Author/Illustrator Feature: Chris Riddell
A New Balloonist Joins the Crew
Hello Balloonists!
![Picture by Mrs Humble]()
It is over three years since I retired from teaching and spent a couple of weeks in the summer, up a ladder, wobbly-legged, painting the outside of our house. Back in June of 2021, head in the clouds, trying to overcome climacophobia by concentrating on anything other than how far the concrete was below, thoughts began to germinate about setting up a poetry website promoting poetry written for children.
Now in August of 2024, with well over 1500 poems from around 300 poets (some famous and others very new to writing for children), with one anthology published (Chasing Clouds) and a second one on the way, I can safely say the Dirigible Balloon has been one of my better ideas.
Sky Surfing: Excellent Adventures in a Poetry Balloon will be available through Yorkshire Times Publishing towards the end of 2024, all profits being donated to Juvenile Arthritis Research (registered charity number 1091620). This project wouldn’t be possible without the fantastic support of 65 poets and 21 artists, all giving permission to allow the use of their poems and illustrations in the Dirigible Balloon’s latest project (a full list of the wonderful creatives on board the Balloon can be found at the end of the page).
With contributions once again from wonderful poets like Colin West, Carole Bromley, Michael Rosen, Philip Ardagh, Emma Purshouse, Zaro Weil and Brian Moses, we have a new and very welcome Balloonist on board: none other than author, illustrator, political cartoonist and former Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell OBE.
![Picture by Chris Riddell]()
Chris has written and illustrated many many wonderful books. He has won the UNESCO Prize, the Greenaway Medal, the Nestlé Gold Award and the Hay Festival Medal for Illustration as well as the Costa Children’s Book Award. He’s collaborated with many other marvellous writers including Paul Stewart, Neil Gaiman and Michael Rosen. He continues to be a tireless champion of reading for children and illustration in the modern age and has rightly taken his place alongside giants such as Quentin Blake, Raymond Briggs, Shirley Hughes, Roald Dahl, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen as one of the most popular figures in children’s literature.
His earlier published work includes Pirate Diary and a re-telling of Swift’s Gulliver – both of which won the Greenaway Medal. He established his long-running collaboration with Paul Stewart initially on The Edge Chronicles series and later on Fergus Crane, Blobheads and the Muddle Earth adventures.
As laureate, he travelled around the country, chronicling his adventures in a series of daily diary illustrations. He was (and is) a most effective ambassador for libraries, bookshops and all things conducive to the development children’s imaginations. He continues to be passionate about encouraging writing and drawing especially (but not exclusively) among the young.
The fact he’s very kindly creating pictures specifically for a number of poems in the next Dirigible Balloon anthology is very exciting. He is, of course, a very busy chap with all sorts of other projects under way and we are massively grateful that despite the obvious demands on his time, he’d still consider helping us out with our little labour of love.
Can’t wait to see what happens next …
#WatchThisSpace
List of Contributing Poets: Val Harris, Gaynor Andrews, Rachel Burrows, Shaun Jex, Philip Ardagh, Niamh Savage, Amaleena Damlé, Felicity Teague, Kirsty Tomlin, Eleanor Brown, Rhona Stephens, Hazel Knox, Colin West, Lisa Allen, Dale Neal, Jonathan Sellars, Mark Bird, Melinda Szymanik, Karla Kane, Jacoby Crane, Jesse Anna Bornemann, Michael Rosen, Justin Horton, Elenore Byrne, John Dredge, Annelies Judson, Alicia Meyers, Barbara Bleiman, Jennifer Thomas, Peter Devonald, Zaro Weil, Attie Lime, Kay Medway, Kathryn Dove, Lesley James, Sarah J Dodd, Sarah Ziman, Jessica Milo, John Claiborne Isbell, Tracey Foley, Rhiannon Oliver, Josie De Falco, Gillian Spiller, Kathryn Beevor, Ian Brownlie, Laura Cooney, Jack Wheeler, Kit Weston, Bernard Pearson, Brian Moses, Carole Bromley, Fiona Halliday, David Bleiman, Susan Andrews, Linda Middleton, Julie Anna Douglas, Suzy Levinson, Julie Stevens, Karla Wendelin, Helen Dineen, Arran Potts, Carl Burkitt, Morna Sullivan, Rob Walton, Emma Purshouse
List of Contributing Artists: Steve May, Alison Brown, Jason Chapman, Grace Sandford, Fintan Taite, Judy Elizabeth Wilson, Jo Byatt, Chris White, Colin West, Mary Rouncefield, Cecilia Rouncefield, Thalamus Plank, Rachel Burrows, Em Humble, Adam Sharples, Carrie Fannin, Alison Deegan, Molly Burrows, Fred Blunt, Jo Podmore, Chris Riddell
Jonathan Humble
Editor of the Dirigible Balloon
Picture by Mrs Humble
Now in August of 2024, with well over 1500 poems from around 300 poets (some famous and others very new to writing for children), with one anthology published (Chasing Clouds) and a second one on the way, I can safely say the Dirigible Balloon has been one of my better ideas.
