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As a child
Russell Hoban was born in Pennsylvania, USA. His parents were Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine; his father was the advertising manager of a Jewish newspaper as well as a dram guild director. Russell was thus exposed to the arts early on, and became interested in writing at an early age, winning prizes for his stories and poems during his school years.
As an adult
Russell served in the US Infantry during WWII. For a time he taught art in New York and Connecticut. He then worked as a freelance illustrator and an advertising copywriter. He began publishing children's books in 1958, and since then has published more than fifty. His picture book The Sea-Thing Child, illustrated by Patrick Benson, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. Russell passed away at the age of 86 in 2011.
Quentin Blake’s wonderfully airy and energetic illustrations perfectly match this quirky fantasy by that other master, Russell Hoban. A little boy called John accidentally finds a dragon beneath a manhole cover in a busy street. The passers-by take no notice of him, not even when he meets up with the dragon at an underground station. They have a couple of fights – as agreed – and when John wins, Ace takes him flying. When Ace runs out of petrol, the two are stranded on a moon before John works out a way to get back home, using another of Ace’s special skills. Funny and offbeat, it’s a lovely story of friendship and independence. ~ Andrea Reece
Quentin Blake’s wonderfully airy and energetic illustrations perfectly match this quirky fantasy by that other master, Russell Hoban. A little boy called John accidentally finds a dragon beneath a manhole cover in a busy street. The passers-by take no notice of him, not even when he meets up with the dragon at an underground station. They have a couple of fights – as agreed – and when John wins, Ace takes him flying. When Ace runs out of petrol, the two are stranded on a moon before John works out a way to get back home, using another of Ace’s special skills. Funny and offbeat, it’s a lovely story of friendship and independence. ~ Andrea Reece
Russell Hoban's moving, unflinching tale of a boy who finds bravery during illness is dramatically reimagined in graphic-novel format with new art by Alexis Deacon.
Shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Jim is in hospital. He's frightened. What if the doctors send him somewhere that he can't find his way back from? Nurse Bami tells Jim that he must go to his good place and there, his finder will come looking for him. Everyone has a finder. And so, deep in Jim's dreams, he finds his: a lion. In Soonchild, Russell Hoban's final piece of fiction before he died, Alexis Deacon met the spirit and wit of Hoban's vision head-on - brilliantly capturing the dark magic that lay at the heart of this fable. Since then, it feels almost impossible to imagine a better match for Hoban's words than Alexis' art.
Award-winning duo Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake are brilliantly witty in this sharply observed picture of the value of childhood pursuits. Orphaned Tom lives with his formidable aunt who takes no nonsense from anyone and serves perfectly disgusting food. Tom pays her little heed. He likes to fool around, mostly outside in squelchy stuff or up high on dangerous structures. To his aunt, it looks suspiciously as if he is just playing. To make Tom conform, she brings along Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen, a team famed for their skill at playing hard games. Whatever can Tom do next? How Tom wins is a celebration of child-power.
Tom is back for a second fooling-around adventure. When Tom, accompanied by his Aunt Bundlejoy, sets out on a jaunt in a jam-powered frog, Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen set out in hot pursuit in a pedal-powered snake. They are determined for revenge! Tom is running out of jam power but luckily there’s a girl’s boarding school not far off where more amazing and absurd events take place including a ferocious arm-wrestling match!
Former Children’s Laureate Quentin Blake team up for this hugely original weather-based fantasy. It’s a hot, hot summer Thursday when Harry hears the rag-and-bone man calling out “Rainy numbers up. Any thunder up?” Not knowing what any of it might mean, Harry follows the cart through the rain door and out into the strange world of weather. Quentin Blake makes hot and cold weather beautiful and tangible.
John loves drawing monsters. Red monsters. Purple monsters. Spotted monsters. Furry monsters. Any kind of monster. And then he draws just a monster’s tail. And that takes up four big pieces of paper….Can John control his monsters? Of course, the adults think that he can but what if he can’t? A potentially threatening story is wittily told in words and pictures by Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake.
