LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
Winnie the witch and her cheerful companion black cat Wilbur won readers’ hearts in their very first outing.
35 years on and they are firmly established as some of the best loved characters in children’s books, and this gorgeous anniversary edition is the perfect tribute to them and their creators, writer Valerie Thomas and illustrator Korky Paul.
The story of Winnie’s magical attempts to make Wilbur visible, and avoid tripping over him, is as fresh and funny as ever, and there are added treats for readers too. These include forewords from Valerie and Korky, with some wonderful insights into their creations, including an explanation from Korky as to why Winnie’s hat is bent, though he confesses he has no idea what inspired her signature stripy tights!
A gallery of Winnie and Wilbur memories demonstrates the delightful inventiveness of the stories and every Korky Paul illustration is filled with quirky details for youngsters to pore over. Magical!
Andrea Reece
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About
Winnie and Wilbur: Winnie the Witch 35th Anniversary Edition Synopsis
This anniversary edition celebrates 35 years of the original Winnie and Wilbur adventure.
Winnie shares her big black house with Wilbur her big black cat. So sometimes she accidentally trips over him. Ouch! After some spells that make Wilbur look very silly, Winnie finds just the right magic to make sure she can always see him.
It's a colourful Winnie and Wilbur adventure! Korky Paul's intricate artwork is full of madcap humour and crazy details to pore over. Since Winnie and Wilbur first appeared in 1987, they have been delighting children and adults in homes and schools all over the world and more than 9 million books have been sold. Celebrating the wonderful relationship that exists between Winnie and Wilbur, this anniversary edition includes forewords by the author and illustrator, a gallery of Winnie and Wilbur's most magical memories, and sketches from Korky Paul's studio.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9780192784728 |
Publication date: |
20th October 2022 |
Author: |
Valerie Thomas |
Illustrator: |
Korky Paul |
Publisher: |
Oxford University Press |
Format: |
Hardback |
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Press Reviews
Valerie Thomas Press Reviews
'Pure magic!' - The Times
“The pictures, as ever, bristle with an inspired lunacy that 5+ love.” Amanda Craig
Praise for Winnie and Wilbur Meet Santa;
‘Illustrator Korky Paul outdoes himself with an inexhaustible profusion of decorative detail in interiors, landscape, architecture, and outer space.’ The Times
“Readers of all ages will be thrilled with the phenomenal flying machine she is granted…” The Observer
Praise for Winnie and Wilbur In Space;
‘. . . a wild and thrilling ride, with plot by the bucketload, action aplenty, and lashings of silliness.’ TheBookBag.co.uk
‘This is a treat to read aloud . . . and Paul’s madcap illustrations are as vibrant and detailed as ever.’ The Bookseller
Praise for Whizz-Bang Winnie;
“[Winnie’s] mad antics make hilarious reading.” Primary Times
Praise for Happy Birthday, Winnie;
‘Funny dialogue, fast-moving action accompanied by distinctive, lively artwork crammed with visual jokes.’ BooksForKeeps
Author
About Valerie Thomas
Valerie Thomas was born in Melbourne, Australia, and has lived there for most of her life, apart from six years spent in Europe, where she worked in England, France and Norway. She is a teacher, and has taught in primary, secondary, and special schools in Australia and England as well as lecturing in English Teaching Method in a Teachers’ College in Melbourne.
For many years she worked as an educational researcher and curriculum consultant in the area of spelling, and has written extensively on the subject. Her other main interest is travel. She has travelled to most corners of the world, and has written about her travels: the first piece of writing she had published was an account of her experience picking grapes for the champagne harvest in France.
In 1987 her phenomenally successful children’s book Winnie the Witch, illustrated by Korky Paul, was published by Oxford University Press and won the Children’s Book of the Year Award. It has since been translated into many languages around the world and become a children's classic.
More About Valerie Thomas
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A letter from author Valerie Thomas
Dear Reader,
I can hardly believe that it’s thirty-five years since I first thought of Winnie and Wilbur. The story just popped into my head like magic. And although there have been so many more Winnie and Wilbur stories, this first one is still my favourite.
Since Winnie and Wilbur first met, they have had many amazing adventures. I have always loved to travel, and Winnie has often travelled for me. When Winnie said she had always wanted to see a giraffe in the wild, that was really me talking. Now Winnie has seen the giraffe, but I am still waiting for that experience.
However, I have been to Antarctica and Winnie hasn’t been there yet, although she has made a fleeting visit to the Arctic. And Winnie and Wilbur have zoomed up into space. I don’t think I’ll manage to do that. One of the lovely things about writing the Winnie and Wilbur stories is the letters and pictures I get from readers all over the world, in all the countries where the stories are published. Of course, in other languages Winnie and Wilbur have different names. In German they are Zilly und Zingaro, in Italian, Sibilla e Serafino, and in Spanish, Brunilda y Bruno! It’s wonderful to think of all these children enjoying the stories in their language and then writing to me to tell me what they think.
But the most magical aspect of Winnie and Wilbur is that after thirty-five years they haven’t aged at all. My hair has turned to silver, but Winnie doesn’t have a single grey hair. And Wilbur looks wonderful for a thirty-five-year-old cat. Let us hope that in another thirty-five years they will still be enjoying their magical lives.
Valerie Thomas
And a message from illustrator Korky Paul
BLITHERING BROOMSTICKS!
Thirty-five years ago, back in 1987, who would have imagined that the Winnie and Wilbur books would be published in forty-four languages and sell nine million copies worldwide? That was the year when the late, great Ron Heapy, head of children’s book publishing at Oxford University Press, gave me a manuscript about a witch who lives in a black house with her black cat Wilbur.
I was so taken by Valerie Thomas’s enchanting tale of Winnie changing Wilbur’s colours with her magic wand. As an illustrator, I was excited by the challenge of illustrating a witch’s black house with all its richness, textures and details using only hues and tones of blacks and dark blues. Traditionally, witches are drawn wearing pointy black hats, black flowing dresses and looking rather ugly, but Winnie loved magicking bright colours and this inspired me to dress her to reflect this—where the brainwave of her signature stripy tights came from, I have no idea!
When I first drew Winnie’s hat I ran out of space on the paper, so I bent it to fit and planned to straighten it later. But, on reflection, I realised this added to her quirkiness. A happy but magical accident. I have hours of fun filling my intricate illustrations with silly humour and crazy details for readers to pore over. I am delighted that my drawings are used as inspiration for creative projects and love seeing children’s own pictures of Winnie and Wilbur.
Illustrating Valerie Thomas’s enchanting Winnie and Wilbur stories over the last thirty-five years has given me a cauldron-full of creative opportunities and many magic moments.
‘Purrrrr-fect…’ as Wilbur would say.
Korky Paul