Back to News

Advocate takes on Pride of Britain title

Published on 30/03/2022

We are so excited to announce that one of our super-talented, and popular children’s illustratorErica Salcedo has been confirmed to illustrate a new picture book to be published by Scholastic Books. The book is written by Pride of Britain winners, and best friends, Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi.

Friends Are Amazing! Be the Best Friend You Can Be will be a celebration of togetherness and friendship. The book is inspired by the pair’s friendship, after Freddie helped his best friend Hughie to fundraise in a bid to thank the doctors and nurses who helped care for Hughie when he was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Erica’s wonderfully whimsical characters, and fun illustrative style, are the perfect match for bringing warmth, love and adventure alive in this title.

This is an incredibly special book, and here is what Freddie and Hughie had to say:
We are so excited to have written a book together about friendship. We know how important it is to have a friend who is there for you when things are tough and we hope our book will inspire children to be there for their friends too. We are really thankful to everyone at scholastic for giving us the opportunity to raise more money for the children at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. We hope you love it!

We are beyond proud to be working with Scholastic on this fantastic title, in a bid to help Freddie and Hughie in their fundraising efforts. 25p per copy sold of Friends Are Amazing! Be the Best Friend You Can Be will go to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity, where Hughie receives treatment.

Friends Are Amazing! Be the Best Friend You Can Be will be published in October 2022, so be sure to grab your copy! If you’d like to see more of Erica’s work, check our her portfolio here!

Other News

Locations to Include in Your Portfolio Part 1

Images by Advocate Art illustrators Claire Mcelfatrick (left) and Jenny Wren (right) Locations to Include in Your Portfolio Part 1 Teacher: ITSme Society  Oh, the places you’ll go, in your illustrations that is. Your artwork can take you anywhere. The more travel in your work, the more exciting your portfolio will be. Try thinking of…

Collaborate Design Manager Wins The BookTrust Story Time Prize

The BookTrust shortlisted 6 wonderful children’s books for ages 0-5. Families and children attended special events at their local libraries to vote for their favourites. On April 26th ‘Can You Tickle a Tiger?’ was announced the winner for 2023. Collaborate’s Design Manager, Carrie, is absolutely over the moon to receive this award as illustrator and…

Comic Book and Sci-fi Posts Illustrated by Illo Agency Artist!

Illo Agency’s all-inspiring artist Cheyne Gallarde recently worked for HUMAN Security which is one of the biggest cyber security brands in the world and celebrated how far they’ve come through their first-ever comic book adaptation. The company was born in a sci-fi bookstore in Brooklyn, so it seemed appropriate to create a Comic where the…

Astound Illustrator Shortlisted for The Academy of British Cover Design!

Exciting news for Astound illustrator, Carles Ballesteros! ‘Mike Falls Up’ has been shortlisted for The Academy of British Cover Design Awards in the Children’s 6-12 category! A joyous story celebrating the power of unexpected friendships by award-winning author Candy Gourlay, beautifully brought to life with stunning illustrations by Carles Ballesteros. Mike and his dog Bowow…

Yeon Agency Illustrator, Mai Ngo, Featured at AFCC 2023

The 14th Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) is set to be held in Singapore from 25th to 28th May 2023. Organised by the Singapore Book Council, the festival will be in-person and will feature various renowned artists and illustrators. One of the exciting young illustrators to showcase her work is Yeon Agency Illustrator Mai…

Illo Agency Artist and The Harry Potter Almanac

This October (2023) whisk yourself away into Harry Potter’s wizarding world with this beautiful illustration collection of spells, fantastic beasts & magical wonders in The Harry Potter Almanac. The book was joyfully illustrated by 7 artists, one of them being Illo Agency illustrator, Pham Quang Phuc! The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac features an astonishing level…

Menu