CHRISTOPHER WORMELL

By Yvonne Gilbert

Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting one of Britain’s best living illustrators Christopher Wormell. At first I was struck by how very talented he is, and then I was struck by what a gentle, gracious and quite humble man he is. Over the years I have found it to be true that the greater the talent the humbler the artist and the least likely to blow his or her own horn.

Christopher had no formal training though he doesn’t count himself self-taught being the son of an artist. In 1982, he decided he wanted to become an illustrator and because the books he liked best were illustrated with wood engravings (Thomas Bewick’s 2 volume ‘History of British Birds’), he bought himself a set of wood engraving tools and learnt how to use them.

“I love the discipline of print making-having to think about how to reduce something down to lines and textures, dark and light.”

In 1990 Christopher’s very first book ‘An Alphabet of Animals’, illustrated with a series of lino-cuts, won that year’s Regazza Prize at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.

Nowadays Christopher works digitally as well as hand cut woodblock and lino-block often blurring the definitions between them. He has illustrated many children’s books since his first; ‘Teeth, Tails and Tentacles’ winning the New York Times Book Review ‘Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award’ in 2004. He has illustrated several sets of stamps for the Royal Mail including 2016’s commemoration of Major Battles of World War 1. More recently he illustrated the cover of Helen Macdonald’s ‘H is for Hawk”.

Christopher, born 1955 Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, lives in London and has a wife and three children. http://www.chriswormell.com

THORNHILL

By Yvonne Gilbert

This is one of the most exciting books I have seen in a long time. A beautiful hardback book in black and white that sits somewhere between a novel and a graphic novel, written and illustrated and totally conceived by Pam Smy. It is already award-winning and justifiably so; it is not only innovative but strikingly beautiful. Pam Smy is one hell of an illustrator and designer.

With not one spot of colour anywhere within and the outer edges of the pages solid black the book, as an object, has a thrilling density and weight that cries out to be opened and read. The thrills are immediate with the end papers telling us to KEEP OUT; skeins of barbed wire cross the first pages acting as further warning and an entry from an old diary confirms our fears. Then we are plunged straight into the graphic novel aspect of the book necessitating careful study of each drawing to hunt out the clues. The strength of the illustrations and the edgy palette draw us into the mystery where we weave backwards and forwards through time, interwoven plotlines switching between the stories of 2 girls alive at different times. Both girls are lonely and vulnerable looking for a light in the dark, both needing courage to survive.

The layout is extraordinary and effective. Instead of chapter breaks and chapter headings the arc of the story keeps on going with the only pause between voices being a totally black spread. The pages are uncoated paper which adds density to the artwork and, unlike a graphic novel as such, every illustration occupies a double page spread. The hardcover paperboard uses uncoated paper and is embossed and debossed.

 The artwork in greys, black and white has an edgy and atmospheric appearance with beautifully drawn figures and attendant details. The girl’s faces have an old-fashioned look to them which is instantly appealing. The body of artwork with its story-telling capacity reads like a classic black and white movie, perhaps a ghost story, at once familiar and disturbing.

Thornhill by Pam Smy
David Fickling Books
ISBN: 978-1-910200-61-2

FORUM BOOKS

By Yvonne Gilbert

Turn right at the village church and find the old chapel next to an ancient Pele Tower and you have found Forum Books. Corbridge, in the Tyne valley, is a lovely English country town made perfect by the addition of an exceptional book shop. Forum books owned by Helen Stanton is an award winning and thriving enterprise that has already grown into new and bigger premises.

The large open space with vaulted ceilings makes a light and airy environment to enjoy browsing amongst the shelves and open tables. There are lots and lots of books, enough for even the most committed bibliophile to get lost in—books on every subject; big books, tiny books, small local publishers and big multinational publishers, grown-ups books and books for children, books for everyone in between. Perhaps the best books are the volumes wrapped in brown paper and string with a label containing a clue or two as to the contents. Mysterious books to surprise and delight you.

There are rows of lovely cards, boxes of notelets, boxes of pencils, wrapping paper—many, many delightful things. They are award winning for a reason. They have author events, book signings, book launches and even a Saturday Disco so we’ll be going back again—and again—and again. www.forumbooksandkids.com

Forum Books
The Chapel
Corbridge
NE45 5AW

YE JACKDAW OF RHEIMS

By Yvonne Gilbert

Some years ago, I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy of this rare and much sought after book. A large format volume 15 inches by 11 inches, with cloth spine and paper covered boards, illustrated by Ernest Maurice Jessop and printed in c1890.

