The Invisible Kingdom

Gorgeous words and stunning illustrations combine in a book for anyone aged 8-80, by internationally renowned papercut artist Rob Ryan. Rob Ryan has collaborated with Paul Smith, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason and Tatty Devine, amongst others.

Rob Ryan immerses you in a world of delicate detail and colour, drawing you into his enchanting story

Coralie Bickford-Smith, author of THE FOX AND THE STAR

Rob Ryan is not only an extraordinarily gifted artist but also a wonderful storyteller. The Invisible Kingdom is quite the loveliest marriage of words and images that I've encountered in a very long time.

Thrilling and enchanting - this is a story not to be missed. I didn't want to change trains because I didn't want to stop reading it - even briefly! Rob Ryan has an eye for the unusual detail and makes you see the world through completely fresh lenses.

This is a story about a prince. He lived in a palace that seemed to have been specially designed to make someone who already felt small feel even smaller. He rarely saw his parents, who were always busy being the King and Queen; and, unlike other children, the Prince never spent time dreaming about what he would be when he grew up because he knew that when his father died, he would become King. It was his destiny. 
 
The only person who treated the Prince like a normal child was the Bootman. Understanding that everyone needs something to call their own, the Bootman gave the Prince a pen with invisible ink and a special torch that allowed him to create a world that only he could see. 
 
One night, as the Prince was drawing on the curtains that surrounded his bed, he noticed a small hole and beyond that a trapdoor, which led to the attic. And in the attic he found a window and a way to sneak out of the palace and experience the real world… 
 
 
THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is about a small boy, a big imagination and learning to be your own person.

‘When I was young we moved from place to place almost every year. Drawing was a friend I didn’t have to try and make all over again.’ 
 
ROB RYAN studied Fine Art at Trent Polytechnic before going on to an MA in Printmaking at the Royal College of Art. After several years as a painter, he began creating paper-cuts and screenprints which led to collaborations with Paul Smith, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason and many others. He has exhibited in London, New York, Yorkshire and Japan and has a shop, Ryantown, on Columbia Road, London. He is the author of THIS IS FOR YOU and A SKY FULL OF KINDNESS and illustrated THE GIFT for Carol Ann Duffy. THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is the first book in a trilogy.

Gorgeous words and stunning illustrations combine in a book for anyone aged 8-80, by internationally renowned papercut artist Rob Ryan. Rob Ryan has collaborated with Paul Smith, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason and Tatty Devine, amongst others. 
 
This is a story about a prince. He lived in a palace that seemed to have been specially designed to make someone who already felt small feel even smaller. He rarely saw his parents, who were always busy being the King and Queen; and, unlike other children, the Prince never spent time dreaming about what he would be when he grew up because he knew that when his father died, he would become King. It was his destiny. 
 
The only person who treated the Prince like a normal child was the Bootman. Understanding that everyone needs something to call their own, the Bootman gave the Prince a pen with invisible ink and a special torch that allowed him to create a world that only he could see. 
 
One night, as the Prince was drawing on the curtains that surrounded his bed, he noticed a small hole and beyond that a trapdoor, which led to the attic. And in the attic he found a window and a way to sneak out of the palace and experience the real world… 
 
THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is about a small boy, a big imagination and learning to be your own person.

Rob Ryan

a blissful example of old-fashioned storytelling superbly combined with contemporary art

Every Christmas needs its own fairy tale, and fans of artist Rob Ryan will have been waiting for this beautifully illustrated one all year.

This stunning book is the perfect gift for creative, young, old, or somewhere in between this Christmas.

Rob Ryan immerses you in a world of delicate detail and colour, drawing you into his enchanting story.

Coralie Bickford-Smith, author of The Fox and the Star

A stunningly illustrated fairytale for all ages from internationally-acclaimed papercut artist Rob Ryan – the follow-up to THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM. 
 
This is a story about a young boy who doesn’t want to be King. 
 
What he wants, more than anything, is to be normal. 
 
So one night, he runs away from the palace. He climbs out of his four-poster bed, disappears through a hidden door in the ceiling, creeps down a long-forgotten passageway, opens a small window and leaves behind everything he’s ever known. 
 
At first, the world outside the palace seems a magical place that the King delights in exploring. But with no friends to call on, no money in his pocket, in fact nothing apart from the clothes he is wearing, it isn’t long before the young King realises that life on his own is going to be full of challenges. 
 
Meanwhile, Lord Von Dronus, the most senior of all the King’s courtiers, is determined to find the young King before anyone realises he's disappeared. 
 
Beautiful, touching and surprising, The Kingdom Revealed is about appreciating the everyday and learning what matters most.

Rob Ryan

Praise for The Kingdom Revealed

An adorable fairy tale.

a blissful example of old-fashioned storytelling superbly combined with contemporary art

Every Christmas needs its own fairy tale, and fans of artist Rob Ryan will have been waiting for this beautifully illustrated one all year.

An adorable fairy tale.

a blissful example of old-fashioned storytelling superbly combined with contemporary art

Every Christmas needs its own fairy tale, and fans of artist Rob Ryan will have been waiting for this beautifully illustrated one all year.

An adorable fairy tale.

a blissful example of old-fashioned storytelling superbly combined with contemporary art

Every Christmas needs its own fairy tale, and fans of artist Rob Ryan will have been waiting for this beautifully illustrated one all year.

Books by Rob Ryan

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