John Edward Masefield (1878-1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death. He is remembered as the author of the classic children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, two novels Captain Margaret and Multitude and Solitude and a great deal of memorable poetry, including "The Everlasting Mercy", and "Sea-Fever", from his anthology Saltwater Ballads. Quentin Blake's first drawings were published in Punch when he was 16. He is known for his collaboration with writers such as Russell Hoban, Joan Aiken, Michael Rosen, and, most famously, Roald Dahl. He has also created much-loved characters of his own. His books have won numerous prizes and awards, including the Whitbread Award, the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award and the international Bologna Ragazzi Prize. He won the 2002 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and in 2004 he was awarded the 'Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres'. Now in his 70s he is recognised as 'a national institution'. In 1999 he was appointed the first ever Children's Laureate.
