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Above: Opening spread "Twas the night before Christmas, on a moonlit ice floe, Not a creature was stirring above... or below..." Having decided to set the story in Antarctica, Ben was keen to make sure the animals surrounding the emperor peng
Ben Kirchner: "One of my favourite spreads is where the family are asleep in the igloo. I really enjoyed creating a sense of cosiness, and trying to translate traditional room elements into a penguin environment. A dog sleeping on a rug in front of
Above: part of Ben's flatplan for the book Ben Kirchner: "I wanted to create something fun and energetic that kids would enjoy with lots of action, slapstick and colourful characters. I love the work of midcentury kids' illustrators such as Richa
Above: "The reindeer touched down on the rooftop with ease, But alas, down the chimney the bear could not squeeze!" Santa's struggle with the igloo's chimney, the bursting buttons of Santa's coat and the sweat and grimaces of the reindeer se
Above: vignette details of the Dad penguin and the family's 'pet' leopard seal
Ben Kirchner: "My idea for the 'Penguin Slide' came from my initial sketches for the penguin's ice house. One of my sketches reminded me of the classic toy, and inspired the idea of Santa sliding down the spiral chute and climbing back up the
Above: Santa sliding down the helter-skelter "He was dressed for the Arctic, which gave him some shielding, (Antarctic ice can be hard and unyielding!)"
Ben Kirchner: "Once I had the idea of the penguin slide game, it was clear that I would need to revise the text in key places to make the concept work. I really enjoyed the process of coming up with new rhymes. It's obviously an adaptation, and much
Ben Kirchner: "I decided to find some new digital brushes at the start of this project. I wanted to make sure the work for the book was looser and less vector based than some of my editorial and other commercial work.
Above: The story comes full circle as the young penguins open the present Santa has delivered - the penguin ice house game, complete with Santa also taking a ride on the slide!
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