The Artist

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We understand complex expressions and emotions through drawings from a very early age, in ways we can’t yet do with the written word or spoken language.

Vere staged 'Mr Big plays Jazz' at Wigmore Hall, London & Birmingham Symphony & Town Halls with the Neil Cowley Trio.

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As a writer who also draws, I’m interested in how we connect with another person through words and pictures. How we engage, how we animate, how we get an idea to live in another mind. When I read to children, I’m endlessly amazed by the power of a picture book. That a character is grippingly alive for those kids. An inky drawing of an enormous, lonely gorilla playing a piano, transforms in the mind into a living breathing being, deserving of love. It blows my mind. Every time. Positive role models showing boys how to be a whole person are few and far between these days. This marvelous book triumphs in that essential job." Kirkus Someone who sees beauty... Someone with a mind full of colours, feelings, and ideas... Someone who plays and dreams and makes...

As I mentioned at the beginning,it’s about howwe connect with another person. By using drawing and pictures, we engage, we animate - we get an idea to live in another mind. Ed has performed on stage, live drawing with (amongst others) The Britten Sinfoniaand The Neil Cowley Triofor the 'Mr Big plays Jazz' concerts. Selected venues have been; The Barbican Centre (London), Wigmore Hall (London), The Hexagon (Reading), Saffron Hall (Saffron Waldon), Norwich Cathedral and Cuirt International Literary Festival in Galway, Ireland. A piece written for 'Teach Primary' magazine about my 'Power of Pictures'visual literacy work with CLPE)

He has also been an invited speaker at many literary festivals in the UK and internationally, including;Hay Festival,Bath Festival,Edinburgh International Book festival in the UK.And;Cuirt International Book Festival, Galway, Ireland;Towers and Tales, Waterford, Ireland;International Literarture Festival, Dublin;Guadalajara FIL, Mexico (British Council); Hay Festival Kerala, India (British Council); Flupp International literature festival, Rio, Brazil (British Council);VallettaFestival of Children's Literature, Malta (British Council) I struggled enormously with literacy projects at school, English comprehension was an unending nightmare. I just didn’t get it. Drawing was another matter. Some children are academic thinkers – others, just as bright, think in other ways; spatially or visually. We must learn how to engage them, so they don’t come to believe, as I did, that they aren’t worth much.

Vere worked with CLPE to co-create the Power of Pictures, a 12-week scheme in which author/illustrators teach teachers about writing techniques. This book is perfect to read with children who have started drawing but sometimes feel disheartened when their drawing doesn’t turn out exactly as they see it in their heads, as so often happens. It’s easy to start thinking you’re not good at drawing and a lot of children go through this and tragically stop seeing themselves as artists, losing the confidence to express that they had at first. This is a stunningly beautiful book with a message for young and old - and it makes readers look anew and refreshed at the world. Ed Vere is one of the most talented children’s books creators of our time and takes the care to make every word and every mark mean something, in or out of the lines. Puffin is an imprint of Penguin Random House, the world’s number-one publisher representing a vibrant community of publishing houses marked by unparalleled success. Through our world of stories, Puffin aims to open up the world to every child. Our mission is to inspire children to feel they can be and do anything, and to create readers for life. Realizing that making mistakes is part of the process could be a game-changer for the many kids who can't conquer their discouragement when their art falls short of their expectations BooklistFrom the award-winning Ed Vere comes a joyful and inspirational celebration of beauty, mistakes and the artist in all of us