A must-read for anyone who thinks that fooling about is a waste of time! Through the brilliant combination of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, the story celebrates all the skills that children learn on their own. Tom likes nothing more than messing about whether it is sliding in the mud, wobbling about on high and dangerous things, dropping things from bridges and fishing them out or rolling around in barrels in alleys. His aunt disapproves of all such activities and threatens him with Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen who are known to be able to knock anyone into shape. But it turns out that Tom has learnt some things after all…as the title reveals!
An enchanting and magical story richly illustrated by former Children’s Laureate Quentin Blake. Rosie collects old ice lolly sticks. Without any lolly left what is the point? Luckily, the sticks themselves work out a reason and form themselves into a wonderful horse. In Quentin Blake’s illustrations the prancing lolly stick horses gallop across cities and jungles and over oceans and deserts on the quest for pirates and their gold. Quentin Blake's hallmark illustration style breathes energy and mischeviousness into something as small and ordinary as a disused ice-lolly stick. If an ice-lolly stick can be a horse...then YOU can be anything you wish to be!
ONE OF JULIA ECCLESHARE'S TOP 10 OF 2012 Children’s Laureate Quentin Blake and best-selling author Russell Hoban have created an entrancing magical and lyrical fantasy that’s perfect for anyone who can share the dream of a magical adventure. A discarded lolly stick dreams of being something BIG…Luckily, it is picked up by Rosie, a little girl who already has a whole collection of lolly sticks. Soon she and all the lolly sticks are off on a rollicking adventure with the important task of raising money for her family. A delightfully quirky story that allows imaginations soar. Quentin Blake's hallmark illustration style breathes energy and mischeviousness into something as small and ordinary as a disused ice-lolly stick. If an ice-lolly stick can be a horse...then YOU can be anything you wish to be! This beautiful edition is jacketed.
Shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian children's fiction prize. Award winning Russell Hoban has written a lyrical story of magic and wonder that begs to be read and re-read as the mysterious story unravels. Deep, deep in the heart of the frozen north a shaman and his wife are expecting their first baby. But Soonchild doesn’t want to come out. It lies like a stone in its mother's belly; it never kicks or moves and yet the mother knows that it is alive. Finally, the baby speaks…Can its Shaman father do what is necessary to unlock the singing of the world and so encourage the baby to be born? Alexis Deacon captures the frozen world and the magic and mystery that lie at the heart of it.
So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient clockwork rules and are themselves broken. Thrown away, then rescued from a dustbin and repaired by a tramp, they set out on a dangerous quest for a family and a place of their own.
'What are we, Papa?' the toy mouse child asked his father. 'I don't know,' the father answered. 'We must wait and see.' So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient clockwork rules and are themselves broken. Thrown away, then rescued from a dustbin and repaired by a tramp, they set out on a dangerous quest for a family and a place of their own - the magnificent doll's house, the plush elephant and the tin seal they had once know in the toy shop.
From the inimitable team of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, the pair behind Captain Najork and The Twenty Elephant Restaurant, comes an enchanting story of a little pig made of marzipan. Fallen behind the sofa, nobody hears the lost marzipan pig's cries for help. And, after many months, a mouse discovers him and eats him up, having never known such sweetness. But a longing to be loved passes from the marzipan pig to the mouse ... and so begins a curious chain of events featuring a dancing owl, a glowing taxi meter, a buzzing bee and a pinky-orange hibiscus flower - all triggered by the little lost marzipan pig. Each encounter more wonderful and more romantic than the last, just how far will the marzipan's sweetness travel?
A fire-breathing dragon takes a boy on a fantastic sky-high adventure in this irresistible Hoban and Blake classic. From the inimitable duo of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, the pair behind the hilarious tales of Captain Najork, comes a story about a little boy, a fire-breathing dragon, and their sky-high adventure! I can make fire come out of my nose and mouth, the dragon under the pavement tells John. I can fly. I can spin gold into straw if you have any gold. John doesn't have any gold - and he doesn't need any straw. (Not yet, anyway.) The dragon tells John that if he fights the dragon and wins, the dragon will take him flying. What a challenge! Where will it lead? John soon finds out - and he also finds out that you just never know when a bundle of straw might come in handy... With sword-flashing excitement, a moon landing and plenty of magic, this irresistible page-turner is brought back into print in a bigger format - and a beautiful, more colourful, new edition.
