Book Review: The Quentin Blake Book

The Quentin Blake Book is a beautiful and wonderful 256-page hardcover tribute to probably the most famous children book illustrator around. This book covers the career of Quentin Blake in great detail starting from his first publication in Punch magazine, moving into children book illustrations, working on the Roald Dahl books, making art for public spaces, hospitals and experimenting with different styles.

There are more than 300 illustrations included. The artworks are lovely. I got to know of Quentin Blake through Roald Dahl's books. Even though I can't remember the story from the books, I still remember the sense of fascination and wonder while reading them, and the accompanying illustrations really help create that immersive imaginary world. There is definitely a lot of nostalgia when I read the chapter on the collaboration of Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake.

I didn't really follow Quentin Blake's career back then but he moved on to illustrate for others books, created art for public spaces, clinics and hospitals. He had his exhibitions and also published 20 large-format books under The QB Papers series. His children illustration style is very recognisable.

The last two chapters have art on imaginary portraits and figure drawings where you get to see Blake experiment with different styles.

There is a lot to read and the stories are inspiring. Author Jenny Uglow and publisher Thames & Hudson have done a terrific job putting this book together. If you want to learn more about Quentin Blake, this is definitely the book to get.

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.

The Quentin Blake Book is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | AU | JP | CN)

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