The love of reading and collecting Children's Books.
About the Blog
Reading, rumbling and reviewing and collecting all children's books . . . from J.K Rowling to Philip Pullman, as well as up and coming authors. This is for like-minded enthusiasts, who are as passionate about modern-day children's authors as we are. So enjoy, communicate and share the love of books with us.
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Hello Everybody. Are you ready for the final of Mr Ripley's Book Cover Wars?
Over the last four weeks, different authors, illustrators and publishers have battled for their book covers to be voted into the grand final. As a result, we now have five worthy winners who have the chance to be crowned with the title 'Mr Ripley's Enchanted book cover of the year'. So without any further waiting, let the final battle of Book Cover Wars commence . . . .
As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a different special book/gift voucher each week. This week is the chance to win a £10 Book Voucher and a first edition book of the new Jeff Kineney Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown.
We have now come to the end of week three..... Congratulations to our previous heat winners, Heat One: P. G. Bell 'The Train to Impossible Places'. Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (4 Oct. 2018) with the Book Cover Illustration By Flavia Sorrentino. - 65 Votes Heat Two: Sophie Green - 'Potkin & Stubbs'. Published by Piccadilly Press (7 Mar. 2019) with the Book Cover Illustration by Karl James Mountford - 128 Votes
Heat Three: Vashti Hardy - Brightstorm: A Sky-Ship Adventure - Published by Scholastic (1 Mar. 2018) - Book Cover Illustration by George Ermos - 88 Votes Heat Three: The winner of the £10 Book Voucher is - Mrs Lenbob - Congratulations!
This week is the fourth heat (four altogether) of the Book Cover Wars. For any follower of this site, I am going to select another five book covers for you to vote from. The winner of this heat will then go forward to the final round and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2018/19'.
Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules are as follows:
There will be four weekly heats with five book covers to vote for.
One heat winner each week will make the grand final.
The book cover with the most votes from the other four heats as the highest runner-up will also be entered into the final.
As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a different special book/gift voucher each week. This week is the chance to win a first edition Double signed a copy of Matt Haig & Chris Mould - The Truth Pixie, a fantastic read...
We have now come to the end of week two and what a brilliant start to the book cover wars it has been! Congratulations to our heat winners, Heat One: P. G. Bell 'The Train to Impossible Places'. Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (4 Oct. 2018) with the Book Cover Illustration By Flavia Sorrentino. - 65 Votes Heat Two: Sophie Green - 'Potkin & Stubbs'. Published by Piccadilly Press (7 Mar. 2019) with the Book Cover Illustration by Karl James Mountford - 128 Votes Heat Two: The winner of the Waterstone's £10 Gift Voucher is - Miss Cleveland - Congratulations!
This week is the third heat (four altogether) of the Book Cover Wars. For any follower of this site, I am going to select another five book covers for you to vote from. The winner of this heat will then go forward to the final round and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2018/19'.
Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules are as follows:
There will be four weekly heats with five book covers to vote for.
One heat winner each week will make the grand final.
The book cover with the most votes from the other four heats as the highest runner-up will also be entered into the final.
As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a different special book/gift voucher each week. This week is the chance to win a £10 National Book Token.
Mention it on Twitter/Facebook any place you like! #BOOKCOVERWARS
Sit back, watch the voting develop and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). Please note that the book/gift voucher competition is open to the UK only.
This poll will end 1st November 2018 at midnight UK time.
So here are the five book covers to vote for this week:
BOOK ONE: Piers Torday - The Lost Magician - Published by Quercus Children's Books (6 Sept. 2018) - Book Cover Illustration by Ben Mantle designed by Samuel Perret
BOOK TWO: Sophie Anderson - The House with Chicken Legs - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (3 May 2018) - Book Cover Illustrated by Melissa Castrillon
BOOK THREE: Gabriel Dylan - Whiteout (Red Eye) - Published by Stripes Publishing (10 Jan. 2019) - Book Cover design by Pip Johnson/Stripes Design Team
We have now come to the end of week one and what an exciting start to the book cover wars it has been! Congratulations to our first heat winner, P. G. Bell 'The Train to Impossible Places'. Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (4 Oct. 2018) with the Cover Illustration By Flavia Sorrentino.
Heat One: The winner of the Waterstone's £10 Gift Voucher is Tracey Beck - Congratulations!
