Have you ever wondered about the authors and illustrators behind the books you read? How do they get their ideas? And how are these ideas transformed into the books we see on the shelves?

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Simon Prescott first realised he had a talent for drawing when one of his masterpieces was exhibited on the 80’s children’s TV classic, Wacaday. Since then he has honed his skills at the Norwich School of Art, achieving a BA in Graphic Design, and the Cambridge School of Art, where he gained an MA in Children’s Book Illustration. Born in Aylesbury, now living in Cambridge, Simon also spent two years hunting Moomins in Finland.

Have you always wanted to illustrate children’s books?
Since I was young I would always be drawing and doodling, filling pads of paper, and coming up with characters and stories. When I was about 7 or 8 years old, I sent a little comic I had made to a publisher. They told me to come back when I was a bit older, so I did!

What made you decide to pursue this as a career?
I always wanted to have a job that involved art in some way. Eventually I found that illustration was the direction I wanted to pursue with my work. One of my final projects on my Illustration degree was a picture book. Then, after taking a gap year or two, I realised children’s books were what I really wanted to do. I ended up on a Children’s Book Illustration MA course, which then led me to getting published.

What role did books play in your childhood? What were some of your favourites?
Growing up, we always had shelves full of books at home. We were encouraged to read and were read to a lot, mainly fairytales and fables, and adventure stories. I always enjoyed the old-fashioned style readers and storybooks because the text wasn’t patronising and the illustrations were fantastic! It wasn’t just books; comics, cartoons and animation were also influential. Some of my favourite childhood books were Wind in the Willows, Aesop’s Fables, The Very Worried Sparrow, Asterix, The Beano, Rupert the Bear and Beatrix Potter’s books.

Do you have a special place where you work – a studio or office – or can you work anywhere? I have a large table in my workspace, which gets lots of natural light. I surround myself with objects, images and sketchbooks to inspire me. As long as I have a pencil and paper with me, I can pretty much work anywhere! What medium do you use to create your illustrations? I use all different kinds of mediums: pen, pencil, paints, ink, crayon, charcoal, the list goes on! I like to create texture in my illustrations; I’m always experimenting with different surfaces to work on. It really depends on what kind of mood or atmosphere I want the image or story to have. Are you a town mouse or a country mouse? I would have to say I am a country mouse at heart. But the city definitely has its own charm. Which other illustrators do you particularly admire? Shaun Tan, Tove Jansson, Ronald Searle, W. Heath Robinson, Paul Slater, and Jiri Trnka.

What is the perfect way to spend a day off?
This would probably involve being outside on a sunny day enjoying some nature and maybe a bit of sketching. I would probably get some instruments and friends together and make some music, then catch a film or see some live music.

