Mister Magnolia: Celebrate Quentin Blake’s 90th Birthday

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Go on a word hunt to see how many words rhyme with ‘boot.’ Read it aloud together and listen for the rhyme. Make a game I do wonder if a story like this would be published today. When Quentin Blake was creating Mister Magnolia at the end of the 1970s, there were still plenty of men in primary school teaching. The 1980s saw a rapid and permanent exodus of men from teaching as parents became more aware of sex abuse crimes against children. Suddenly, what had earlier been hidden, precisely because it was unthinkable to non-pedophiles, became a fleshed-out fear in the minds of parents, and book-buyers everywhere. Although the magnolia is a well-known flower, it’s not all that common. That describes Blake’s Mister Magnolia character, right? Well-known in the neighbourhood, but beautifully unusual.

Quentin Blake was born in 1932 and read English at Cambridge, before attending Chelsea Art College. He has won many major prizes for illustration, including the Kate Greenaway Medal (1980) and the Red House Children's Book Award (1981) for Mister Magnolia. He is also the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and in 1990 was voted 'The Illustrator's Illustrator' by Observer Magazine. A tireless promoter of children's literature – and a long-time collaborator with roald Dahl – Quentin Blake was awarded the OBE in 1988 and in 2005 he was awarded a CBE for services to Children's Literature. In the most recent New Year’s Honours list he has been knighted. 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.Notice that as the fun builds, Mister Magnolia’s pets get more and more unlikely. Okay, we believe he has birds ( another feminine attribute in art is to be surrounded by birds), but eventually we find he has a pet dinosaur (not just an unlikelihood, an impossibility). Peak Fun! Children can use props such as a hat, scarf or single boot to dress up and act out the story as Mr Magnolia himself. With a cardboard tube or toy instrument as a trumpet they could dance to the rooty toot! It’s a really good way for them to get to know the character well and helps to build their confidence with books and stories. Make a picture Blake was educated at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School. His English teacher, JH Walsh, influenced his ambition to become involved in literature. His first published drawing was for the satirical magazine Punch, at the age of 16. He read English Literature at Downing College, Cambridge (1953-6), received his postgraduate teaching diploma from the University of London, and later studied at the Chelsea School of Art. He gained another teaching diploma at the Institute of Education before working at the Royal College of Art. What forces are taking place when Mr Magnolia rides his scooter or when he slides down into his pool?

Age 3-5 This much-loved classic picture book, introduces us to the world of Mr Magnolia, a character who is full of life and fun despite having only one boot. The rhyme is humorous and surprising, and shows him playfully dancing with his sisters, giving scooter rides to his friends and juggling fruit in the market place. It’s a perfect book for young readers, inspiring a love of rhyme and the joy of reading. Magnificently, the boot does not match his other one. But he is delighted with it, and so are we, because now Mister Magnolia is free to roam no matter the weather. Return to the Home state Mister Magnolia has many things, such as an old trumpet that goes rooty-toot, some fat owls, who are learning to hoot, a big purple dinosaur, who's a magnificent brute, two sisters who play the flute, and even a swimming pool with chute! But he still only has one boot! In this wittily rhyming picture book, Mr Magnolia has a full and happy life except for one serious omission – a boot. But one day, he receives a mysterious parcel, and at last Mr Magnolia can splash in the puddles with everyone else! marketing copy What I really appreciate about stories Quentin Blake has both written AND illustrated himself: They are kinder than the stories he illustrated for Roald Dahl and Roald Dahl’s chosen successor, David Walliams. For instance, Roald Dahl was hard on fat people. (This despite being an irrepresible sweet tooth and tobacco addict himself.) But in Quentin Blake’s Mister Magnolia, we are told that Mister Magnolia has two lovely sisters. And they are not both slim! One is large, the other small, and they are BOTH lovely. This simply would not happen in a Roald Dahl story, with the exception of the Grandmother figure in The Witches. (Grandmothers are exempt from female beauty standards, and the grandmother of The Witches does not conform to feminine expectations of behaviour.) The Every Child wishes to have fun.Avoiding the climactic joke, the romp in this book ends with a girl gifting Mister Magnolia a boot. Quentin Blake slows down the pace and builds up suspense as Mister Magnolia slowly opens his gift. (That’s why we wrap gifts in the first place, right? Suspense!) Quite briefly, Mr Magnolia is the story of a lovely man who has a lot going on for him in life- he has a trumpet,two lovely sisters,a pond with frogs,parakeets,some very fat owls,lots of friends,a chute and a dinosaur ,but Mr Magnolia has just one boot all throughout the book.It seems really unfair that such a nice person as him has just one boot and cannot even ho utside outside on a rainy day.When he eventually finds a new second boot at the end of the book you can't help but be genuinely happy for him. An adult character doesn’t require a Cat In The Hat figure to accompany them on their journey into fun because an adult has all the freedom they need to leave the house, live on their own, etc. Mister Magnolia’s ‘allies in fun’ are children. Hierarchy is overturned. Fun ensues. In this wittily rhyming picture book, Mr Magnolia has a full and happy life except for one serious omission – a boot. But one day, he receives a mysterious parcel, and at last, Mr Magnolia can splash in the puddles with everyone else! Teaching Ideas and Resources: English

Find out about the author / illustrator, Quentin Blake. What other illustrations has he drawn? Can you try to create a picture in a similar style / using similar techniques? Watch these videos for some ideas: See if you can make up a new story about Mr Magnolia together. Perhaps beginning ‘ Mr Magnolia had only one shoe….’You can play with the rhyme, taking it in turns to invent a new line. After hearing the story a few times, children will get to know it quite well. Encourage them tell it to you in their own words, with some words or phrases from the story, using the pictures to help them. Watch the StoryMake up a rhyme / story which explains what happens to the matching boot that Mr Magnolia is missing. Carnivalesque stories look a bit different when the star is a child hero. Below I go into how a carnivalesque story works when the main character is an adult. An Every Child is at home Count the animals that can be found in the story. Can you sort them into different groups using Venn and Carroll diagrams? Children have most likely seen a homeless person in the streets before, and this book can help them to realise that even though homeless people have nothing for themselves, they are still human and have feelings even though some precautions should be taken. It would be worthwhile talking to children about being grateful for what we have because we could lose it all one day. Mr Magnolia’s owls are learning to hoot. Think about the sounds that different animals make. Why do they make different sounds?