Exhibition for World Book Day tells ‘The Untold Story of Chiswick’s Books For Children’

(L) Two of Balliol Salmon’s book covers; (R) Cecil Aldin’s cover for Black Beauty

From Black Beauty, Peter Rabbit and Puffin Books to Harry Potter, War Horse and Watership Down – Chiswick creatives have played an important part in the cultural life of children

Chiswick Book Festival has opened a new exhibition in St Michael & All Angels Church in Bedford Park marking the involvement of Chiswick authors, illustrators and publishers in the world of children’s publishing.

The previously untold story includes books from Victorian times to the present day, incorporating works for print, television and the theatre.

‘Chiswick’s Books For Children’ includes images from the Victorian artists Cecil Aldin, who designed the cover and 18 colour plates for Black Beauty; Balliol Salmon, ‘Angela Brazil’s favourite artist’; and the first cover of Puffin Post, created by the legendary editor Kaye Webb, who was born in Chiswick and lived by the river, where she stored the boat used for Puffin Club adventures.

Other highlights include a Japanese poster for the film Miss Potter, overseen by Sally Floyer who ran Beatrix Potter’s publishing company Frederick Warne & Co, as well as Ladybird Books and BBC Books at Penguin; and original covers from Jane Nissen Books, which brought classic children’s books back into print.

The exhibition will run until Sunday 15 March.

The Chiswick Book Festival team have also started putting together an archive of Chiswick artists, which includes illustrators.

READ ALSO: Does Chiswick have more artists than it does authors?

Kaye Webb

Theatre, television and film productions based on books brought to life by actors and producers such as Richard Briers and Vicky Ireland

Books provide the original source material for so many theatre, film and television productions, where Chiswick residents are also well represented.

The exhibition includes panels from the world of children’s film, television and theatre, highlighting the work of Richard Briers, who provided the voices for Roobarb, Noddy and Fiver in Watership Down, as well as playing Rat in the National Theatre production of Wind In the Willows.

Vicky Ireland is another Chiswick resident whose work is represented. She ran the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon for many years, the UK’s only theatre focusing entirely on children’s productions, where she was Artistic Director from 1988- 2002. She has adapted a number of Jacqueline Wilson’s books for the stage: Secrets, The Suitcase Kid, Midnight, Bad Girls, and The Lottie Project, and she presented Words & Pictures on BBC schools television.

Also included are Jonathan Cohen, music director of Play Away and Jackanory; and Michael and Joanne Cole, who created the cult children’s series Bod and many other BBC Children’s programmes, including Play School and Fingerbobs. The exhibition includes images from a new series of Bod, currently in development by Terrific Television.

Top left – Janet Ellet; Blue Peter; Right – Vicky Ireland; Polka theatre in Wimbledon; Bod, created by Michael and Jo Cole

Chiswick Children’s Book Festival – Saturday 7 March

The exhibition is timed to coincide with a special Chiswick Book Festival event for World Book Day. Schools around Chiswick will be celebrating the day on Thursday 5 March on Saturday 7 March the Book Festival has put together a programme of events around the theme of children’s books, partnering with local schools and libraries and three national arts organisations – Action for Children’s Arts, the Children’s Media Foundation and the Cultural Policy Unit.

The Golden Age of Children’s Books & Television

Speakers at the morning sessions on ‘the Golden Age of Books & Television’ will include broadcaster Janet Ellis (Blue Peter, Twice Upon A Time podcast), Vicky Ireland (Words & Pictures, Polka Theatre, Founder & Ambassador, Action for Children’s Arts), Jonathan Cohen (Play School, Jackanory), Lucy Briers, actor and daughter of Richard Briers (Roobarb & Custard, Noddy, Watership Down, The Wind In The Willows), Alison Cole (Bod’s New Leaf, Cultural Policy Unit) and Greg Childs (director, Children’s Media Foundation).

Janet Ellis, who presented BBC Radio 4’s Great Lives: Kaye Webb, will discuss the editor and publisher’s influence over the development of children’s publishing with Kaye’s Puffin colleague Jane Nissen, former editorial director of children’s books at Penguin, Methuen and Hamish Hamilton, and Sally Floyer, former MD of Ladybird Books and of Beatrix Potter’s publisher Frederick Warne. The session will be chaired by Torin Douglas, director of the Chiswick Book Festival.

“The morning is aimed at parents, grandparents and those in the worlds of publishing, TV and theatre who look back fondly at the ‘golden age’ – and care about the future – of works for children” said Torin. “Anyone who was a fan of Puffin Post, Blue Peter, Play School or the Polka Theatre will enjoy the morning”.

Meet the authors

After lunch there is a chance for families to meet two of today’s successful children’s authors and illustrators, Lo Cole and Dean Atta, and also to watch screenings and take part in craft activities.

Lo will be talking about his most recent book Scooter Dog and Dean about his book Auntie’s Bangles.

READ ALSO: Chiswick Book Festival announces authors for Children’s Book Festival in March

READ ALSO: Chiswick Children’s Book Festival 7 March 2026 – Interview with Lo Cole

READ ALSO: Ealing author wins BAFTA for animated short film Two Black Boys in Paradise

The Golden Age of Children’s Theatre

Also in the afternoon, in the Tabard Theatre, Janet Ellis will chair a discussion on ‘the Golden Age of Children’s Theatre’, with Vicky Ireland and David Wood (writer, director, producer, “The National Children’s Dramatist” – The Times, and president ACA).

Book tickets: chiswickbookfestival.net

Any profits from Children’s Books Day will be donated to Action for Children’s Arts and the Heritage Conservation Fund of St Michael & All Angels Church.

The Puffin Post

Chiswick’s “remarkable influence” in the world of children’s books, TV and theatre

Director of the Chiswick Book Festival Torin Douglas commented:

“It is remarkable how influential Chiswick’s residents have been in the world of children’s books, TV and theatre – and that this story has been unrecognised till now.

“There is a ‘golden thread’ that runs through Puffin and Penguin Books, from Kaye Webb, who persuaded dozens of top children’s authors to have their books published as Puffins; through Jane Nissen, who worked closely with Kaye and later published Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse in paperback; Sally Floyer, who oversaw the sensitive transfer of Peter Rabbit from book to screen as well as Spot and other characters; Dotti Irving, whose first job was at Puffin and went on to work with JK Rowling and run the Booker Prize; and Barry Cunningham, who worked in the Turn’em Pages bookshop in Turnham Green Terrace before joining Puffin and later, at Bloomsbury, publishing Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone, which had been turned down by numerous publishers.

“Similarly, in children’s television and theatre, Chiswick was the hub that brought together many of those creating much-loved characters and transferring them to the stage and screen”.

One of Lo Cole’s illustrations for Scooter Dog

Read more stories on The Chiswick Calendar