Flights of Fancy

In a beautiful anthology, ten children’s book greats share stories, poems, pictures, tips, and prompts meant to inspire young readers to create works of their own.

Have you ever sparked the start of a story by playing a game of What if? Is there any value to all that doodling you do? What does being “a sponge” have to do with facing down a blank page? Did you know that pictures can sometimes inspire stories, rather than the other way around? From Quentin Blake’s drawings of fantastical vehicles to Michael Rosen’s inside look at his poetry, from Anthony Browne’s shape game (no need to be an artist to play) to Lauren Child’s look at her creative process, this anthology — whose contributors were all British Children’s Laureates — aims to encourage budding writers and artists to let their imaginations soar. The final spread is a collection of prompts from all the contributors, passing the creative torch to the next generation.

With contributions by:

Malorie Blackman
Quentin Blake
Anthony Browne
Lauren Child
Julia Donaldson
Anne Fine
Michael Morpurgo
Chris Riddell
Michael Rosen
Jacqueline Wilson

To celebrate 20 years of the U.K.'s Children's Laureate program, the first 10 to be appointed to the position offer remarks on their craft...the personal statements are new and the contents assembled in an appealingly informal way that invites younger audiences to the party as well as readers who have grown up with these authors and illustrators. Riddell's caricatures at the end are alone worth the price of admission. A genial salute to and from the original corps of children's-literature ambassadors.
—Kirkus Reviews

Ten British children’s laureates discuss their inspiration and their creative processes in this imported anthology, offering up ideas and activities that will be a boon to language arts educators...For teachers and librarians, especially those working in art and writing with elementary-school children, this is a valuable resource.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books