The Magic Bed

Burningham’s a dab hand at leaving a story hanging in mid-air, and, a s ever, this moving and poetic hymn to the power of imagination invites and rewards any amount of personal interpretation – Joanna Carey * Guardian *The book has its moments of suspense and an engagingly suggestive ending, but best of all is the succinct, expressive, sketchy style, which communicates emotions, characters, settings and atmosphere with great precision – Nicolette Jones * The Sunday Times *Burningham’s story taps into the limitless realm of a child’s imagination. It’s a classic tale from one of the best around – Damian Kelleher * Metro Life *The story has a strong appeal because it is a fantasy that is true to reality: everyone has a kind of magic bed – Jane Doonan * TES *An ideal showcast for what Burningham does best: blending domestic detail with expressionistic emotion and scale – Sally Williams * Independent *

John Burningham was born in 1936. He studied illustration at the Central School of Art. His first children’s book, Borka, was published in 1963, and it was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal as the best illustrated book of the year. John Burningham collaborated with Ian Fleming on Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, designing the model of the famous car. He lived in London with his wife Helen Oxenbury, also a well-known author and illustrator. John Burningham died on January 4th, 2019.