“How did Imaginary Fred begin? We were all sat at a crowded dinner table, and after a few drinks I asked whether he’d like to work on a project together. Oliver was very enthusiastic and immediately said yes. Unfortunately, what he hadn’t realised was that at the time I was actually talking to Roddy Doyle…â€
Imaginary Fred is the dazzlingly original new picture book written by Irish Children’s Laureate Eoin Colfer, and illustrated by picture book superstar Oliver Jeffers.
“Sometimes, with a little electricity, or luck, or even magic, an imaginary friend might appear when you need one – an imaginary friend like Fred, who floated like a feather in the wind until a lonely little boy wished for him, and found a friendship like no other.â€
On Thursday 22nd October, Independent Thinking were lucky enough to be joined by Eoin Colfer and Oliver Jeffers at the evening event for independent booksellers. The pair signed books, spoke to a packed presentation room about how Imaginary Fred was created and chatted to booksellers about their work. They also had one or two small debates about the importance of words vs. pictures in their new book. (“It’s not called a ‘word book’ is it Eoin? It’s called a ‘picture book’…†).
You can take a look at what they got up to at the event as well as other highlights from the night by searching #HCIndies on Twitter.
Eoin and Oliver have been on the road recently to introduce Imaginary Fred to new audiences in bookshops across the UK. You can follow Eoin and Oliver on Twitter to see what they’ve been up to: @EoinColfer & @OliverJeffers.
Imaginary Fred is available to order now.
Hardback | ISBN:978-0-00-812614-8 | RRP: £12.99
Imaginary Fred also comes in a beautiful small format gift edition (pictured right).
Hardback | ISBN: 978-0-00-812615-5 | RRP: £12.99
