Quentin Blake Books

Often imitated but never bettered, Quentin Blake is one of the most cherished illustrators in Britain. Blake has written or drawn over five hundred books, alongside exhibitions and public art. He’s best known for his collaboration with Roald Dahl, across books such as The BFG and Revolting Rhymes. You’ll also know his work from The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams, as well as his own writings like Clown.

We have a great selection of Quentin Blake books available here at Books2Door. You may also be interested in other bestselling illustrators, such as Tony Ross and Judith Kerr, or his successors as Children’s Laureate such as Julia Donaldson and Chris Riddell.

Biography

Quentin Blake was born in London in 1932. He went to Sidcup Grammar School, did National Service, studied English at Cambridge, attained a postgraduate teaching diploma from the University of London, and took life classes at Chelsea Art School. He taught for over twenty years at the Royal College of Art. Since the 90s, he’s worked as an exhibition curator in London and Paris.

However, Blake has been making his primary living as an illustrator since he was first published in Punch magazine at sixteen. He drew for them for many years, alongside The Spectator and other magazines. His first children’s book was published in 1960 - A Drink of Water by John Yeoman. He’s illustrated books by many authors, including Sylvia Plath, Michael Rosen, and Dr. Seuss, as well as many astonishing books written by himself. He illustrated David Walliams’s debut novel, The Boy in the Dress, and its follow-up Mr Stink. 

However, Blake’s most enduring partnership was with Roald Dahl. Their collaboration started with the picture book The Enormous Crocodile in 1979 and lasted even past Dahl’s death in 1990. Blake’s work perfectly complements Dahl’s spiky and fablelike tales, and all of the latest editions come fully furnished with Blake’s illustrations. This includes Dahl’s final 1991 novel Billy and the Minpins, which Blake illustrated in 2017.

Blake has won many prizes across his career, including the Hans Christian Anderson Award for Illustration. He has been knighted by the British, admitted to the Legion d’Honneur by the French, and has received multiple honorary degrees. He became the inaugural Children’s Laureate in 1999, a post created to raise the profile of children’s literature.

Beyond the page, Blake has decorated the walls of many hospitals and caregiving establishments with his art, from mental health support centres to maternity wards. He founded the House of Illustration, a centre that promotes the art of illustration, which Blake feels isn’t given the same amount of attention and respect as other types of visual art.

Best-Known Books

The Roald Dahl 16 Book Collection is illustrated throughout by Quentin Blake. It features all of the classic stories, from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to The Witches, Danny The Champion of the World to George’s Marvellous Medicine. This box set is the cornerstone of any kid’s library, and it’s available now at a great value price.