The Jackdaw of Rheims is one of, and probably the most well-known of, a collection of fables titled the Ingoldsby Legends; written by clergyman Richard Harris Barham under the pen name Thomas Ingoldsby.

The fashion of the times for all things ‘gothic’ informed the design so that it has the appearance of a medieval document with hand drawn script and freeform layouts. The limited palette and myriad vignettes are particularly effective ways to suggest an ‘authentic’ period document.

I fell in love with it the minute I saw it in a little second hand bookshop and have treasured it ever since.

Printed and Published by Eyre & Spottiswoode, London.

AN ALPHABET OF ANIMALS

By Yvonne Gilbert

Many years ago, when my son was born I made friends with an English print maker called Christopher Wormell. As our babies played together I got to know Christopher and became a life-long fan of his work. He was working in miniature on woodblocks, exquisite images of the British landscape, each one a tiny world of its own.

He has illustrated many books over the years and I am posting one here where the illustrations are all lino block prints. With their bold, strong lines and clear colours they jump off the page with an immediacy that is a joy to behold. This alphabet book follows the tradition of Victorian primers but with a bold modernity that updates it for the present day.

With a hardback cloth bound cover and affixed colour plate it has standout shelf appeal. Each illustration was hand cut, generally 4 blocks were cut for each picture and in some cases more than one colour ink was applied to achieve a shaded effect.

William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1990
ISBN: 0 00 191378 6

COGITO BOOKS

By Yvonne Gilbert

A beautiful spring day and a drive out into the countryside to one of our favourite independent book shops—what could be better? Opposite Hexham Abbey, through an archway and up a winding lane is an enticing small treasure of a shop called Cogito Books. The window display is always mouth-wateringly enticing so that it is impossible to walk straight past—a magnet for book lovers.

Inside is a treasure trove of all things paper, mostly books, many of which are displayed the way books should be—facing outwards on the shelf. All ages and reading types are catered for by the owner Claire Grint who opened Cogito on the 12th May 2001. She is fun and engaging to talk to and certainly knows her books and the shop itself has a relaxing and comfortable vibe with cosy places to sit and read.

There are plenty of notable and bestselling books but there are also exquisite volumes from independent publisher Persephone Books. The shelves are stacked with a lovely selection of children’s books many of which I would love to add to my own collection. There are also stacks of gorgeous paper products such as notebooks and diaries, book marks and name plates and lots of beautiful greetings cards, several of which came home in my bag. There are several monthly book clubs and regular author events and storytelling—visit their website for more details: www.cogitobooks.com

Cogito Book
5 St. Mary’s Chare
Hexham
NE46 1NQ
United Kingdom

HOW WE WORK: A CASE STUDY

By Yvonne Gilbert & Danny Nanos

It is very unusual for a graphic designer and illustrator to work so closely together on a single project. Usually the designer will instruct the illustrator which areas to illustrate according to his own design and in what style. Working in the same studio allowed graphic designer Danny Nanos and illustrator Yvonne Gilbert to work in a more creative, even experimental, manner.

This version has an abbreviated text written by Nicky Raven and had some important alterations to the original to consider—notably that Dracula had bone-white hair and purple eyes. After some experimentation, Yvonne and Danny made their first important decision—this description would inform the overall colour of the book choosing white as the main theme with subtle violet overtones rather than the traditional red, black or purple. This immediately lightened the overall mood lending a fresher, more contemporary feel and Yvonne decided to play up on this by introducing a drawing style that played to a younger audience.

The next step was to nail the appearance of Dracula—was he old, young, handsome, creepy? Both Danny and Yvonne agreed that Dracula was a charismatic, possibly attractive figure with an air of the romantic about him—romantic in the proper, gothic sense.

Having made the decision to use the freer drawing style Danny and Yvonne then slipped into a method of working backward and forward between the two as one proposed a scene and the other added or subtracted till each spread worked in a wholly symbiotic relationship. Yvonne would ‘see’ an image and make a sketch from which Danny would create a more dynamic spread asking for other sketches which would be added in front or behind, sometimes ghosted, then Yvonne would adjust the final drawings to follow the new direction. The type would be arranged to flow around the drawings or vice-versa, sometimes the type would be broken purely to add drama to the spread, for instance gaps making lightning strikes during a storm.

Of course, there are many other considerations to take into account during the designing of a book, the idea being to stimulate and engage the reader not to insult or offend. In this case, the publisher wanted to avoid any mention of religion for example which lead to changes in the spreads as they evolved.

The age group of the readers was also a consideration so some of the more ‘scarier’ images were also adjusted. It was quite hard to skirt around many of the subjects as the story abounds with coffins, corpses, blood and crucifixes.

