Week 11 - Neal Layton

The book has travelled from Norwich to Portsmouth to see the extraordinary Neal Layton (and to let him scribble and paint in it).

Neal has illustrated more than 60 books to date, working with authors such as Michael Rosen and Cressida Cowell, and won several prizes including a Gold Award for 'That Rabbit belongs to Emily Brown'. He also writes his own books including the pop-up book 'The Story of Everything' and the best selling 'Mammoth Academy Series'. His books are currently in print in more that 16 languages worldwide. He now lives in Southsea, Portsmouth with his wife and two daughters. He likes living by the seaside and he likes bears, especially red ones.

To see how Neal done with the book check out his sneak peeks below...

To see more of Neal's work check out his website, for the latest news visit his blog and to get his up to the second ramblings follow him on Twitter. The book is now on its way to Worcestershire to say hello to the wonderful Kate Hindley. Back in a week!

Week 10 - Gemma Correll

The first ten illustrators have flown by. So now the book finds its staying in Norwich to join a house of pugs and get drawn on by the fab Gemma Correll.

Gemma lives in Norwich with her husband and two pugs, Mr Norman Pickles and Bella. She is the author of “A Cat’s Life” (Te Neues, 2012) and “A Pug’s Guide to Etiquette” (Dog N Bone, 2013)
 Her greetings card and gift range, Pickle Parade, is available from various retailers, including Paperchase and WH Smith. She also draws a monthly Skycats cartoon for the Emirates Airlines Open Skies magazine.
 Her clients include Hallmark, The New York Times and The Observer.

You can see Gemma's sneak peeks of her spread and working doodles down below. To see more of her work visit her website, blog and stalk her on twitter and Facebook. Now on to the wonderful Neal Layton in Portsmouth.

Week 9 - Matt Robertson

The book has made its way to Norwich where it will be living for the next two weeks as Matt Robertson and Gemma Correll are practically neighbours! So for the first time the book was hand delivered instead of being posted (anything to reduce its carbon footprint!). So a little about week 9 and its fab artist, Matt Robertson...

Matt has always loved drawing, and following in the footsteps of his father and older brother he studied art at college. He went on to study Illustration at The Cambridge School of Art and it was during this time that his interest in picture books really began.

In 2011 Matt returned to The Cambridge School of Art and is currently in the second year of his M.A. in Children's Book Illustration. Represented by Advocate Art, illustration agency, Matt's past clients include The Sunday Telegraph, Random House and Harper Collins. His first book is due to be published in 2013.

Matt is a devoted bread maker and impatient gardener. He lives in the fine city of Norwich with his wife.

You can follow Matt on twitter and check out his fab work on his blog. And so the book stays in Norwich and gets passed on to the legendary pug lover, Gemma Correll. Until week 10...

Philip Reeve

The fantastical Philip Reeve has contributed this sterling piece of art for our famous bear collection. It will be auctioned off with the other famous bears in July with all money going to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Thanks Philip!

Week 8 - Christine Pym

Christmas and New Year have been and gone and during the festive period the book was kept snug and well fed by the amazing Christine Pym. Apart from keeping it safe, Christine also got to work on her spread. Look below for her work in progress images and sneak peeks of the final piece!


Christine was born on New Years Eve in 1984.

The urge to draw animals dressed in snazzy knitwear encouraged her that it was the right decision to study Illustration for Childrens Publishing at the North Wales School of Art. In 2006 she graduated and moved to the pretty Peak District. Shortly afterwards Christine illustrated her debut book, ‘The Tail of the Whale’ written by Ellie Patterson and in 2009 the title was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Award in the pre-school category.

Clients include Meadowside Books, Usborne Publishing, Oxford University Press, A Productions, Roger la Borde and American Greetings.

Christine loves drawing, painting, reading and creating her own stories. She also loves rummaging through antique fairs, walking up hills and one day hopes to become an author and a master of embroidery.

Christine lives in Derbyshire with her partner Stephen and their teeny tiny Yorkshire terrier who tends to go a bit bonkers at the sight and smell of Pâtè. They all work downstairs in their Post office and General Store.

And that's the end of Week 8! You can follow Christine on twitter and take a gander at her work on here website and blog. Now its off to Matt Robertson in Norwich for week 9!