This week is the second heat (four altogether) of the Book Cover Wars. For any follower of this site, I am going to select another five book covers for you to vote from. The winner of this heat will then go forward to the final round and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2018/19'.
Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules are as follows:
There will be four weekly heats with five book covers to vote for.
One heat winner each week will make the grand final.
The book cover with the most votes from the other four heats as the highest runner-up will also be entered into the final.
As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a different special book/gift voucher each week. This week is the chance to win a £10 Waterstone's gift voucher.
Mention it on Twitter/Facebook any place you like! #BOOKCOVERWARS
Sit back, watch the voting develop and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). Please note that the book/gift voucher competition is open to the UK only.
This poll will end 21st October 2018 at midnight UK time.
So here are the five book covers to vote for this week:
BOOK ONE: Liz Flanagan - Dragon Daughter - Illustrated by Angelo Rinaldi - Published by David Fickling Books (4 Oct. 2018)
BOOK TWO: David Almond - The Dam - Illustrated by Levi Pinfold - Published by Walker Studio (6 Sept. 2018)
BOOK THREE: A. F. Harold - The Afterwards - Illustrated by Emily Gravett - Published by Bloomsbury Children's Books (1 Nov. 2018)
BOOK FOUR: Sophie Green - Potkin and Stubbs - Illustrated by Karl Mountford - Published by Piccadilly Press (7 Mar. 2019)
BOOK FIVE: Marcus Sedgwick - Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter - Illustrated by Thomas Taylor - Published by First Second (3 April 2018)
Please make sure that you vote and enjoy the experience. Don't forget to share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers - everyone is welcome. #Bookcoverwars (Artwork is a Dream.)
It is a delight to have your company in the book cover war for 2018/2019. For any follower of this site, this is the chance for you to become part of the weekly book cover wars. Each week, starting from today and for the next 4 weeks, I am going to select five book covers for you to vote from. The winner of each heat will then go forward to the final round and get a chance to be crowned as 'Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover Winner 2018/19'.
Mr Ripley's Enchanted Book Cover War Rules are as follows:
There will be four weekly heats with five book covers to vote for.
One heat winner each week will make the grand final.
The book cover with the most votes from the other four heats as the highest runner-up will also be entered into the final.
As a voter, not only will you get the chance to choose your favourite book cover, but you will also be in with the chance to win a different special book/gift voucher each week. Therefore, in order to kick off the competition this week, we have a £10 Waterstone's gift voucher.
Mention it on Twitter/Facebook any place you like! #BOOKCOVERWARS
Sit back, watch the voting develop and wait to hear whether you've won (once the poll has closed). Please note that the book/gift voucher competition is open to the UK only.
This poll will end 11th October 2018 at midnight UK time.
So here are the five book covers to vote for this week:
BOOK ONE: Andy Briggs - Drone Racer - Published by Scholastic (6 Sept. 2018) - Cover Illustration by Matteo Cuccato
Book Two: Steven Butler - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yeti! (Nothing to see Here Hotel) - Published by Simon & Schuster Children's UK (18 Oct. 2018) - Cover Illustration by Steven Lenton
BOOK THREE: Peter Bunzl - Skycircus (The Cogheart Adventures #3) - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (4 Oct. 2018) - Cover Illustration by Becca Stadtlander &Kath Millichope (Cover Design)
BOOK FOUR: P. G. Bell - The Train to Impossible Places - Published by Usborne Publishing Ltd (4 Oct. 2018) - Cover Illustration By Flavia Sorrentino
Book Five: Neil Patrick Harris - The Magic Misfits (The Second Story) - Published by Egmont (4 Oct. 2018) - Cover Illustration by David Litchfield
Please make sure that you vote and enjoy the experience. Don't forget to share this exciting adventure with your friends and followers - everyone is welcome. #Bookcoverwars (The power of illustration.)
Welcome, Karl James Mountford, to Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books. It's an absolute pleasure to host you on our little website. We loved your answers to our questions and finding out more about your amazing artwork, particularly for children's books. So without further ado, let me introduce Karl and his amazing post. I hope you all enjoy this.
