Inside the world of Kate Greenaway winner Freya Blackwood

Freya Blackwood won the CILIP Kate Greenaway medal for illustration this afternoon for her work on children's picture book Harry & Hopper. The award is the UK's top prize for a children's illustrator, and has gone in the past to Quentin Blake and Raymond Briggs Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk The book tells the story of a little boy, Harry, and his love for his dog Hopper. ‘When the puppy came to live with Harry and Dad, he was as jumpy as a grasshopper. So that’s what Harry called him. Hopper’ Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Blackwood 'excels in her use of muted colour, perspective, and exterior and interior space', said judges Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'Hearing that Harry & Hopper had been shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway was hard to comprehend, but the news that it had won was outright mind-blowing,' said Blackwood. 'I grew up with many of the books that have won this award and see their illustrators as idols' Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Hopper was inspired by Blackwood's own childhood memories of her pet whippet, who met a sudden end, like Hopper does. Blackwood initially read the manuscript, written by Margaret Wild, through tears. 'When young, I had a beautiful grey whippet named Fulani who met a dreadfully sad end. So I found the story very easy to relate to, as it is for anyone who has a pet they love,' she said Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Illustration from Harry & Hopper by Freya Blackwood Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Illustration from Harry & Hopper by Freya Blackwood Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Illustration from Harry & Hopper by Freya Blackwood Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'Often when redrawing a page, the result is never quite the same, so in order to use my rough, messy drawings for the final artwork, I had them printed onto watercolour paper using the kind of large-scale plan printer that architects use. This way the pencil lines remained bold and I could paint as freely as I wanted,' said Blackwood Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Illustration from Harry & Hopper by Freya Blackwood Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'A sensitive issue for young children is beautifully handled, with Harry’s emotions and memories of Hopper expressed visually to great effect,' said judges Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk Blackwood wins £5,000, and the prestigious Kate Greenaway medal Illustration: © 2009 Freya Blackwood Photograph: guardian.co.uk