It was a move to Robertsbridge in East Sussex that prompted Sarah Massini to fulfil her dream of becoming a children’s book illustrator. And now the Sussex countryside has inspired the landscape of her latest book, The Girl and the Dinosaur.
The book, written by Hollie Hughes, is publisher Bloomsbury’s picture book of the year and is a charming story about the friendship between a dinosaur and a girl called Marianne that proves that both boys and girls can love dinosaurs.
“I just loved this story the moment I first read the text, partly because there’s loads of adventure in it, which meant there was plenty of interesting stuff that I could illustrate,” Sarah says, adding: “I’d been doing lots of cutesy, lovey dovey and sentimental things and I really wanted to do something that I could get my teeth into.”
In the book Marianne creates her dinosaur pal from fossils found on the beach and Sarah drew inspiration from Hastings’ shoreline when creating the illustrations for the book, as she explains: “Hastings inspired the hilly aspect of the landscape and the boats on the beach. But I did make the beach sandy in the book and, to be honest, I’m not sure if boats can be pulled onto a sandy beach as it’s all pebbles in Hastings. I used a bit of artistic licence there.”
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Sussex Life.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TAKE YOUR TIME
Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best
Decorative art
Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality
ON THE FRONT FOOT
The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire
NAKED AMBITION
In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve
ROCKET MAN
Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays
Revolution man
Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?
THE DIARY
17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex
All in a day's work
Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades
My favourite Sussex
Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope
