilation fiction

anticipation non-fiction

formation potion

creation notion

animation lotion

determination section

punctuation friction

dictionary function

stationary pollution

Extension Activity: Find the dictionary definition for each of your

spellings.

A biography of an

illustrator

Today we are going to learn more about the life of Quentin Blake.

We are also going to revise the use of quotation marks in sentences.

Chapter Two – The Famous Illustrator:Chapter Two – The Famous Illustrator:

Quentin went to Cambridge University to study English. Then he taught at the Royal College of Art.

His first children’s book, called ‘A Drink To Water’, was written for him by his friend John Yeoman.

After a while he decided that he would like to illustrate a picture book, so he wrote one for himself. It was called ‘Patrick’.


In 1980, another of his picture books, called ‘Mister Magnolia’ won the ‘Kate Greenaway Medal’.

“The best thing about it is that it tells you that a lot of people must like your books.”


By now, Quentin was working with some very famous children’s writers.

Quentin working with poet Michael

Rosen

Perhaps the most famous collaboration is between Quentin and Roald Dahl.

Some of the books I have illustrated have included The Enormous Crocodile and The Twits remarked Quentin Blake.

The first time I met Roald Dahl replied Quentin was in his country cottage in England.

In the interview Quentin Blake commented for a time I was head of illustration at the Royal College of Art.

Look at these sentences. How can they be improved?

Activity: Correct the following sentences. Think about adding the correct punctuation and replace any ‘boring’ words.

1: charlotte said can we tidy up the library.

2: mr. cole stood at the front of the hall straightened his tie and said good morning boys and girls.

3: would you like to read my book on the ancient greeks said jessica.

4: my favourite book said lewis is the birds of prey book on the top shelf.

5: i wish said james that we could have dance and drama everyday.

6: would you like my to bring some tadpoles in said daniel.

7: miss deeks walked into the classroom and said good morning class 4.

8: good morning they all replied.

9: i was so excited when i saw the class for the first time said mr warren.

10: for my birthday party i would like jelly ice-cream presents and all my friends said dominic.

11: on friday afternoon said mr warren i want to collect all the homework books in.

A biography of an

illustrator

Today we will read about a day in the life of Quentin

Blake.

We are also going to draft a newspaper article pretending that we have interviewed Quentin Blake.

Chapter Three: At WorkChapter Three: At Work

It hasn’t always been easy for Quentin to fit everything in – especially when he became Head of illustration at the Royal College of Art, in London.

At home in London, where Quentin has lived for almost thirty years.

So how does Quentin start a new book?

“It all depends, Have I written the text or has someone else? And what kind of book is it? If it’s a picture book, I’ll need to plan it very carefully. Probably, I’ll do some quick rough sketches first – just to show the ideas I have in mind.”



Here’s how he organises a day:

8:00 am – Get up. Wash, dress, have breakfast. Already I’m getting ready to draw. I try to relax – to quieten myself down and yet stay wide awake.

9:00 am – Now I’m warming up. I choose the right nib or pencil. I make sure that I have lots of paper ready for the right kind and the right size. In a way, I’m nervous. But I must begin sooner or later.

9:30am – 1:00pm – With luck, I’m soon hard at work. Do I already know how the picture will look? Or am I making it up as I go along? It’s a bit of both really. Sometimes, the pen itself seems in charge! I need to keep my mind on the job, though – even if the doorbell or phone rings.

1:00 – 2:00 pm – Lunchtime. I may go our for a sandwich or to buy a newspaper. But what I must do is hold on to working ‘mood’.


2:00 – 6:00pm – I carry on drawing. I draw quickly, but I also spend a lot of time looking at what I have drawn and thinking about it.

Quentin has illustrated more than 200 books altogether.

In 1999, Quentin Blake became Britain’s first ever Children’s Laureate. This award lasts for two years.

How do we

Organise our

interview

Extension:

Complete the

drawings started by Quentin Blake

A biography of an

illustrator

Today we are going to review the information we

read during the week.

We are going to finish our interview. We will use Microsoft Word to create a newspaper for our article.

Guess the emotions!

A biography of an

illustrator

Today we are going to read an interview with Quentin Blake which appeared in Young Writers magazine.

Chapter Five: An Interview With Quentin BlakeChapter Five: An Interview With Quentin Blake

Quentin Blake lives and works in London, Hastings and the South West of France. He first had drawings published when he was still at school. He has worked on over 200 books, sometimes as illustrator and

sometimes as the writer too. In 1999, with the help of children from over 24 schools all over Britain, Quentin was

selected to be the first Children's Laureate. The children submitted a long list of questions for Quentin, here are his

answers to a few of them.


Your illustrations are very recognisable. What made you illustrate the way you do?I am not really quite sure why I draw the way I do. It may be because I didn’t go to an art school, except for part-time lessons when I was already over twenty. But I don’t think that can be the whole explanation. It’s a kind of handwriting, and it does actually look rather like my handwriting.

Did you first start to like books because of the words or the pictures? Do you like writing as much as drawing and painting? In ‘Clown’ you didn’t use words at all. Do you think stories can be told as well without words? I also enjoy writing words; though I think that sometimes it’s possible to tell a story entirely in pictures, as in Clown. One interesting thing about that is that it gives the reader the opportunity to invent words and I think it encourages you to think about, and perhaps discuss, what actually is going on and what the characters are thinking and feeling.


When we read we make up pictures in our heads. Do you think having lots of pictures in a book helps that or stops it happening?This raises a very interesting question. With my pictures, what I hope is that it encourages the reader to imagine more pictures of his own. But sometimes what the writer is putting into your head is so rich and visual that much in the way of illustration is superfluous. Probably you know the answer to this question (though I don’t think there is only one answer) better than I do.

How did you feel when they announced the winner of the Children’s Laureate? Will it help your work or get in the way? What do you want to be able to do now that you are Children’s Laureate?When I was told that I was winner of the Children’s Laureate I experienced quite a variety of thoughts and feelings. It was very gratifying to think that a lot of people (like you) really did like what I had done - it was an unmistakable sign of something that it is very difficult to imagine from inside yourself.


Thank you very much Quentin Blake!NOW: Use the printed sheets to answer the questions

using the information from the week.

Documents

A biography of an illustrator Today we are going to read about the early life of Quentin Blake, a famous illustrator. We are also going to think about