Illustrator says book helped with her own dyslexia

A children's book illustrator, nominated for a Carnegie Medal, said she had been trying to hide her dyslexia while making her book.

Kate Rolfe, from Framlingham, Suffolk, wrote and illustrated Wiggling Words, a "story about a child lost in a forest of letters".

The story has been shortlisted for a Carnegie in the illustration category.

Rolfe said she was "thrilled" with the nomination and said the response to the book had given her "the confidence to unmask more of who I am".

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is awarded by children's librarians for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

Previous winners include Arthur Ransome, Philip Pullman and Shirley Hughes.

Rolfe was shortlisted for the award in 2025 for her book, Wolf and Bear.

She said working on a story about dyslexia helped her with her own difficulties, adding: "When I first started making Wiggling Words, I was still trying to hide a little bit of how much I was struggling.

"I felt like I was totally alone with it. And so I started making this artwork that just described how I felt when I was faced with a wall of words when I opened a book."

She said she hoped her latest book would help children with dyslexia or those struggling with learning to read.

"If I'd have had that book when I was younger, I might have been able to point to that and say, this is how it feels," she said.

"The child character, when all of the letters fall out of the book, they use their creative imagination to build a whole world out of the letters.

"So it's sort of a metaphor for, you might be struggling with something, but you can use a creative solution and make it all your own."

Rolfe said going to book award ceremonies was a "humbling and motivating experience".

The Carnegie Medal awards ceremony will take place in June.

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