Roses are red, violets are blue, how about a book as a Valentine’s gift for you? If the thought makes your heart flutter, the new title from renowned children’s book illustrator Axel Scheffler could be the perfect match. Love celebrates the power of the feeling and force that can – and should – bind all of us together.
“Love would be a good gift every day of the year, not just Valentine’s Day,” says Scheffler. “It hopefully lifts the spirit. There are wonderful rhymes by Sophie Cashell, which make it really special as little gift for Valentine’s. It’s also the National Year of Reading, so that’s appropriate as well, to give a book rather than flowers.”
Scheffler, originally from Germany, has given shape and personality to some of the Britain’s most beloved characters. His collaborations with writer Julia Donaldson have spawned The Gruffalo (and child), Stick Man, Zog, Tabby McTat, as well as Room on the Broom and The Scarecrows’ Wedding, plus many more. For young children, they are some of the first pictures they’ll see. Generations are subsequently growing up with a love of books.
“I think it’s a great act of love to look at a book with your child and to share the experience,” Scheffler says. “I read to my daughter till she was 12 every night and it is a great thing. Sadly, the statistics say that less and less parents read to their children. They probably just hand them a screen. Reading is essential for bringing up children.
“Obviously, as a children’s book illustrator, I would say that,” he adds. “I read the polls and the surveys and they all say there are less children reading for fun and less parents reading to children, but when I do a school visit, children are as excited as they always have been. They like reading, they like stories. I can feel the love for books still.”
Books can be a power for good in other ways. Love, like predecessors Welcome and Kind, raise money for Three Peas, founded 10 years ago to support people forced to flee their homes. Scheffler explains: “Three Peas started as an initiative of, initially, three women from the German school in Richmond, London. One was in Greece when the big wave of refugees arrived in 2015 and thought, ‘Oh we can’t just be on holiday’. On her return, with friends she started fundraising, and went back to cook for people in the Idomeni jungle camp. When they got home, they decided to carry on the work.