The inimitable duo of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake tell a hilarious romp that begins with a wobbly table ... and ends with a bunch of dancing elephants! In this completely hilarious and gloriously absurd story, the pair behind the tales of Captain Najork explore just what happens when a man builds a new table ... a table sturdy enough for even an elephant to dance on. This table, said the man. What about the table? said the woman. It's wearing me out, said the man. What to do? The man makes a decision. He finds a tablewood tree, cuts it down, saws it up and makes a new table. There's nothing like a new table. This one is strong enough for elephants! But... Where would we get the elephants? said the woman. Advertise in the Classified Section, said the man. Elephants wanted for table work. Must be agile. It looks as if the man and the woman might need some more tables! We could open a restaurant, said the man. A restaurant with dancing elephants ... where will it all lead?!
A fire-breathing dragon takes a boy on a fantastic sky-high adventure in this irresistible Hoban and Blake classic. From the inimitable duo of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, the pair behind the hilarious tales of Captain Najork, comes a story about a little boy, a fire-breathing dragon, and their sky-high adventure! I can make fire come out of my nose and mouth, the dragon under the pavement tells John. I can fly. I can spin gold into straw if you have any gold. John doesn't have any gold - and he doesn't need any straw. (Not yet, anyway.) The dragon tells John that if he fights the dragon and wins, the dragon will take him flying. What a challenge! Where will it lead? John soon finds out - and he also finds out that you just never know when a bundle of straw might come in handy... With sword-flashing excitement, a moon landing and plenty of magic, this irresistible page-turner is brought back into print in a bigger format - and a beautiful, more colourful, new edition.
Another classic from Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, featuring a jam-powered frog and an eccentric headmistress ... as nutty and compulsive as ever. A Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake classic, and a brilliant companion volume to How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen, this is the story of Tom who invents a jam-powered frog. Fooling around as he loves to do, Tom takes his Aunt Bundlejoy Cosysweet out on the frog out for a spin. When Captain Najork sees them hopping past his window, he and his hired sportsmen jump into their pedal-powered snake and set off in hot pursuit. Events, adventure and sheer craziness conspire to bring Tom and the Captain together at the local girls' boarding school, where Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong Najork is in the middle of a best-of-three arm-wrestling contest against the Headmistress... A rip-roaring adventure guaranteed to keep the pages turning and the laughs bouncing off the ceiling!
Russell Hoban's moving, unflinching tale of a boy who finds bravery during illness is dramatically reimagined in graphic-novel format with new art by Alexis Deacon. From the incomparable Russell Hoban comes a moving, unflinching tale of a boy who finds bravery during illness, beautifully re-imagined as a graphic-novel by award-winning illustrator Alexis Deacon. Asleep in his hospital bed, Jim dreams of a great lion with white teeth and amber eyes. This lion is Jim's finder. According to Nurse Bami, everyone has a finder, a creature who comes looking for us when we are lost. But when the time comes for Jim's operation, will his lion be able to find him and bring him safely home? With the inclusion of powerful dream sequences, and a triumphant message of facing one's fears, Russell Hoban's tale of a boy's search for strength and courage will resonate with any child dealing with adversity or sickness.
Hoban is the best sort of genius. Patrick Ness, The Guardian Somewhere in the Arctic Circle, Sixteen-Face John, a shaman, learns that his first child, a soonchild, cannot hear the World Songs from her mother's womb. The World Songs are what inspire all newborns to come out into the world, and John must find them for her. But how? The answer takes him through many lifetimes and many shape-shifts, as well as encounters with beasts, demons and a mysterious benevolent owl spirit, Ukpika, who is linked to John's past...
A hilarious romp that begins with a wobbly table ... and ends with a bunch of dancing elephants! This table, said the man. What about the table? said the woman. It's wearing me out, said the man. What to do? The man makes a decision. He finds a tablewood tree, cuts it down, saws it up and makes a new table. There's nothing like a new table. This one is strong enough for elephants to dance on! But... Where would we get the elephants? said the woman. Advertise in the Classified Section, said the man. Elephants wanted for table work. Must be agile. It looks as if the man and the woman might need some more tables! We could open a restaurant, said the man. A restaurant with dancing elephants ... where will it all lead?
