Clown, by Quentin Blake

'Clown' is a picture book – that and only that, as it consists solely of pictures without text. It tells the story of a clown that is dumped in a dustbin along with other unwanted toys. Managing to escape, he is befriended by a little girl, but her mother is less than impressed when she takes him home. She throws him out of the window and he is chased by a dog. Things seem to be going from bad to worse when the dog's thug of an owner tosses him right up into the air. He is in luck, however, as he flies through the window of a poverty-stricken family. After helping the daughter with the chores, he takes her out with her baby brother in a pram to the dustbin where they retrieve the rest of the toys.

I first came to love the illustrations of Quentin Blake through the novels of Roald Dahl that my sons read when they were growing up. I have enjoyed some of his illustrated stories such as 'Mister Magnolia' and 'Mrs Armitage, Queen of the Road', but 'Clown' is the first book of his I have come across that is composed purely of illustrations. Blake has a sketchy, exaggerated style of drawing that may not be to everyone's cup of tea but usually conveys more than enough humour to make it appealing.

In 'Clown', the illustrations are all in full colour; sometimes they fill an entire page with a border, and sometimes they are smaller sketches showing a sequence of events across the page. Blake uses a wide variety of hues in his watercolours, yet they have a subtlety about them. There is, however, one gorgeous full-page picture where the clown, clutching flowers, follows the girl pushing the pram filled with toys and her baby brother. The sky is a shocking pink behind the grey silhouettes of tower blocks and a church spire. The baby, with a wide smile, leans forward in anticipation while the girl is turning back to make sure the clown is keeping up with her. Back home, Blake shows the toys all lined up on the bed; in the same room the table is laid and potatoes are being served in a pan. The iron bedstead, bare light bulb and peeling paint tell us this is a struggling family, yet mum is full of smiles and kisses when she comes home. It is a far cry from the home of the poor little rich girl who rescued the clown earlier; there the room was crammed with ornaments, mirrors and fancy furniture, but there was no appreciation of the clown. Neither did mum seem to care about her daughter's feelings.

'Clown' is a book that could be shared by an adult and a young child in much the same way as a picture book that includes text. If the child is very young, the adult could tell the story as they turn the pages, but a slightly older child could be encouraged to describe what is happening in the illustrations. This would be an excellent way of developing narrative skills, or even basic verbal expression. On the other hand, children that are not yet able to read could enjoy this book alone, following the story without feeling they are missing out on something because they cannot decipher a text.

My own experience of 'Clown' is with pre-school children, but I can see the book being used with children of primary-school age who could write their own text to accompany the pictures. I don't think they would find it too childish; in fact the humour would no doubt attract their interest. It could be an ideal resource for writing character descriptions and dialogue as well as narrative.

'Clown' won the International Bologna Ragazzi Award in 1996. It is not hard to see why. I would recommend it for children of three up to six or seven, older if is used as an inspiration for creative writing.

Clown

by Quentin Blake

Paperback, 32 pages

Red Fox, 1998

ISBN 9780099493617

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.02)