Ian Beck - Children's Author

Ian Beck was born in Hove on the Sussex coast in 1947. At the age of thirteen, after seeing an exhibition of drawings for the Radio Times, he was fired with enthusiasm about illustration and began attending Saturday painting classes at the nearby Brighton College of Art.

Ian left school at fifteen and went immediately to Brighton to study art full-time. There he was taught by both Raymond Briggs and John Vernon Lord.

Ian has worked in many fields of illustration. He's been involved in the record industry, and painted the cover of one of the most popular records of all time: Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'. One of Ian's titles, Lost in Snow, was made into an animated film for TV and his books have now sold a million copies worldwide.

Q & A with Ian Beck

1.  When did you first start to write stories or draw?

I drew incessantly as a child, but came late to writing stories.

2.  In general, where do your ideas come from?

From life or from other stories.

3.  What made you write this book?

The main character of Tom Trueheart popped into my head and refused to go away, he demanded to have his stories told.

4.  What have you enjoyed most about working on this book?

The process of trimming changing and cutting the book from the first draft, and working with the editor and designer on the whole book, design, illustrations, layout etc.

5.  What is your earliest memory?

Being sent to bed early in summer and looking enviously out of the bedroom window at other children playing happily in the sunlit street.

6.  What did you enjoy most at school?

At school I enjoyed Art classes and drama, I managed to appear in two Shakespeare productions at school which gave me a lifelong love of Shakespeare.

7.  Of all the places you have lived, where have you felt most at home and why?

Where I live now in the western suburbs of London surrounded by the song of blackbirds and near the Thames.

8.  Is there a particular holiday destination that you have visited that you would love to return to?

A little seaside town in France called St Jacut De La Mare.

9.  Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your pets, past or present?

We have no pets at the moment, although we have had two very nice Hamsters over the years.

10.  What would you say is your greatest talent?

Noticing things in detail and long term patience.

11.  What new skill – it can be anything at all – would you love to learn?

Although much too old I would love to surf the beaches of Cornwall.

12.  What is the most unusual job you have done?

Singing as part of a cabaret group in restaurants in Soho.

13.  What is your most treasured possession?

A beautiful and immaculate copy of Now We Are Six by A A  Milne which was given to me for a birthday present many years ago.

14.  Is there a particular book, author, or film that had a great impact on you in your childhood?

Book: The Just William stories by Richmal Crompton. Film: Forbidden Planet.

15.  What are your hobbies?

Listening to film music and going to the cinema as often as possible.

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Featured Books, with extracts by Ian Beck

The Hidden Kingdom
Ian Beck
The young prince Osamu is dragged from his palace bed in the dead of night and told to flee for his life. With only his nurse's daughter, Lissa, to help him survive, he is thrust from his pampered existence into...
Featured in: 11+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 06/10/2011
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Tom Trueheart and the Land of Myths and Legends
Ian Beck
The diminutive hero Tom Trueheart is back for a fabulously inventive new adventure. His important mission this time is to rescue his father from Jack, the notorious Giant-Killer. To do so, little Tom Trueheart must brave the dangerous and unknown...
Featured in: 7+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/05/2011
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Tom Trueheart and the Land of Myths and Legends
Ian Beck
The diminutive hero Tom Trueheart is back for a fabulously inventive new adventure. His important mission this time is to rescue his father from Jack, the notorious Giant-Killer. To do so, little Tom Trueheart must brave the dangerous and unknown...
Featured in: 7+ readers | 9+ readers | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Pastworld
Ian Beck
Take a thrilling journey into the past in this clever time slip mystery which, written in different voices from different times, takes its readers from a dystopian future to a Dickensian past. Caleb is on a tourist trip to the...
Featured in: 14+ readers | Books of the Month | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/07/2010
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Samurai
Ian Beck
Interest Age 11+ Reading Age 8+. This is a beautifully written retelling of a traditional Japanese myth, brought vividly to life by some stunning graphic novel-style illustrations by the award-winning Ian Beck.  This series - Reloaded - from Barrington Stoke...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 14+ readers | Dyslexia-friendly
Format: Paperback - Released: 09/06/2010
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Pastworld
Ian Beck
Take a thrilling journey into the past in this clever time slip mystery which, written in different voices from different times, takes its readers from a dystopian future to a Dickensian past. Caleb is on a tourist trip to the...
Featured in: 14+ readers | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 05/10/2009
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Tom Trueheart And The Land Of Dark Stories
Ian Beck
More fabulous adventures as Tom Trueheart and his brothers return but this time, there may be no more Happy Endings. Perfectly pitched to newly independent readers, this second book about the young and diminutive hero Tom Trueheart takes a different look...
Featured in: 7+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/01/2009
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Tom Trueheart And The Land Of Dark Stories
Ian Beck
More fabulous adventures as Tom Trueheart and his brothers return but this time, there may be no more Happy Endings. Tom and his brothers are swept away to the Land of Dark stories. Can Tom save the day even though...
Featured in: 7+ readers | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 06/03/2008
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The Secret History of Tom Trueheart Boy Adventurer
Ian Beck
This handsome little book with striking silhouette illustrations, contains a wonderful story about young Tom Trueheart, the youngest of seven brothers, who sets out into the Land of Stories to find out what can possibly have gone wrong for his...
Featured in: 7+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/04/2007
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The Secret History of Tom Trueheart - Boy Adventurer
Ian Beck
This handsome little book with striking silhouette illustrations, contains a wonderful story about young Tom Trueheart, the youngest of seven brothers, who sets out into the Land of Stories to find out what can possibly have gone wrong for his...
Featured in: 7+ readers
Format: Hardback - Released: 01/06/2006
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