A treasure trove of children’s illustrated books: Cornwall Life
“You don’t have to be a child to love a children’s picture book, insists Lucy Shrimpton, peering into Cornwall’s bookshop windows and discovering simple yet powerful narratives.” Excerpts here.
The Life of Alfred Wallis by Molly Russon (Unicorn Publishing)
There must be some kind of frisson every time writer-illustrator Molly Russon passes the St Ives cottage door where once former mariner and untrained artist Alfred Wallis lived on Back Street West, and that’s because ̶ almost a century ago ̶ modern art figurehead Ben Nicholson did the exact same thing, famously discovering the then occupant’s distinctive paintings of sailboats. Long captivated by Wallis’ naïve seascapes made with boat paint and any available surface for lack of a ‘proper’ canvas, Cambridge School of Art graduate Molly, aged just 22, has turned his unlikely life story into a thought-provoking picture book. Told from Alfred’s perspective, it offers the reader an authentic glimpse of the man sometimes referred to as the Cornish Van Gogh on account of the lack of acclaim in his lifetime.
And it’s an authenticity she’s achieved by imagining his script, by employing a muted palette and by paying close attention to his patois: “I draw what I knows best. Boats, boats and nothing but boats,” Wallis voices.
“I knew when I started that I wanted to make a book that didn’t shy away from the darker elements of his story,” explains Molly, referring to Wallis’ struggles with mental health ̶ and the stark poignancy that the man whose work is now curated in its own dedicated exhibition space at Tate St Ives is the same man who died in poverty at Madron workhouse. “I felt it would be wrong to gloss over all of that, as it’s what makes his work so rich.
“… and it’s what Wallis’ story can teach us about 21st century life that I find so compelling,” concludes Molly, reminding us of his ultimate legacy: that you don’t have to be trained to create art; that you can use the resources you have to hand; that art is therapy; and that it’s never too late.
A pantheon of greats: Either Cornish-inspired or Cornwall-authored, enjoy our edit of children’s picture books, from the classic to the contemporary
The Mousehole Cat by Antonia Barber and Nicola Bayley (Walker Books)
Perhaps the most iconic of Cornish picture books, The Mousehole Cat accurately evokes the spellbinding fishing village in all but one creative twist: here, the cats are the owners, whilst the people are the pets. It’s hardly a spoiler to say that Mowzer saves the day by calming the Storm Cat, since it’s the captivating images at the end of the tale that deliver the most magic.
Percy Pengelly and the Wibble-Wobble by Jenny Steele Scolding and Andy McPherson (Serpentine Design)
Jobhunting tightrope walker Percy is looking for a new position in which he can show off his circus prowess, but what he finds is a new life ̶ and it’s chock-full of surprises. Expect a captivating series of high-jinks illustrations revealing rooftop adventures and a rescue at sea.
Dolphin Boy by Michael Morpurgo and Michael Foreman (Andersen Press)
Master storyteller Michael Morpurgo returns to Cornwall and his beloved Scillies time and again in his fiction, yet this is my pick of them all. Though it never says explicitly where it’s set, Foreman’s watercolour depictions of a Smeaton’s Pier and a Godrevy Lighthouse infer St Ives. A heartwarming story about community and a boy’s unconditional love for the dolphin he calls Smiler.
The Islanders by Helen Dunmore and Rebecca Cobb (Mabecron Books)
The opening description of the train chugging into St Ives in The Islanders gives me goosebumps every time. Robbie’s wide eyes perfectly encapsulate the excitement of going on an annual holiday, and anyone with kids will identify with the way he and Tamsin feed their imaginations using Mother Nature’s best embellishments: seaweed, sand, and shells.