The Secret of Black Rock
Age 3+
Picture Books
Out there in the deepest sea lies the Black Rock: a huge, dark and spiky mass that is said to destroy any boats that come near it! Can Erin uncover the truth behind this mysterious legend?
Erin loves to lie on the jetty, looking for the weirdest fish in the sea – the weirder, the better! And she knows the best ones must be further out, where her mum won't let her go...
Creators
Joe Todd-Stanton grew up in Brighton and was taught to draw by his mother, who is also an illustrator. He studied at Bristol University, receiving a first class degree in Illustration. Stanton has been commissioned to work for clients such as Oxford University Press, Usborne Publishing and Aquila magazine. His first picture book, Arthur and the Golden Rope, was published by Flying Eye Books in 2016.
Reviews
The gentle environmental message takes on a kind of magic in Todd-Stanton’s pictures of Erin suspended in the ocean among incandescent jellyfish or facing down a monstrous, weaponised fishing fleet in the moonlight. A young artist to watch.
The Guardian
The layers of ocean life and the benign Black Rock are beautifully rendered in this wonderfully tactile hardback, while the gently delivered environmental message adds a welcome real-life depth to the modern mythic tale.
Irish Times
A modern folk tale, the story has a mythic quality that will be eagerly read by younger readers, relishing being part of the adventure undertaken by Erin to see something for herself, and then bravely going out to save the rock.
Read Plus
The Secret of Black Rock is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, from its glowing golden endpapers to the layered blues and greens of the deep sea.
The Bookshelf Gargoyle
This really is a joyous book; don’t miss it.
Magpies Magazine
