'Simply the best way to experience a story'

 

“I still feel, as I did when I was six or seven, that books are simply the best way to experience a story.” – Philip Reeve

Born in England on Feb. 28, 1966 Reeve is a bestselling author and the cartoonist /illustrator of many books for kids, including the “Dead Famous” book Horatio Nelson and His Victory, and a number of books in the clever Horrible Histories and Murderous Maths series.  He authored the very popular "Utterly Dark" series for Young Adults and the "Buster Bayliss" books for young readers with such clever titles as Night of the Living Veg, The Big Freeze, Day of the Hamster, and Custardfinger. 

And he delved into historical fiction with his award-winning book Here Lies Arthur, an alternative look at the King Arthur legend.  

Reeve said he was always fascinated by the illustrations as much as the writing and strives to make his illustrations as palatable as possible for young readers.  

 

“Even tiny children looking at a picture book are using their imaginations, gleaning clues from the images to understand what is happening, and perhaps using the throwaway details which the illustrator includes to add their own elements to the story."