The overriding theme of this illustration is hope overcoming fear. A central guiding star illuminates the entire piece. As St. George slays the dragon on one side and a mother cradles her child on the other, the central image of a mime represents the peak of human performance and statement. A soldier tucked in the crook of the mime's arm represents the reality of ever-present dangers, while the hopeful, life-giving gesture of the mime's hand carries (from left to right) the heroic defense of right over might; the celebration of achievement; learning and literature (woman reading a letter, after Vermeer); and the basic worship of nature and religion.

Mr. Ingpen's prolific career encompasses more than 100 books, including the classic Lifetimes (Bryan Mellonie) and the recent Halloween Circus (Charise Neugebauer). In his long list of awards is the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Children's Literature, a lifetime achievement award. He has designed everything from postage stamps to territorial insignias. His talents and interests encompass design, illustration, writing, philosophy, pedagogy, scientific theory and interpretation, public citizenry, and philanthropy.

He has been asked many times where his stories come from. He answers with a story, The Highway and the Forest. "Imagine that our entire life is spent on a highway. Everybody travels together in one direction from the moment we're born to the second we die. Everything that is real that happens in our life takes place there, like eating, sleeping, talking. Everything that can be explained happens there -- science and technology work for us there, photos can be taken and sound recorded. Stories of things explained and unexplained are written down and told in this real world. But the stories themselves do not come from there, they come from the forest. The forest is alongside the highway, as deep and unexplored as our imagination will let it be. Everybody, whatever age, spends time every day of their lives in the forest somewhere."

"I make regular visits to the forest. I follow, as best I can, the paths cut out at previous times by storytellers, inventors, writers, and artists. These tracks mark the search by someone who may be looking for an explanation, a plot, a challenge that cannot be found other than in the mind."