03 November 2014
A is for Adventure, which is exactly what happened last week with Oliver Jeffers in town to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of his very first picture book How To Catch A Star, as well as the arrival of his latest book Once Upon An Alphabet!
First there was the private view for the How To Catch A Star Exhibition at the Southbank Centre, where Oliver shared some extraordinary insights into the creation of his very first picturebook, and the journey it made from the slushpile at Harper Collins to bookshelves across the world.
Oliver's original artwork for How To Catch A Star, will be on display at the Royal Festival Hall Members Bar until 31st December 2014, and is open to the public right now!
You can also dive headfirst into the wonderful world of Oliver Jeffers at the Discover Centre in Stratford until 6th September 2015! Once There Was... The Wonderful World of Oliver Jeffers celebrates the 10th anniversary of How to Catch a Star by exploring the magical worlds of Oliver's Boy books with an interactive exhibition. Children under 6 and their families can take a trip to the seaside, row a boat, make friends with a penguin and an alien, visit the Lost and Found office and watch as stars magically appear.
Next up was a quick visit to the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, where Oliver was a guest on the show alongside a host of other stars including Hugh Bonneville, Counting Crows, David Gimour and Chris's son Noah, who very kindly swapped one of his drawings for one of Oliver's.
To finish off the adventure, there was a whole weekend of events celebrating all things Oliver and illustration at the Southbank Centre, including book signings, screenings of Lost and Found and a live mural painting of Once Upon An Alphabet, by Oliver and his friend and fellow illustrator Jon Burgerman.
The highlight of the weekend, without a doubt, was the incredible live 'In Conversation With: Sir Quentin Blake & Oliver Jeffers'. In front of a rapt audience, Oliver and Quentin discussed the creative process, their personal inspirations and the different ways they choose to express their creativity. If you weren't lucky enough to nab a ticket to this sold out event, you can listen to Quentin and Oliver in discussion here c/o BookD Podcast.
And that's the end of our fantastic adventure with Oliver Jeffers, for this week at least! Make sure you head over to the Southbank Centre to see the How to Catch a Star 10th Anniversary exhibition of Oliver's original artwork - catch it while you can!