Today we are continuing featuring the work of artist Joe Lillington, so we must immediately pack our travel bags as we celebrate his collaboration with fantastic author A.M. Dassu on their brand-new book Wild Journey.
This beautifully nostalgic action-packed adventure will encourage young readers to release their imaginations into the wild, exploring five different and wonderful locations across the globe. We join these amazing, inspiring children in different countries as they are connected by the captivating visual phenomenon that is a starling murmuration.
A runaway, a rescue, a desert drama, from Egypt to Morocco, across Spain, France and England, the starlings swoop and dive, glide and soar - as the children watching them begin their own journeys.
Joe has a breath-taking talent for depicting young characters in the stories he illustrates, with warmth and an intuitive, inclusive and joyful motion. He fastidiously researches the themes in the projects he works on and the minute detail in his illustrations proves testament to the huge amount of work behind each of the projects he brings to life.
Generously illustrated throughout in monochrome, with enticing highlights in an atmospheric burnt orange, this book both nods to the vintage reads of our youth and a new wave of exciting wholesome adventures for emerging readers.
We think this book is a work of art but here’s a lovely review by Rachel Bolton for Read For Good:
"The illustrations by Joe Lillington are intricate and tell the story alongside the text. The inclusion of pages which are only illustration and no text provide a moment of pause for the reader and I can’t not mention the gorgeous orange colour across every page!"
Wild Journey is published by Zephyr, an imprint of Bloomsbury and you can grab a copy HERE. You can see more of Joe's illustrations for the book over on his portfolio.
We thank A.M. Dassu and everyone at Zephyr for publishing this spectacular adventure and for inviting us to their fabulous launch, here's a photo of Joe and Az from that wonderfully joyful evening.
You can find Joe on Instagram or view his newly updated portfolio on our website here.
For more information regarding collaborating with Joe or any of our fantastic creatives please email info@arenaillustration.com
