"Dear Anastasia, Because I am buying a new motorcycle, I won't need my old car anymore. I would like you to have it as a present. It's parked outside. Here are the keys. With love, Your Uncle Cosmo." Thus begins Mrs. Armitage's exciting road adventure. There are many surprises along the way until all that is left is Mrs. Armitage, her faithful dog Breakspear, and the bare frame of the car. But the ever-resourceful Mrs. Armitage remains undaunted. And when she finally meets up with her uncle and his motorcycle cronies, Mrs. Armitage is rightfully honored as the Queen of the Road. From best-selling author-illustrator Quentin Blake—Children's Laureate of the United Kingdom and winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal—comes this charming story of an indomitable and charmingly off-beat woman who finds liberation and new friends out on the open road.
Author
Quentin Saxby Blake, CBE, FCSD, RDI, is an English cartoonist, illustrator and children's author, well known for his collaborations with writer Roald Dahl. Education Blake was educated at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School. His English teacher, JH Walsh, influenced his ambition to become involved in literature. His first published drawing was for the satirical magazine Punch, at the age of 16. He read English Literature at Downing College, Cambridge (1953-6), received his postgraduate teaching diploma from the University of London, and later studied at the Chelsea School of Art. He gained another teaching diploma at the Institute of Education before working at the Royal College of Art. Career Blake gained a reputation as a reliable and humorous illustrator of over 300 children's books. As well as illustrating the books of others, including Roald Dahl and Elizabeth Bowen, Blake has written numerous books of his own. As of 2006, he has participated in the writing and/or illustrating of 323 books (of which he wrote 35 himself, and 18 were by Dahl). He taught at the Royal College of Art for over twenty years, and was head of the Illustration department from 1978 to 1986. He recently illustrated David Walliams' debut book, The Boy in the Dress and his more recent book Mr Stink.
