Kipper the dog has found a soggy blue balloon in the garden. At first, it seems like an ordinary balloon, but it’s not. It’s full of fun, magic and endless possibilities…

30 years after it was first published, The Blue Balloon is a celebrated picture book classic. It features the very first appearance of Mick Inkpen’s much-loved puppy charachter, Kipper, and has delighted millions of children worldwide. This playful tale of imagination, complete with fantastic fold-out pages, is a classic to be treasured, loved and shared time and time again.

This gorgeous anniversary edition comes complete with special bonus material and is an absolute must for all Kipper fans!

Product Details

Format

Paperback

ISBN

9781444922561

Publisher

Hodder Children's Books

Date published

February 7th, 2019

Other details

32 pages

Condition

New

Author/Illustrator

Mick Inkpen

Mick Inkpen is one of the most popular author/illustrators in the world. His books have sold over 4 million copies, and have been translated into over twenty different languages. His best-loved characters are probably Kipper and Wibbly Pig – who are both stars of their very own TV series!

He began his career as a graphic designer, and worked with another children’s author Nick Butterworth (of Percy the Park Keeper fame) on a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express. In 1989 The Blue Balloon was published to great acclaim, and established him as an important and original voice in children’s picture books. He and his wife, Debbie, also had children of their own by this point: “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”

Mick lives in Essex with his wife and two children.

He began his career as a graphic designer, declining a place to study English at Cambridge University. During this period he worked with Nick Butterworth, a fellow children’s author, from whom he learned design and typography. Together they developed a cartoon strip for the Sunday Express magazine, later to become a first series of children’s picture books. They also worked in children’s television.

In 1989 The Blue Balloon established him as a truly original voice in children’s picture books, by which time Mick and his wife Debbie had two children of their own. “Without the experience of having children of my own I doubt that I would have been capable of writing effectively for children. And yet it’s true that good work really springs from trying to please yourself”