David Woo, chairman of Action for Children's Arts, said, "The world of the children's book has grown and grown and grown, the number that are published every year is more than any other category of book, and picture books for the very young ones are probably as important or if not more important as novels for the older ones, because they of course introduce children to the whole idea of books and somebody like Quentin (Blake) whose work is known all over the world now is very very remarkable in that children, very young children respond to it, and love it."

During a master class on drawing, Blake underlined the importance of illustration and how it can take children into a fantasy world they can identify with that has some structure to it.

Quentin Blake, illustrator, said, "There are two points there: one is you go into a world of fantasy, which is like your world, it's not totally made up, it's another version of your world, and the other thing is if you're doing it in books and stories it's also organized, so it's not wild, it's actually there in the shape of a book, you're going through a story, and in fact so you're learning to not only imagine things you've not ever thought of before, but you're learning how to think about your own life as well which is the important thing."

The Big Picture Party is an opportunity for young children and their parents to come together and see the true value of books and artwork.

(CCTV October 31, 2008)