I had the idea for
The Ickabog
a long time ago and read it to my two younger children chapter by chapter each night while I was working on it. However, when the time came to publish it, I decided to put out a book for adults instead, which is how
The Ickabog
ended up in the attic. I became busy with other things, and even though I loved the story, over the years I came to think of it as something that was just for my own children.
Then, in the Spring of 2020, lockdown happened. It was very hard on children, in particular, so I brought
The Ickabog
down from the attic, read it for the first time in years, rewrote bits of it and then decided to publish it at first in free instalments online for children stuck at home. I also thought how wonderful it would be if children on lockdown illustrated the story for me, and so we launched the Ickabog illustration competition, run by my publishers around the world.
The Ickabog
book, illustrated by the winners of the competition, is now out as a book, and I’m donating my net royalties to my charitable trust, Volant, to help medical and frontline charities supporting vulnerable groups impacted by Covid-19.
Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and helped create the book, and I hope you enjoy reading it!