Karl James Mountford is an illustrator who works in both traditional and digital media. He has created artwork for such titles as ‘The Uncommoners ‘ by Jennifer Bell, published by Penguin Random House (2017), and ‘The Peculiars’ by Kieran Larwood with Chicken House publishing (2018), to name just a couple. Karl specialises in book cover design and chapter illustrations but also works on picture books, with recent titles including ‘Maurice the Unbeastly’ by Amy Dixon, published by Sterling Children’s Books (2017), and ‘The Curious Case of the Missing Mammoth’ by Ellie Hattie with Little Tiger Press (2017).
Karl currently lives and works in Wales, where his sketch-books rarely get a day off.
How did you become an illustrator?
I went toart college and then Uni to study illustration. But I’ve been drawing since really young.
After uni I started freelancing, the first two years were a bit rough financially and work was few and far between. So I had many a part-time job then I started hunting for an illustration agent while building a whole new portfolio or work.
I didn’t apply to many as I was a bit nervous about rejection but you build a thick skin and after a while, I got signed up with the Bright agency (2nd time lucky) which was a game changer and have now been able to illustrate full time.
What is your favourite medium in which to draw/paint?
Pencil and paper. I know it sounds boring, but it’s always nice (for me) to just sketch using those tools.
Can you give us a good example of a great illustration and what makes it great to you?
A great illustration…anything by Shaun Tan, especially in the picture book ‘The Red Tree’. It’s stunning but his compositions and use of colours are on another level. I think he just delivers the emotion from the page to the reader, whatever that emotion is. Even ifyou were reading it in another language,the illustrations tell so much of the story.
What is the proudest moment of your career so far?
Work-wise… I'm not sure - I'm quietly proud of it all… I’m a bit proud that I didn’t give up onfreelance and stuck it out. Even though some days I think, "Oh maybe you should have been a vet?”But that thought is usually short-lived because I love what I do.
What would you like to say to the publishing world about illustrations?
Will have to be careful here, don’t bite the hand that feeds you and all that. Erm..the publishing world is a business at the end of the day BUT I think sometimes publishers and sales teams etc can over think the artwork. This is understandable as everyone wants the book to do well but the process can ‘clip the wings’ a bit of an artist, which isn’t great working conditions. However, when you find a client that gives you a bit of trust and freedom to create work that reflects the story inside and still be true to how the illustrator works, well that’s like a lottery win.
I think the most important thing regarding illustrations is that the artists/designers/illustrators are properly credited. For a long time, illustrators names were in a tiny font under the barcode - out of the way or not included at all! In some cases (especially in middle grade/YA and editorials) publishing houses, editors etc should strive to use their illustrator's names and artwork as a good tool to further a books longevity on the shelves. Whether it is credited on the front cover or clearly and visibly on the back.
I know there is a good argument that what's inside the book is the priority ..but 9/10 times people tend to pick up the book because of the cover and illustrations.
What projects get the creative juices flowing for you?
I love stories that are set in the past or have a darker undertone. The style in past decades really resonates with me,from the clothes to the buildings, cars etc.
Could you tell us a bit about any of your upcoming projects?
I’m working on the cover and internal illustrations for a new middle-grade book, which I’ve really fallen in love with. I readthe manuscript in one night - it was that GREAT!.
It’s a noir mystery by Sophie Green. I think it’s her debut book? I just think the world is gonna fall in love with it too and the main characters. Especially if your reading taste is a little darker, it’s got some right scary chapters … as a 29-year-old, I probably shouldn’t say that - but it’s just great. I can’t tell you how chuffed I am to be apart of it.
I'm working on Katherine Woodfine’s 2nd book in the new series ‘Taylor and Rose’ as we speak. I'm also (slowly) working on my own picture book. But I’m taking my sweet time on it as I love it but it needs to be thought about a bit more as it’s not going to be directed towards children as it’s main audience.
Who are your favourite illustrators and why?
Alice and Martin Provensons, Shaun Tan, all screen printers and there are some stellar current illustrators too, such as Zoe Persico, Matt Saunders, Cally Conway, Sonny Ross. I could list hundreds.
Where should a person start if they want to pursue a career in illustration?
It sounds daft, butjust open a sketch-book and start drawing what interests you, then tackle the rest as it comes.
What's the strangest question you've ever been asked?
I went to art school - most questions were strange and wonderful.
Karl is represented by The Bright Group. For any work, enquiries give my agents Arabella or Freddie a shout.