A young boy's fantastic and fantastical trip of discovery beyond the real world ... with a horn that goes GAHOOGA! One hot summer Thursday, Harry meets the rag-and-bone man and his horse, and follows them through the rain door - to a whole other world behind the weather. When Harry hears a lion roar, he wants to get home as fast as he can ... but that turns out to be easier said than done. After an exciting adventure involving a home-made dinosaur and a sky-high flight through the mother of all thunderstorms, will Harry manage to escape the thundering lion and get back home?
Another classic from Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, featuring a jam-powered frog and an eccentric headmistress ... as nutty and compulsive as ever. Fooling around as he loves to do, Tom invents a jam-powered frog, and he and his Aunt Bundlejoy Cosysweet take it out for a spin. When Captain Najork sees them hopping past his window, he and his hired sportsmen jump into their pedal-powered snake and set off in hot pursuit - bent on revenge after their earlier defeat at womble, muck and sneedball. Events, adventure and sheer craziness conspire to bring Tom and the Captain together at the local girls' boarding school, where Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong Najork is in the middle of a best-of-three arm-wrestling contest against the Headmistress ... and the Captain is finally reduced to eating swede-and-mutton slump after a very narrow escape indeed.
A classic tale of the triumph of fooling-around fun over humourless no-nonsense adult disapproval! Tom loves to fool around. He fools around with dropping things from bridges into rivers and he fools around with barrels in alleys. He fools around so much that his maiden aunt, Miss Fidget Wonkham-Strong (who wears an iron hat and takes no nonsense from anyone), sends for Captain Najork and his hired sportsmen to teach Tom a lesson. Captain Najork, says Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong, is seven feet tall, with eyes like fire and a voice like thunder. He teaches fooling-around boys the lesson they so badly need, and it is not one that they soon forget. Captain Najork lays down a challenge: they will play womble, muck and speedball - in that order. And it turns out not to be Tom who gets taught a lesson after all!
Brilliant and hilarious, full of monsters and disbelieving grown-ups - this is an irresistible Hoban and Blake classic, back in print at last. From the inimitable duo of Russell Hoban and Quentin Blake, the pair behind the hilarious tales of Captain Najork, this is the story of John, who likes to draw monsters. Lots of them. Red monsters, yellow monsters, scaly monsters, furry monsters, even invisible monsters. Nothing but monsters! His mum and dad are beginning to worry. Then one day John starts a monster drawing that fills up a whole sheet of wrapping paper - and that's just the tip of the tail! Will this be his biggest monster ever? Or even ... how long will it remain just a drawing?
Hoban is the best sort of genius. Patrick Ness, The Guardian Somewhere in the Arctic Circle, Sixteen-Face John, a shaman, learns that his first child, a soonchild, cannot hear the World Songs from her mother's womb. The World Songs are what inspire all newborns to come out into the world, and John must find them for her. But how? The answer takes him through many lifetimes and many shape-shifts, as well as encounters with beasts, demons and a mysterious benevolent owl spirit, Ukpika, who is linked to John's past...
'Brilliantly plotted ...a spellbinder ...it has a style that glows and crackles.' Spectator 'Hugely funny, provocative, pathetic and heroic.' TLS 'What are we, Papa?' the toy mouse child asked his father. 'I don't know,' the father answered. 'We must wait and see.' So begins the story of a tin father and son who dance under a Christmas tree until they break the ancient clockwork rules and are themselves broken. Thrown away, then rescued from a dustbin and repaired by a tramp, they set out on a dangerous quest for a family and a place of their own - the magnificent doll's house, the plush elephant and the tin seal they had once know in the toy shop.
One stormy night the sea-thing child, a draggled heap of scales and feathers, is flung up on the beach. Afraid of the wild waves and the storm skies, he meets a fiddler crab with no bow and together they avoid facing their fears. Finally, though, he finds his star, his courage and his ocean self.
A tale of how love of Alberta reforms the uncouth Arthur who has no manners, but decides to learn them when Alberta invites him to her house for dinner.
One of a series of early reading books with large print and colour illustrations, this is the story of a dragon who wears wellington boots and the boy who discovers him below a coal-hole marked Ace Dragon Ltd. His exploits include skywriting, flying stunts and turning gold into straw.
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