Read interviews with the following Little Tiger authors and illustrators:
Elizabeth Baguley
(author of LITTLE PIP AND THE RAINBOW WISH, A LONG WAY FROM HOME, THE LITTLE LOST ROBIN and MEGGIE MOON)
Klaus Baumgart
(creator of the LAURA series)
David Bedford
(author of many books for Little Tiger Press, including LITTLE BEAR’S BIG JUMPER, BEDTIME FOR LITTLE BEARS!, I’VE SEEN SANTA! and BIG BEAR LITTLE BEAR
M Christina Butler
(author of THE DARK, DARK NIGHT, DON’T BE AFRAID LITTLE ONES, ONE WINTER’S DAY, ONE SNOWY NIGHT, SNOW FRIENDS and WHO’S BEEN EATING MY PORRIDGE?)
Jane Chapman
(illustrator of many books for Little Tiger Press, including THE DARK, DARK NIGHT, A LONG WAY FROM HOME, THE SNOW ANGEL, BIG BEAR LITTLE BEAR, DILLY DUCKLING, THE VERY NOISY NIGHT, THE VERY BUSY DAY and THE VERY SNOWY CHRISTMAS)
Jason Chapman
(author-illustrator of TED, BO AND DIZ – THE FIRST ADVENTURE)
Alison Edgson
(illustrator of SILLY GOOSE, FOLLOW THAT BEAR IF YOU DARE! and ME AND MY DAD!)
Claire Freedman
(author of many books for Little Tiger Press, including I LOVE YOU SLEEPYHEAD,
A KISS GOODNIGHT, ONE MAGICAL MORNING, SNUGGLE UP SLEEPY ONES, DILLY DUCKLING and GOODNIGHT SLEEP TIGHT)
Ruth Galloway
(award-winning creator of FIDGETY FISH, SMILEY SHARK, CLUMSY CRAB and TICKLY
OCTOPUS)
John Henderson
(co-author of FLY, PIGEON, FLY!)
Diana Hendry
(author of THE VERY NOISY NIGHT, THE VERY BUSY DAY, THE VERY SNOWY CHRISTMAS and OODLES OF NOODLES)
Julia Hubery
(author of A CHRISTMAS WISH)
Cecilia Johansson
(illustrator of TEN ON THE BUS, JUST LIKE MUMMY, JUST LIKE DADDY, ME AND MY MUMMY
and ME AND MY DADDY)
Tina Macnaughton
(illustrator of THE LITTLEST OWL, THE LITTLE LOST ROBIN, WHILE ANGELS WATCH, ONE MAGICAL DAY, ONE WINTER’S DAY, ONE SNOWY NIGHT, SNOW FRIENDS and SNUGGLE UP, SLEEPY ONES)
Mick Manning & Brita Granström
(author-illustrator team who created COCK-A-DOODLE-HOOOOOOO!)
Sarah Massini
(illustrator of OODLES OF NOODLES and I’M SPECIAL, I’M ME!)
Marni McGee
author of WHILE ANGELS WATCH and SILLY GOOSE
Ann Meek
(author of I’M SPECIAL, I’M ME!)
Caroline Pedler
(illustrator of LITTLE PIP AND THE RAINBOW WISH, BEDTIME FOR LITTLE BEARS! and
DON’T BE AFRAID LITTLE ONES)
Liz Pichon
(author-illustrator of THE THREE HORRID PIGS AND THE BIG FRIENDLY WOLF,
BORED BILL and THE VERY UGLY BUG)
Catherine Rayner
(author-illustrator of HARRIS FINDS HIS FEET and AUGUSTUS AND HIS SMILE)
David Roberts
(award-winning creator of DIRTY BERTIE,
illustrator of HOPPING MAD! and DON’T SAY THAT, WILLY NILLY!)
Hilary Robinson
(illustrator of THE PRINCESS’S SECRET SLEEPOVER and THE PRINCESS’S SECRET LETTERS)
Steve Smallman
(author of SMELLY PETER THE GREAT PEA EATER, THE VERY GREEDY BEE, THE MONKEY WITH A BRIGHT BLUE BOTTOM, THE LAMB WHO CAME FOR DINNER,DAVID’S DREAM TEAM/ZINI’S ALL STARS and MARLON’S DREAM MACHINE/KATIE’S CUSTOM KART)
Kenneth Steven
(author of THE SEA MICE AND THE STARS and THE SONG OF THE TREES)
Martin Taylor
(author of THE LOST TREASURE adventure series)
Jack Tickle
(award-winning illustrator of the PEEK-A-BOO POP-UP series and many other books for Little Tiger Press)
Kanako Usui
(award-winning illustrator of THE FANTASTIC MR WANI)
Alice Wood
(author-illustrator of ONE MAGICAL CHRISTMAS)
Gail Yerrill
(illustrator of THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS, THE CHRISTMAS ANGELS, TWINKLE TWINKLE
LITTLE STAR and the FAIRY FRIENDS series)

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Use the search facility at the top right-hand corner
to find information about particular authors or illustrators.

Browse our featured authors and illustrators

A–Z list of: