Today we marked World Book Day with a special visit from local illustrator and AKS alumna Genevieve Aspinall, who spent the day working with our Year 7 students and giving them a fascinating insight into the world of children’s book illustration.
Genevieve shared her journey from student to professional illustrator, sharing her knowledge of the process of how a story develops from an initial idea through to a finished book. Students heard about the early stages of planning a children's book, including how scripts are reviewed and approved before illustrations begin, as well as the creative process behind character design and development. She also talked about the many changes that can take place along the way to perfect the work, showing examples of her designs from the earliest sketches through to the final printed pages.
Genevieve has already released Percy the Post Penguin and her first book Cheesed Off!. She is now preparing to launch her newest title, Tigers Don’t Eat Jelly!, which will be published in June. During the session, students were given the exciting opportunity to hear about how the book was created and even purchase an advance copy ahead of its official release.
Following the talk, Year 7 students took part in a hands-on illustration workshop led by Genevieve. Using the techniques she had demonstrated, students designed their own book covers and created original characters inspired by the design processes Genevieve shared. The students produced a wide range of imaginative ideas and some fantastic artwork.
After much deliberation, a selection of winners were chosen from each form group:
Illustration Competition Winners
7A – Henrietta
7K – Harriet
7S – Matilda
Overall Winner
Elsie-May (7K)
As part of this year’s World Book Day celebrations, every student also received a £1 World Book Day token. These tokens can be exchanged for one of the special World Book Day books or used towards the cost of any book of their choice at participating bookshops.
If you have not yet claimed your book token, you can download it here:
https://www.worldbookday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-digital-token-UK.pdf
The workshop offered students a chance to see storytelling from a different perspective and highlighted how art and illustration can work hand in hand with English, reading and writing. It also gave students a glimpse into a unique career pathway within the creative industries.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Genevieve for returning to AKS to share her experience, creativity and enthusiasm with our students. It was a memorable and inspiring way to celebrate World Book Day.
If you would like to see more of Genevieve's work, you can do so on her website: Genevieve Aspinall