Thursday 12 October 2017

It’s Wally’s 30th Anniversary!

To celebrate Wally's 30th anniversary, the team at Walker Books have shared their favourite scenes from Wally’s latest adventure.

Hi there, Wally-Watchers! 

We are so excited for the newest Wally book: Destination: Everywhere! This stunning new collection includes 12 of Wally’s favourite scenes from his journeys over the last 30 years, really showcasing the wonderful artwork of Martin Handford. It is jam-packed full of all sorts of extra fun and games, and while working on it, the team were reminded that there is so much to see in each and every scene. 

It was tough, but after some fierce internal struggle and soul-searching, we managed to decide on our favourites:

Ruby, Assistant Editor:

Shakespeare once wrote, (or in this case, Shake-spear):

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind…”

Clearly, he had never seen anything like the wonderful Wally “Once Upon A Page” scene, which contains all of my greatest loves: storybook characters, historical heroes, puns and this incredible Odlaw take-down:
Look at that cowboy laughing. He gets it.

This crazy crowd scene is just a literary feast for the eyes, plus the puns, references and hard-to-spot checklist items can keep you searching (and in my case, giggling) for hours on end.

Mark, Designer: 

My favourite scene is “Dinosaurs, Spacemen and Ghouls”. I’ve always loved movies and seeing how they’re made. This scene has the usual Wally fantastical feel, and you have to ask yourself, what’s part of the movie set and what’s part of real life? There are actors dressed as ghosts, but also a real ghost. Yikes!
When we were working on this book, we wanted to showcase the classic scenes in a new way. There are a bunch of newly-drawn characters running around the edges, so it’s even crazier! Plus you can see each of the different sets more clearly, which makes me think of a huge Hollywood stage with lots of different movies being made at the same time!

Mara, Senior Editor:

As a keen baker, my favourite Where’s Wally? scene is “The Cake Factory”. I must admit that I’m rather messy in the kitchen, so the chaos here – with flour and dough and icing going everywhere – makes me feel right at home!
Plus, I love a good pun, and this scene takes the cake (haha). There’s a flower with the flour, a "fairy cake" and some very grumpy-looking “hot cross buns” cooling off near a giant fan. We’ve added even more things to the checklists at the end, so have a good look at the scene. Can you spot the carrot cake, the chocolate moose and the Swiss roll?

Dee, Creative Commissioning Editor:

As a child, I searched the pages of my first copy of Where’s Wally? with an enormous smile, amazed that a book could be SO MUCH FUN! As a grown up, “The Jurassic Games” still gives me “wow” factor goose bumps and giggles, too! I love animals, all shapes and sizes and this scene is packed with dinosaurs – some I’d befriend if I could! It’s endless entertainment trying to work out the sports these creatures are playing and their expressions of competitiveness and mischief make the whole image come alive... and just look at those dinosaurs being used as scoreboards! Ha!
So there you have it! We love dinosaurs, Hollywood magic, tasty baking and (of course) books! But there’s still plenty more to choose from! Which page is your favourite? Is there another scene you love that’s not made its way into Destination: Everywhere? Comment below to let us know, and here’s to 30 more years of Wally fun!

Keep searching!