Paul Hess – illustratör

The Stone of Destiny, set in mid-18th -century Turkey, was inspired by the caravanserais of Turkey's Silk Road, and hopefully it will inspire people to visit the country and find the hidden treasures left behind by civilizations over thousands of years - from the Phrygian King Midas's tomb to the ancient Greek city of Troy to the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia. The traditional tales told by the storyteller on his journey across Anatolia were chosen from a collection of stories sent to the author from school children in Turkey and the Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Stone of Destiny tells the story of a poor but honest young man, Salahaddin, with a vivid imagination and a talent for storytelling who finds a large ruby and can finally set off on the adventure he has always dreamed of. On the road he meets an orphaned boy who is making his way to Istanbul too. At the first caravanserai they stay at, two greedy Egyptian jewellers overhear Salahaddin telling the boy about the precious stone he has found and they decide to steal it from him. The power of stories helps Salahaddin to overcome the wicked jewellers and the story like all good fairytales has a happy ending.

Enchanting, wicked and often very funny, Poland's folk tales are one of the great treasures of Central Europe. Crowned by the story of The Mermaid of Warsaw, the eight colourful tales in this collection include Skarbnik's Second Breakfast, set deep in the Wieliczka salt mines, The Turnip-Counter from Karkonosze and The Copper Coin of Wineta, alongside stories from, Poznan and the Polish lakes. Paul Hess's stylish illustrations make this a collection to delight children everywhere.