Scholastic joins with illustrators to support refugees

Scholastic imprint Alison Green Books will next year publish a children’s book featuring artwork from 39 illustrators to support Three Peas, a charity that helps refugees.

Kind will feature positive and inspiring messages about kindness alongside illustrations by artists such as Axel Scheffler (pictured), Sir Quentin Blake, Lydia Monks, Nick Sharratt and Kitty Crowther. Scheffler, who is a trustee of Three Peas, will also write the introduction.       

£1 from the sale of every book will be donated to the charity, which was set up in 2016 to offer financial and practical support to refugees in Greece and elsewhere in Europe.

“I am proud to be working on Kind, a book that celebrates togetherness and compassion, as well as bringing together many of the finest illustrators working today,” said Scheffler. “Three Peas lives the values shared in the book and I am glad to be able to support their good work in supporting refugees.”                                   

Publisher Alison Green said: “Kind is one of the most important projects I’ve ever worked on. I’m thrilled to be raising money for Three Peas, to support their vital work, and I’ve been overwhelmed by the response from all of the illustrators. I’m incredibly grateful to them for their generosity in donating the artwork for the book, and would like to thank Axel, in particular, for all his support in championing the project. This feels very much like the right book at the right time. With so much division in the world, it seems more important than ever to talk about kindness, and to offer children a positive, hopeful and empowering message.”                   

Kind will be published in the UK in April 2019.

Last year Scheffler's partner Clementine Koenig raised thousands of pounds for Three Peas, of which she is also a trustee, by auctioning artwork by illustrators such as Oliver Jeffers, Tony Ross and Lauren Child.