A touching and thought-provoking new picture book illustrated by Richard Johnson.
The Thing at 52 is a brand-new hardback picture book published by Frances Lincoln written by award-winning author Ross Montgomery and illustrated by Richard Johnson.
"There's a Thing on my street. He lives at number 52"
This is the story of a little girl who sees the Thing living on her street on his own, he shops on his own and seems very lonely so, one day she asks her mum if she could buy the Thing a flower, and she gets invited into the house at no. 52 for a cup of gravy. The unlikely pair strike up a beautiful friendship, the Thing is gentle and kind and they have lots of adventures and she discovers that there are many Things living all over the place. This gives her an idea... she invites lots of Things for a party and they all dance through the night. The Thing is so happy, but, as the Things says, "... All Things have to go sometime."
This poignant story is a real tear-jerker and it will allow parents and children to talk about friendship, community, loneliness and coping with loss.
An inspired colour palette and soft hues release magical illustrations on every spread, Richard's friendly and relatable characters and beautiful atmospheric scenarios really bring this enchanting written tale to life.
Richard creates his images digitally and his versatile style has led to him working on some incredible projects, from award nominated fiction covers to beautifully illustrated picture book collaborations with the current Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.
Here are just a few of our favourite illustrations from this atmospheric picture book, enjoy!
‘The Thing at 52’ is all about emotion, joy and loss.
Do you have a preferred medium?
Many years ago my work was entirely hand-made, drawn and painted. Over the years I have established a quicker process that develops my drawings into what I’d call digital collages. The process amalgamates scanned drawings and textures, which are built, layered and coloured in Photoshop. I don’t want the work to feel too digital, so it’s important that the foundation of the work is in the drawing.
How does the partnership between author and illustrator work?
I really enjoy working with authors. I think any good picture book is a combination of two voices, that harmonize to say slightly different things through the book, bringing a story to life through both the words and pictures. Ross had a clear vision for ‘The Thing at 52’. My job was to try to capture a sense of the characters’ relationship, bringing out parts of the story that aren’t explicit in the words. That’s why I always try to meet with an author early on in the process, to discuss what their vision for the work is and for me to try to understand what the author’s influences are too. We then share ideas and I begin to develop early character designs and storyboards. The work evolves from there! Designing the Thing was fun. He is a combination of guinea pig, gorilla, lion and rabbit—creatures that embody different aspects of the Things’ personality.
You can find Richard Johnson on Instagram but you also might like to view his incredible online portfolio HERE which among other delights also features some of his illustrations from Our Tower written by Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.
For information regarding collaborating with Richard please email info@arenaillustration.com
