This book celebrates 40 years of the Aardman studio by taking the reader on a tour through its archives. The studio responsible for creating Academy Award (R) winning and nominated movies such as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run, and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists shares its creations’ evolution with initial outlines where the characters were developed sketch by sketch, beautiful concept art, and the settings that created the background on which these stories played out. With forewords from founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton, extracts from the sketchbooks of creators and directors including Lord, Nick Park and Richard Starzak, this book is the essential guide to the animation studio that brought much-loved characters and unforgettable stories to life.

Characters, setting, plot, conflict, point of view, and theme are six key elements for writing fiction.

Characters are the people, animals, or aliens in the story. Readers come to know the characters through what they say, what they think, and how they act.

It is more structured, follows proper grammatical pattern, and correct mechanics.

By viewing the world from a point of view that is not your own, you become more empathetic.

Reading is a way to escape your own life, and can take you to faraway lands, other times, and put you in other people's shoes.