An Angel Anyway

A charming and funny book which covers the tricky dilemma of what happens when someone else gets the best part in the school nativity play. With a few exciting plot twists and a cliffhanger ending (well it probably is if you are in the infants), the first edition of An Angel Anyway makes an ideal stocking filler.

This paperback book is available for £4.99 either directly from the Publishers - email sarahjdodd (@) anywaypress.co.uk or from your local bookshop ISBN 978 0 9559606 0 4

As a child I always enjoyed books that made me laugh and so as I read the story my friend Sarah gave me to illustrate I had little mental pictures of how the heroine of the tale, Emma, would act. I could see in my minds eye scenes that would illustrate the words, but at first it was too sensible. Then, thinking about how children are such good mimics and like to copy adults, I thought it would be fun to include a companion in some scenes - the cat - and so the cat became a copycat, albeit one that didn't really know what was going on.

I chose a cartoon style of drawing as I could then exaggerate facial expressions, but also to make them more accessible and more engaging to younger children. I don't draw naturally like that and so there were lots of very scribbly sketches that gradually got worked up into the finished cartoon. Initially I painted the characters on a white background, as you would for a botanical illustration, but later added a background wash to some to make the scene more colourful.

If you were wondering how it was that I was asked to illustrate the story, well it was simply because I sent a couple of hand drawn cards to Sarah's children after visiting last year and Sarah asked me if I would illustrate the story. I thought it might be fun, so I said yes.