Transcript Document

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.
Chapter One - His Early Life:
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:
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.’
Chapter One - His Early Life:
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?
Chapter One - His Early Life:
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:
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’.
Chapter Two – The Famous Illustrator:
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.”
Chapter Two – The Famous Illustrator:
Perhaps the most
famous collaboration
is between Quentin
and Roald Dahl.
By now, Quentin was working with
some very famous children’s writers.
Quentin
working with
poet Michael
Rosen
Look at these sentences. How can they be improved?
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.
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 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.
Chapter Three: At Work
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.”
Chapter Three: At Work
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.
Chapter Three: At Work
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 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.
Chapter Five: An Interview With Quentin Blake
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.
Chapter Five: An Interview With Quentin Blake
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.
Chapter Five: An Interview With Quentin Blake
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.