Sky Surfing: Excellent Adventures in a Poetry Balloon will be available through Yorkshire Times Publishing towards the end of 2024, all profits being donated to Juvenile Arthritis Research (registered charity number 1091620). This project wouldn’t be possible without the fantastic support of 65 poets and 21 artists, all giving permission to allow the use of their poems and illustrations in the Dirigible Balloon’s latest project (a full list of the wonderful creatives on board the Balloon can be found at the end of the page).
With contributions once again from wonderful poets like Colin West, Carole Bromley, Michael Rosen, Philip Ardagh, Emma Purshouse, Zaro Weil and Brian Moses, we have a new and very welcome Balloonist on board: none other than author, illustrator, political cartoonist and former Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell OBE.
Picture by Chris Riddell
His earlier published work includes Pirate Diary and a re-telling of Swift’s Gulliver – both of which won the Greenaway Medal. He established his long-running collaboration with Paul Stewart initially on The Edge Chronicles series and later on Fergus Crane, Blobheads and the Muddle Earth adventures.
As laureate, he travelled around the country, chronicling his adventures in a series of daily diary illustrations. He was (and is) a most effective ambassador for libraries, bookshops and all things conducive to the development children’s imaginations. He continues to be passionate about encouraging writing and drawing especially (but not exclusively) among the young.
The fact he’s very kindly creating pictures specifically for a number of poems in the next Dirigible Balloon anthology is very exciting. He is, of course, a very busy chap with all sorts of other projects under way and we are massively grateful that despite the obvious demands on his time, he’d still consider helping us out with our little labour of love.
Can’t wait to see what happens next …
#WatchThisSpace
List of Contributing Poets: Val Harris, Gaynor Andrews, Rachel Burrows, Shaun Jex, Philip Ardagh, Niamh Savage, Amaleena Damlé, Felicity Teague, Kirsty Tomlin, Eleanor Brown, Rhona Stephens, Hazel Knox, Colin West, Lisa Allen, Dale Neal, Jonathan Sellars, Mark Bird, Melinda Szymanik, Karla Kane, Jacoby Crane, Jesse Anna Bornemann, Michael Rosen, Justin Horton, Elenore Byrne, John Dredge, Annelies Judson, Alicia Meyers, Barbara Bleiman, Jennifer Thomas, Peter Devonald, Zaro Weil, Attie Lime, Kay Medway, Kathryn Dove, Lesley James, Sarah J Dodd, Sarah Ziman, Jessica Milo, John Claiborne Isbell, Tracey Foley, Rhiannon Oliver, Josie De Falco, Gillian Spiller, Kathryn Beevor, Ian Brownlie, Laura Cooney, Jack Wheeler, Kit Weston, Bernard Pearson, Brian Moses, Carole Bromley, Fiona Halliday, David Bleiman, Susan Andrews, Linda Middleton, Julie Anna Douglas, Suzy Levinson, Julie Stevens, Karla Wendelin, Helen Dineen, Arran Potts, Carl Burkitt, Morna Sullivan, Rob Walton, Emma Purshouse
List of Contributing Artists: Steve May, Alison Brown, Jason Chapman, Grace Sandford, Fintan Taite, Judy Elizabeth Wilson, Jo Byatt, Chris White, Colin West, Mary Rouncefield, Cecilia Rouncefield, Thalamus Plank, Rachel Burrows, Em Humble, Adam Sharples, Carrie Fannin, Alison Deegan, Molly Burrows, Fred Blunt, Jo Podmore, Chris Riddell
Jonathan Humble
Editor of the Dirigible Balloon
The sources of the information about Chris Riddell: The Soho Agency, The Edge Chronicles, Pan Macmillan, Waterstones and Chris Riddell's social media pages
This poem is copyright (©) Jonathan Humble 2024
About the Writer
Jonathan Humble
Jonathan lives in Cumbria. His work has been published online and in print in a number of magazines and anthologies. His first collection of poetry, My Camel's Name Is Brian, was published by TMB Books in 2015. His second poetry book, Fledge came out in 2020 through Maytree Press. His poems for children have been shortlisted and highly commended in the Caterpillar and Yorkmix poetry competitions and he is the editor of The Dirigible Balloon. His poems Masterclass and This Work is Done were chosen as the Milk House Poem of the Year at the end of 2022 and 2023.
