As 2017 dawns it’s hard to think of a better book to slip into your pocket than 100 Hugs by Chris Riddell. This neat little hardback contains 100 black and white illustrations by Riddell, a virtuoso of the form, and each one will amaze with its delicacy, skill and fluidity. There’s fun to be had in spotting characters – Pinocchio and Geppetto, Alice and the White Rabbit, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the three little pigs – but the real joy comes just from enjoying the beauty and emotion packed into each drawing. It’s a book that will surprise and entertain no matter how many times it’s opened, and one that will leave readers feeling they too have been hugged. ~Andrea Reece
This gorgeous collection of hugs from Children's Laureate Chris Riddell is the perfect gift for a loved one, or to cheer yourself up on a dark day. It covers every possible type of hug you can think of, but one thing is for certain: every one will touch your heart.
Chris Riddell, the 2015-2017 UK Children's Laureate, is an accomplished artist and the political cartoonist for the Observer. His books have won a number of major prizes, including the 2001, 2004 and 2016 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medals. Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse won the Costa Children's Book Award 2013. His includes the bestselling Ottoline books, The Emperor of Absurdia, and, with Paul Stewart, the Muddle Earth books, the Scavenger series and the Blobheads series.
Chris has been honoured with an OBE in recognition of his illustration and charity work. Chris lives in Brighton with his family.
Chris Riddell on John Tenniel : "Before I knew a thing about him, John Tenniel was a hero of mine, or rather, I should say, his white rabbit was. As a child I copied Tenniel’s illustrations from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland obsessively, particularly his drawing of the White Rabbit in waistcoat and frock coat, umbrella tucked under one arm and a pocket watch in paw, a look of suppressed panic in his eye. I loved analysing the shading, intricate lines of cross-hatching, the folds of the sleeve, the tilt of the head, that wide-eyed rabbit stare. Tenniel was one of the reasons I became an illustrator."
