Cristina Hodgson
A 10-YEAR-old girl from Cordoba has illustrated part of J.K. Rowling’s new book.
The world of children’s literature has a new work this week: The Ickabog.
J.K. Rowling has returned to a style she left behind with the Harry Potter story saga, a franchise that has sold over 500 million copies.
With her return to children’s writing, award winning Rowling wanted children to be part of the story, promoting a competition to choose illustrations to colour the book.
According to Rowling, the idea of publishing The Ickabog had been on her mind for a long time.
It was originally written between the Harry Potter books, with the intention of publishing it after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, after the last Potter book Rowling decided to take a break from publishing children’s books.
“This is how The Ickabog ended up in the attic,” the British author said. “Over time I came to think of it as a story that belonged to my two younger children, because I’d read it to them in the evenings when they were little, which has always been a happy family memory.”
Then lockdown happened, a time that has been especially hard on children, inspiring Rowling to recover the already written story from her attic, with the idea of publishing it for free online for children stuck at home.
Following the online publication, Rowling, together with her publishers around the world, set up a competition for children during lockdown to illustrate the story with the idea of donating all author royalties to help groups who’ve been particularly impacted by the pandemic.
As of July 24, more than 2,000 children aged 7-12 from all over the world sent in their illustrations based on the themes Rowling revealed during June and July.
Each participating child had to draw up an image that was related to a specific chapter.
Olivia from Cordoba’s picture illustrates the story of a baker who, despite being in prison, faces his day-to-day life with enthusiasm because every day he was a step closer to recovering his freedom.
In August, Olivia learned that she was one of the 250 pre-selected participants.
The jury then selected 34 winners, one to illustrate each chapter.
After months of waiting, the 10-year-old will now see how her drawing on the shelves of Spanish bookstores.
Olivia’s illustration has been selected for the Spanish and Catalan edition, along with others sent to Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.
With this new recognition, the young girl from Cordoba has been awarded a €300 book voucher, which she has generously donated to her school ‘so that my friends can enjoy literature as much as I do.’
The Ickabog is a warm, fast-paced, funny fairy tale of a fearsome monster.
