New Children’s Laureate named

On 9th June the new Children’s Laureate was announced. Anthony Browne is the sixth person to hold this position and is a welcome addition to a list of highly respected names from children’s literature – Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen are all previous incumbents.

His picture books, which include Gorilla, Willy the Wimp and Zoo, have long been appreciated by West End Lane Books for their wonderful surrealist illustrations and sophistication, frequently featuring either a gorilla or chimpanzee whose expressions portray a whole range of emotions. The books are filled with gentle humour and little details which make them a pleasure to re-read – something you have to do only too frequently with young children!

He says of his work "Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalising gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader's imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book.”

Anthony Browne has won many awards for his work including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and was once illustrator-in-residence at Tate Britain.

You will find many of Browne's books--plus hundreds of others to delight all ages in our extensive childrens' section at the back of the shop...and even if you don't have kids, a browse among the classics can take you right back...