Creamer, Ella (12 July 2023). "Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows". The Guardian. Mae tri phlentyn sy'n byw mewn tŵr llwyd uchel yn clywed cân coeden yn galw arnyn nhw. Maen nhw'n cropian allan o'r tŵr, heibio i'r ceir a'r polion lampau, i'r goedwig sy'n ffinio â'r stad. Yno, mewn coeden, maen nhw'n cyfarfod â dyn wedi tyfu mewn coeden sy'n rhoi carreg hud iddyn nhw. Trwy'r twll yn y garreg maen nhw'n gweld eu tŵr mewn gwedd newydd. Yn lle ffenestri, mae llygaid cariadus, ceg ydy'r lifft ac eiliau ydy'r balconïau. Gorgeously illustrated by Richard Johnson, this picture book is a love letter to high-rise living and its connection to the ancient, natural world. * The Sunday Post *

It is with great pleasure that we present to you a delightful and insightful Q & A with Arena illustrator and designer Richard Johnson andreveal his new picture book collaboration with Children'sLaureate Joseph Coelho.If All the World Were". www.booktrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05 . Retrieved 2022-07-04. Poetry Joe: The world is getting smaller, art is more necessary than ever". Words & Pictures. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06 . Retrieved 2022-07-04. Congratulations on your fantastic work collaboratingwith JosephCoelho on Our Tower, it's simply stunning! Joseph Coelho: library lover and poetry populariser". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05 . Retrieved 2022-07-04. The characters in Our Tower are completely believable, is character design something you are interested in?

After speaking with Joseph about the adventures he had growing up in Roehampton, near Richmond Park, I did some visual research into the area and Joseph sent me some photographs. I really wanted to try and create a visual adventure that would complement Joseph’s poem, blending the mundane, the dark and dangerous with the fantastic and celebratory. Visual research is really important to undertake in any project, especially for ‘Our Tower’, and the methods change from project to project. I think a lot of Joseph’s work is autobiographical, so it was important to me that I got a sense of Joseph’s personal story in the imagery. Whilst some of the details had to become lost in the finished artwork—for commercial purposes—I hope the essence of some of that initial research influenced the entire project. I also recorded myself reading the story and went for a long walk into the countryside. As I listened to the words on repeat, I used the countryside to inspire visual stories for the semi-imaginary underground world where the children play. I only started to draw when I got home."Dex, Robert (2022-07-04). "New Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho wants to make a country of poets". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 2022-07-04 . Retrieved 2022-07-04. Richard Johnson has created moments of real magic and wonder with his atmospheric illustrations in blue, green, brown, and grey hues highlighting the transitions between the urban, fantastic and natural environments. The imagery has been cleverly displayed as full spreads alongside vignettes with scenes intertwined with the text giving this book a unique contemporary feel. Note must also be paid to the incredible behind the scenes research work carried out to make the illustrations as authentic as possible, Richard ensured that architectural details were as accurate as possible as were references to specific architectural details, and public statues mentioned in Joseph’s story making this an unforgettable cinematic reading experience. Working closely at all stages of the book, when he saw Richard's roughs Joseph said...