Once these matters were dealt with to the approval of the publisher the spreads quickly flowed together adding and adjusting until the relationship between text and illustration reached the desired level of fluidity.

The final challenge was the cover. In keeping with the tonality of the illustrations and the air contained in the spreads Danny and Yvonne designed a range of alternative covers that matched the interior pages. As most editions of Dracula are coloured red and black, and wanting this new version to stand out amongst them, mainly white or purple covers were proposed. Other Templar books editions including their ‘Ology’ series were hardbacks with ‘jewelled’ cases so Danny’s proposals were along the same lines. An interior cover was agreed upon which was to be embossed with 4 purple ‘jewels’ on the front. However, cost restrictions meant that the embossing and ‘jewels’ were consequently dropped.

Finally, the slipcover need to be agreed with Templar and sadly, due to the intervention of the booksellers, an executive decision was made that the cover HAD to be red and black. This was very disappointing but it goes with the job so a new cover solution was proposed featuring a portrait of Dracula worked up from the original sketches and a dull red, as close to blood as it could get.

Dracula by Nicky Raven
Templar Publishing UK, 2010; ISBN: 978-1840115710

In 2010 Dracula was in the official selection for ‘The White Ravens’ Award’ at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and won the English Association’s ‘Best Children’s Book Award’.

ENDURING FAVOURITES

By Angela Buckingham

There is a difference between the books we love and the books that we love and love and love until the binding breaks, the pages curl and the pictures fade. For me the book from childhood that was loved more than all others, for years and years was “A Book of Fairy Tales”.

This is a book I could climb into and spend hours looking at the elaborate clothing of the children, adoring the animals so perfectly depicted and of course dreaming of the adventures.

The stories are classic fairy tales stripped of their original darkness and gore, with simple plots, graceful princesses and very wicked witches. But what made the book so special were the pictures. It is beautifully detailed and exquisitely drawn. It was illustrated by the brilliant, English twins, Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone. The sisters worked together on each artwork, passing them back and forth, one sister working on hands and faces, the other on the clothing or the animals. The detailed, exacting and careful work of the illustrators is embedded in each page. And maybe it is this evident care in their work that was the magic that enchanted me as a child.

Remembering What Makes A Great Book Store…

By Angela Buckingham

I love books. Books are fabulous. My apartment is on the verge of collapsing through the floor under the weight of all the books I have accumulated by begging, borrowing, stealing (and buying).

But a book shop in my neighbourhood, Fundstück, has made me remember that the best book shops ARE the best books shops, because of the people in them, not just for the books they sell.

Fundstück has a wide remit for a small space. It sells blankets, coffee cups, notebooks, tea and chocolate candy to complement their fabulous collection of German books and a perfectly targeted selection of books in English about Germany and Berlin in particular. The book collection is a constant challenge for me to improve my German so I can enjoy more of what it has on offer.

This store is a celebration of all that is good in life, particularly if you live in a cold city that can often be a little grey. The heart of this store is Silke Strempel. She is always available to chat about books, publishers, writing, what is happening in Berlin. Her patience, knowledge and welcome make her a great guide to German literature and English literature about Germany.

We have to patronize stores like Fundstück – because what they give us is so much more than the books they sell. They are the navigators in a world of reading that can seem too full, where the treasures can be hard to find and where too many of us don’t have the time to read something we won’t adore.

Bologna 2018

By Yvonne Gilbert

Some of the highlights from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair last year, 2018, which have inspired the three of us to return again this year. Always stimulating, always exciting (always exhausting!), it is the only arena where it is possible to see the entire world’s output of children’s publishing in one place, where the best writing and the best design and illustration shine off the stands and inspire the rest of us to work even harder.

 If you live in the world of book production as we do then you MUST go to the fair and judge for yourself what is good and what is even better; it’s the only opportunity most of us will ever have to see all of these books and if you’re lucky even buy some of them.

Of course Bologna itself is a magical place to go even without the book fair; ‘the stomach of Italy’ is renowned for its cuisine, medieval towers and porticoed streets. Art and culture is everywhere you look.

While you are in Bologna

We recommend a trip to the fabulous children’s book shop Libreria Giannino Stoppani in the Via Rizzoli. It is like no other and here you can buy some of the best books on offer at the Fair. If you are like us there is always enough room in the bottom of your carry-on for a volume or two.

Last year we bought the beautiful ‘Cattivi Come Noi’ by Clotilde Perrin and published by Franco Cosimo Panini; ISBN 978-88-570-11-40-0

Another must have

Was ‘Egittomania’ by Emma Giuliani and Carole Saturno published by Franco Cosimo Panini; ISBN 978-88-570-1269-8