Anthony reads from his latest book with special guest ‘Scruff’.
Poetry
Yesterday was National Poetry Day so we thought we'd share a little poem Anthony wrote a few years ago...
At My Birthday Party
At my birthday party
I had chocolate cake,
And cheesecake,
And fruitcake,
And ginger cake,
And fudge cake.
After that I had stummercake.
Football Fever
Image taken from 'Willy the Wizard'
Celebrations
Anthony is delighted to receive this award from the USA, for his book 'Little Frida'
Watch this space
The final artwork for Anthony’s new book has just gone off to Penguin Random! Here’s a taster…
Q&A with Anthony Browne
Click on the image to read an interview with me about my new book Ernest The Elephant
Ernest the Elephant
Out now!
This book is based on some early illustrations I made in 1974, to present to the Art Director at Hamish Hamilton. Although 'The Elephant Book' was not published at the time, it helped kickstart my career as a children's book writer and illustrator.
Animal Fair
A new edition of Anthony's Animal Fair pop-up book has just been published by Walker Books.
This pop-up interpretation of the well-loved playground rhyme is a fantastical extravaganza of illusion and surreal humour. See the crazy carousel in motion! Turn the wheel to discover the secrets of the haunted house! Look out for an elephantine sneeze! Full of Anthony's Browne's trademark surrealism and captivating detail, with the added thrill of ingenious tabs, flaps and wheels, you'll be amazed and excited, amused and delighted by the Animal Fair!
Eric is now Ernest
New Balance
New Balance for Kids Korea have just launched a new Autumn/Winter range of Anthony Browne clothing. We think they’re great and would love them in adult sizes too!
Out now!
Meet Eric
The character from Anthony’s new book, Help!
The Elephant book, 1974
This is an image taken from Anthony's first attempt at writing and illustrating his own children's book. Anthony presented 'The Elephant Book' to the art director at Hamish Hamilton, who subsequently introduced him to his editor Julia MacRae. The book was only ever designed to be an example of his graphic style and was therefore not actually published at the time, but in recent years it has been turned into a fully formed book for the South Korean market.
Anthony is now working on designs for a new updated version - so watch this space...
Spot the difference
'Little Frida', Anthony Browne, Walker Books, 2019
'The Two Fridas', Frida Kahlo, 1939
The Tunnel, 1989
A picture from 'The Tunnel', 1989 - now 30 years old!
Did you know that Anthony took inspiration for this story from a dangerous tunnel that he and his brother used to play in as a child?
"Tunnels carry a great deal of personal significance for me. One of my most vivid memories from childhood is crawling along the tunnel that was dug into the wall of the 'bottomless' well at Crows Nest Park. Although there was nothing at the end, the fairy tales I had read ensured that the sense of danger extended beyond the obvious dimensional hazards and into the realms of goblins and witchcraft" (extract from 'Playing the Shape Game', 2011)
...If only his mother knew....
The Klaus Flugge Prize
Anthony presented the Klaus Flugge Prize, a prestigious award for most promising newcomer to children’s picture books, in London this week. The prize was awarded to Jessica Love for Julian is a Mermaid, which Anthony described as: “an astonishingly beautiful book. It’s amazing to realise this is Jessica Love’s first attempt. She has quickly realised how picture books work - the understated words fit so brilliantly with the stunning illustrations, never getting in the way, never trying to do the same job. It’s a perfect picture book.”
Click this link for more information https://www.klausfluggeprize.co.uk
Anthony Browne's Happy Theatre
Anthony has just returned from a fantastic trip to South Korea where there is a huge exhibition of his work at the Seoul Arts Centre.
Click on the video above to watch Anthony talk on SBS
Click on the video above to watch Anthony interviewed on YTN news
The Daydreamer
We've just received a hardcopy of 'The Daydreamer', due to be republished in September - and it looks great! It has a newly designed cover and colour illustrations throughout. You can pre-order your copy online now.
Preliminary drawings
Here are some preliminary drawings from Anthony's current project, 'Our Girl'. Having shown other examples of Anthony's drawing process on this page, we asked Anthony to describe it more fully for us;
'The words and pictures generally come together. At first I have an idea in my head which is a bit like remembering a dream. I then draw out a series of twenty-four rectangles (representing the twelve double-page spreads which form the main part of a typical picture book), and fill them with very rough drawings and scrawls of text. In my mind there is a kind of animation to the idea, and I view my storyboard almost exactly as a filmmaker would. Rather than the fixed pictures they will eventually become, I view the boxes as frames or scenes from the story, with a clear sense of progression through time. “Playing out” the book in this way ensures that the visual and the textual come to me at the same time.
Having made a storyboard, I like to cut-out the individual “frames” and stick them into a small book. The dummy is the first incarnation of the idea that I show to my editor. With the dummy as a reference, we discuss the general qualities of the prospective book and suggestions are offered as to how I could improve the text, the layout and the general rhythm.
I go back to my studio and set to work on the final pictures. I start by making slightly more detailed preliminary drawings on thin layout paper, the proportions of which correspond with the final book. As they are drawings, I can afford to make mistakes at this point, and I alter as many details as I need to until I am satisfied with the image. One thing that is notable about the drawings at this stage is the absence of many details. This maintains my creative interest throughout the production of the final artwork. I then transfer the drawings onto watercolour paper, using a very sharp, hard pencil to trace the image onto the new surface.'
Anthony Browne's Happy Theatre exhibition opens in Seoul
There is currently a major exhibition on display of Anthony's work at the Seoul Arts Centre!
The Anthony Browne exhibition which attracted 200,000 visitors in 2016 and won the SAC Audience Choice Award, has been revamped as 'Anthony Browne's Happy Theatre'. Alongside original Anthony Browne drawings on display (of which there are around 150), the exhibition also features creative installations, moving image interpretations, and musical theatre performances of his books. The exhibition is fun for all the family and well worth a visit.
The exhibition will be on display at the Hangaram Design Museum until September 2019.
