The story imagines the painter Alfred Wallis, whose work is an important part of the Kettle’s Yard collection, living in Kettle’s Yard and feeling lonely. He decides to go on an adventure, travelling to North Cambridge and taking a number of his paintings with him. There he meets and befriends children in the local area and they share stories and adventures inspired by his seascapes. After his journey he returns to the gallery where he feels lonely once more but happily his new friends come and visit him there and the gallery sparks new adventures for them all.
Alfred’s Adventures in the Children’s City was created as part of the Kettle’s Yard project Play and Picture Books, and the illustrations feature the children who took part in the project. The Play and Picture Books project was an early years literacy project funded by Talking Together in Cambridgeshire, and was delivered by Kettle’s Yard and the Red Hen Project.
“For me, this project proved that stories gather a kind of magic when they get passed around between children, parents, artists and writers. This story has been rolled in sand, wrapped in gingham, covered in bubbles and dressed up as a fish.
Illustrating the story involved lots of cutting and sticking including ten tiny moustaches for Alfred Wallis! Every page is inspired by drawings I made during the sessions with the brilliant families of North Cambridge.” – Rose Feather
