New children's laureate named

The creator of the bestselling Goth Girl series is championing creativity in schools and asking families to come together and draw every day.

The role of children's laureate is awarded every two years to an eminent author or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement and to acknowledge their importance in creating readers of tomorrow.

‘I couldn’t be more proud to accept this vital role, on which successive laureates have stamped their identities in their own distinctive ways,’ he said at the event.

‘During my term, I want to use the immediacy and universality of illustration to bring people together and lead them all into the wonderful world of books and reading.’

At the end of his speech he donned a Zorro-style mask and unveiled himself as 'The Doodler'.

Mr Riddell said that he would use the Laureate's Log - an online visual diary of his time as laureate - to encourage families to keep their own visual diaries.

He has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice for Pirate Diary and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver.

Mr Riddell, 53, is also a political cartoonist for The Observer. He has worked with a number of collaborators, including Neil Gaiman on The Graveyard Book, previous laureate Michael Rosen and illustrated Russell Brand’s first children’s book.

He received the Children’s Laureate Medal from outgoing laureate Malorie Blackman and will hold the post until 2017.