First World War stage-designer Claud Lovat Fraser’s classic illustrated Nursery Rhymes is published for World Nursery Rhyme Week 11-15 November by best-selling author and historian Robert Lacey, author of Majesty and historical consultant on the Netflix series The Crown, and London illustrator Ben Coppin.

Lacey and illustrator Ben Coppin have updated and re-presented 82 of the best-loved nursery rhymes which were originally illustrated by Great War artist and hero Claud Lovat Fraser in 1919.

Robert Lacey has set up his own publishing company Paper Argosies to publish Nursery Rhymes. The 128-page book includes a foreword by Lacey on the magic of nursery rhymes, a mini-biography of artist and war hero Lovat Fraser – plus a reference section on the meanings of the rhymes. The artwork for the book is based on original research in the archives of London’s Royal Academy of Arts.

At an event on 11 November at the Centre for Literacy In Primary Education, author and child psychologist Nicholas Tucker will discuss how nursery rhymes have made reading fun, supporting a child’s language and literacy skills though rhyme, song and repetition. Reserve your free ticket here.

Any teachers or libararians who are LoveReading subscribers can claim their free signed print at the event.

Robert Lacey comments, “I first discovered the work of Claud Lovat Fraser when I received a Christmas card featuring his artwork. The sheer vigour of the drawing held my eye and led me to the Royal Academy and to discover a book of Nursery Rhymes which Lovat Fraser illustrated for his young daughter Helen, before his premature death from his First World War injuries.”

Illustrator Ben Coppin says, “I’m honoured to have worked on this book, re-creating Claud Lovat Fraser’s work for 2024, with a mixture of my own vision and Lovat Fraser’s original artwork – trying to bring colourful life to the world that the modern child sees.”

The academic consultant for Nursery Rhymes with Pictures is Dr Nick Tucker, author of The Child and the Book. Author of War Horse and former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo has endorsed the book: “Open this book to the world of childhood . . . Once read, heard and thought on – never forgotten.”

The 128-page volume showcases the illustrations of Great War hero Claud Lovat Fraser as originally published in 1919 – many in black-and-white and now updated in full colour by South- East London artist Ben Coppin. The book features eco-friendly endpapers recycled from 100% post-consumer waste and a data band manufactured from the vegetable fibre of brewers’ hops.

A proportion of profits from the book will go to the Royal Academy to acknowledge their role in preserving the work of Claud Lovat Fraser – with a further percentage to the Dartmoor-based charity Storybook Dads and Storybook Mums.

Find out more about the title at www.nurseryrhymeswithpictures.com

paperargosies @robertlacey_com @bcoppincreative @clpe1 @MichaelMorpugo