ARU illustrator brings ancient art to life in new book
Kate’s latest book for Puffin tells the story of a remarkable discovery 85 years ago
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) lecturer Kate Winter is celebrating the publication of her latest Puffin children’s book – a project that began six years ago when she was a student at ARU.
Accompanied by panoramic fold-out pages of Kate’s beautiful illustrations, The Cave Explorer brings to life the true story of Marcel Ravidat, who as a teenager in 1940 discovered an underground cave near his home in the south west of France.
Inside, Marcel found thousands of prehistoric paintings, carvings and artefacts, and his remarkable discovery has helped to shape our understanding of what life was like for palaeolithic people living tens of thousands of years ago.
Aimed at young readers, The Cave Explorer invites children to ponder big questions such as who painted these pictures, why did they paint them and what were they trying to say?
Cambridge-based Kate combines her work as a writer and illustrator with her role as Course Director for ARU’s BA (Hons) in Illustration, and her latest book is a follow up to the successful The Fossil Hunter, which won the prestigious Klaus Flugge Prize last year.
However, work on The Cave Explorer actually began when Kate was still studying at ARU on the world-leading Children’s Book Illustration MA course, with Dr Katherina Manolessou as her tutor.
Kate has recently signed a new two-book deal with Penguin.
“I travelled to see the cave paintings of Lascaux in the summer of 2018 and then again during my Masters project. You can only visit the real one with a special permit, but the candle lit tour of the replica cave was absolutely magical.
“So, the bones of the idea were created six years ago, and it was this ‘dummy book’ of illustrations that secured my initial deal with Penguin, and their Puffin imprint. However, since then I’ve rewritten and redrawn my original work, and I’m thrilled to see it published as an 80-page adventure.
“For me, The Cave Explorer is closely linked to my work at ARU’s Cambridge School of Art because it’s about the creative spirit that connects us. As an illustrator and art teacher I know how important images are, how they transcend language and how they help us share stories, ideas and information, which is exactly what the palaeolithic people were doing 17,000 years ago with their cave paintings.
“Like The Fossil Hunter, my new book takes readers on a journey through time and explores the wonders of our planet. I hope it inspires children to value art, creativity and community, and to appreciate our place in the natural world.”
Kate Winter