Quentin Blake was awarded the O.B.E. in 1988, and in 1999 he was appointed the first Children's Laureate. This position, which he held for two years, saw him undertaking lots of ambitious projects in his quest to spread the word about the exciting world of children's books. Kenyon, Ghislane (2016). Quentin Blake: In the Theatre of the Imagination: An Artist at Work. London: Bloomsbury. p.68. ISBN 978-1441130075. Welcome to the wonderful world of Quentin Blake! Celebrate Quentin Blake's 90th birthday with this collection of nine beautiful complete picture books: his best-loved characters, classic stories and marvellous rhymes - together for the first time in a treasury to be shared and enjoyed by all. The first book that Blake illustrated was The Wonderful Button by Evan Hunter, published by Abelard-Schuman in 1961. [12] In his subsequent career, he gained a reputation as a loyal, reliable and humorous illustrator of more than 300 children's books, including some written by Joan Aiken, Elizabeth Bowen, Sylvia Plath, Roald Dahl, Nils-Olof Franzén, William Steig, and Dr. Seuss. He illustrated the first Seuss book that Seuss did not illustrate himself, Great Day for Up! (1974). [13]

Blake was awarded the Prince Philip Designers Prize in 2011, and received the Eleanor Farjeon Award in November 2012. This annual award administered by Children's Book Circle recognises outstanding commitment and contribution to the world of British children's books. [34] Blake was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for his services to illustration. [35] One after another they escaped through a broken pane of glass they had discovered in a corner of the conservatory. He was born in 1932 and has been drawing ever since he can remember. His first drawing was published in Punch when he was only 16. He studied English at Downing College, Cambridge, and after that he did a postgraduate teaching diploma at the University of London. This was followed by a part-time course at Chelsea Art School.Blake is a supporter of and ambassador for the indigenous rights NGO Survival International. In 2009, he said, "For me, Survival is important for two reasons; one is that I think it’s right that we should give help and support to people who are threatened by the rapacious industrial society we have created; and the other that, more generally, it gives an important signal about how we all ought to be looking after the world. Its message is the most fundamental of any charity I'm connected with." [21] Quentin was the inaugural Children's Laureate (1999-2001), an experience he recorded in his book Laureate's Progress. During his time in the role, he celebrated children's books and children's book illustration with a range of projects and exhibitions, and conceived the idea for the House of Illustration, the world's first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms. Standard, Kate Church, Evening (13 April 2012). "My London: Quentin Blake". Evening Standard . Retrieved 30 April 2023. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link)

Blake is beyond brilliant . . . I've never met a child who doesn't love Quentin Blake" - Daily Telegraph Quentin Blake, "Research from an illustrator's point of view", in Research in Illustration: Conference Proceedings Part II (Brighton Polytechnic) (1981), pp.25–61a b (Greenaway Winner 1980). Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 15 July 2012.