J.K. Rowling brands Forest of Dean boy's Ickabog drawing 'amazing'

A nine-year-old aspiring artist from the Forest of Dean received the ultimate surprise after J.K. Rowling saw his artwork.

Ruben Deane, from Oldcroft near Lydney, has been reading J.K. Rowling's new book The Ickabog and decided to draw his imagining of the titular character.

Ruben's mum Becky posted an image of his drawing on Twitter where it received the ultimate praise from J.K. Rowling herself.

Former Gloucestershire resident, J.K. Rowling shared the image on Twitter and alongside the picture, the Harry Potter author wrote: "The Forest of Dean - my old stamping ground! Ruben, this is a truly incredible creature, not just an amazing illustration but a really imaginative, scary interpretation!"

Talking about what happened, Becky said: "I was quite shocked to be honest, I didn’t expect a reply. As soon as he was awake the next morning I showed him."He wasn’t quite sure to start off with but he was really excited and started on his next drawing right away."

Ruben has already started on his next masterpiece and plans to draw another character from The Ickabog which he is reading alongside his younger brother.

The family are also reading the Harry Potter books at the same time, which mum Becky says 'they're absolutely loving.'

Ruben had his birthday two weeks ago and he’s got Harry Potter.

"He’s quite shy really but we hope this will help. When he grows up he wants to become an illustrator and author. He’s always been like it, drawing and painting and we just try and encourage him and I think this will really be such a confidence boost."

The Ickabog is the latest offering from J.K. Rowling which she started more than a decade ago.

Over the last couple of days, the author has been sharing chapters from the new book online and there is a chance that Ruben's picture could be included in the published version of The Ickabog which is set to be released in November 2020.

On her website, J.K. Rowling explained: "Having decided to publish, I thought how wonderful it would be if children in lockdown, or otherwise needing distraction during the strange and difficult time we’re passing through, illustrated the story for me."

She went on to say: "The best drawings in each territory will be included in the finished books."