Appearing
Anthony Browne was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire in 1946 and grew up near Halifax. Inspired by his father (a professional boxer), he was interested in art and drawing from an early age.
When he left school he did a course in graphic design at Leeds College of Art. After graduating he took a job as a medical artist based at Manchester Royal Infirmary. This entailed watching numerous operations being performed and then drawing the organs and procedure involved for the training of future medical students.
On leaving Manchester Royal Infirmary, Anthony worked for 15 years as a greetings card designer for Gordon Fraser. One of the first gorillas Anthony remembers drawing was for a birthday card which showed a huge fierce looking male gorilla holding a teddy-bear.
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| King Kong Picture Corgi ISBN: 0552553840 |
Zoo Red Fox ISBN:0099219018 |
My Mum Corgi Childrens ISBN:0552552348 |
On his fascination for gorillas, Anthony says he finds them absolutely absorbing to look at; almost human, but not quite and loves the detail and expression on their faces. His fascination for them has survived once being bitten by a gorilla!
Anthony Browne has been writing and illustrating his own children’s books since 1975 and is twice winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal, the country’s top prize for illustration. He is one of the foremost illustrators working in the field of children’s books today and his work is extremely collectable. He has an international following and has exhibited his paintings in places as far flung as Venezuela and Japan.
His international reputation was sealed when he was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 2000, the first time it has been awarded to a British person since the inaugural year of 1956 when it went to Eleanor Farjeon.
Anthony had his first book published in 1976 - Through the Magic Mirror, soon followed by others like Bear Hunt and Bear Goes to Town.
Gorilla was published in 1983 and won an unprecedented number of awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award, the New York Times Best Illustrated Book and The Boston Globe Book Award. It is now universally accepted as a classic.
His subsequent books include Piggybook, Changes, The Tunnel and The Night Shimmy. One of his best-loved characters is the chimp, Willy, who has appeared in Willy the Wimp, Willy the Champ, Willy and Hugh and Willy the Wizard.
Anthony has also illustrated two re-tellings of classic children’s stories, Hansel and Gretel and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, for which he won the Emil/Kurt Maschler Award in 1988.
Anthony’s books are published all over the world, in countries from Finland to Japan and Sweden to Canada.
Anthony lives in Kent and has just been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education at Kingston University.
Publisher
Random House
Comments (1)
I read your book My Dad to my then 3 year old daughter, who like all young girls love anything to do with their dad's. She memorised all of the pages and all of the things that she (now 6years old) still thinks that her dad can do (including the singing). I am also enjoying reading this book again to my other daughter (2year old) and it has not lost any of it delight. Keep writing.
Posted by Mrs C Hopper | November 4, 2007 9:13 PM