Anthony Browne (author)
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Anthony Edward Tudor Browne (born 11 September 1946) is a British writer and illustrator of children's books, primarily
picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The ima ...
. Browne has written or illustrated more than fifty books, and received the
Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...
in 2000. From 2009 to 2011, he was
Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field". The rol ...
. Browne won two
Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...
s from the
Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...
, recognising the year's best children's book illustration. For the 50th anniversary of the Medal (1955–2005), a panel named his 1983 medalist ''Gorilla'' one of the top ten winning works, which comprised the ballot for a public election of the nation's favourite.


Life and work

Browne was born on 11 September 1946 in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, England. His parents, Jack and Doris May Browne, ran a pub called the Red Lion (now the Wyke Lion) at Hellfire Corner between
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
and
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
, in
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
, and Browne and his older brother Michael grew up there. As a young boy, Browne enjoyed art and used to draw with his father. He also played
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...
and cricket. His career ambition was then to be a journalist, a
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
, or a
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...
. He studied
graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
at
Leeds College of Art Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds. History It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Sc ...
, where he graduated in 1967. When he finished school, Browne intended to become a painter, but being short of money he took a job as a medical illustrator, producing detailed paintings of operations for
Manchester Royal Infirmary Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) is a large NHS teaching hospital in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. Founded by Charles White in 1752 as part of the voluntary hospital movement of the 18th century, it is now a major regional and nati ...
. After three years, he grew tired of the job's repetitiveness and moved on to design
greeting cards A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthda ...
for Gordon Fraser. He designed cards for five years before he started writing and illustrating his books. Browne's debut book both as a writer and as an illustrator was ''Through the Magic Mirror'', published by
Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...
in 1976. ''A Walk in the Park'' followed the next year and gained a cult following and ''Bear Hunt'' (1979) was more successful commercially. His breakthrough came with ''Gorilla'', published by Julia MacRae in 1983, based on one of his greeting cards. For ''Gorilla'', he won the
Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...
from the
Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...
, recognizing the year's best children's book illustration by a
British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
. He was a highly commended runner-up for an edition of ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' (1988), he won the 1992 Medal for ''Zoo'' and he was again highly commended for ''Willy's Pictures'' (2000). Gorillas are frequently featured in Browne's books, as he has said he is fascinated by them. He was once asked to present a children's programme, while sitting in a cage of gorillas, and despite being badly bitten by one of them he completed the interview before being taken to hospital. his character "Willy" is said to be based on himself. Browne and writer
Annalena McAfee Annalena McAfee (born c.1952) In this article about her husband, Ian McEwan, McAfee is aged 56; other sources claim she was born in 1948. is a British children's author and journalist. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literatur ...
won the 1985
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...
, Picture Book category, for ''Mein Papi, nur meiner!'' (The Visitors Who Came to Stay). He also thrice won the
Kurt Maschler Award The Kurt Maschler Award (1982 to 1999) was a British literary award that annually recognised one "work of imagination for children, in which text and illustration are integrated so that each enhances and balances the other." Winning authors and i ...
"Emil", which annually (1982 to 1999) recognized one British "work of imagination for children, in which text and illustration are integrated so that each enhances and balances the other." Browne was a winner for ''Gorilla'' (Julia MacRae Books, 1983), ''Alice's Adventure in Wonderland'' (MacRae, 1988) and ''Voices in the Park'' (Doubleday, 1998), as the illustrator of all three books and the writer of two. In 2000, Browne was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, an international award given to an illustrator for their body of work. This prize is the highest honour a children's writer or illustrator can win and Browne was the first British illustrator to receive the award. In 2001–2002, Browne took a job as writer and illustrator at
Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...
, working with children using art as a stimulus to inspire visual literacy and creative writing activities. It was during this time that he conceived and produced ''The Shape Game'' (Doubleday, 2003). In June 2009, Browne was appointed the sixth
Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a "writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field". The rol ...
(2009–2011), selected by a panel that former Poet Laureate
Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Peter Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and a ...
chaired. Browne's books are translated into 26 languages and his illustrations have been exhibited in many countries, including the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, France, Korea, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan. He currently lives in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, Kent, England. Browne was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the
2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
for services to literature.


Works


As writer and illustrator

* ''Through the Magic Mirror'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1976) * ''A Walk in the Park'' (Hamilton, 1977) * ''Bear Hunt'' (Hamilton, 1979) * ''Look What I've Got!'' (Julia MacRae Books, 1980) * ''Bear Goes To Town'' (Hamilton, 1982) * ''Gorilla'' (MacRae, 1983) —winner of the
Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...
for illustration and the Emil * ''Willy the Wimp'' (MacRae, 1984) * ''Willy the Champ'' (MacRae, 1985) * ''Piggybook'' (MacRae, 1986) * ''I Like Books'' (MacRae, 1988) * ''The Little Bear Book'' (Hamilton, 1988) * ''A Bear-y Tale'' (Hamilton, 1989) * ''Things I Like'' (MacRae, 1989) * ''The Tunnel'' (MacRae, 1989) * ''Changes'' (MacRae, 1990) * ''Willy and Hugh'' (MacRae, 1991) * ''Zoo'' (MacRae, 1992) —winner of the Greenaway Medal * ''The Big Baby: a little joke'' (MacRae, 1993) * ''Willy the Wizard'' (MacRae, 1995) * ''Willy the Dreamer'' (Walker, 1997) * ''Voices in the Park'' (Doubleday, 1998) —winner of the Emil * ''My Dad'' (Doubleday, 2000) * ''Willy's Pictures'' (Walker, 2000) —highly commended for the Greenaway * ''Anthony Browne Presents the Animal Fair: a spectacular pop-up'' (Walker,2002) * ''The Shape Game'' (MacRae, 2003) * ''Into the Forest'' (MacRae, 2004) * ''My Mum'' (Doubleday, 2005) * ''Silly Billy'' (Walker, 2006) * ''My Brother'' (Doubleday, 2007) * ''Little Beauty'' (Walker, 2008) * ''Me and You'' (Doubleday, 2011) —a retelling of '' The Story of the Three Bears'' in a contemporary setting * ''Play the Shape Game'' (Walker, 2011) * ''How Do You Feel?'' (Walker, 2011, ) * ''One Gorilla, A Counting Book'' (Walker, 2012) * ''What If...?'' (Doubleday, 2013) * ''Willy's Stories'' (Walker, 2014) * ''Frida and Bear'' (Walker, 2015) * ''Willy and the Cloud'' (Walker, 2016) * ''Hide and Seek'' (Doubleday, 2017, )


As illustrator

* ''Hansel and Gretel'' by
Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob Grimm, Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm, Wilhelm (1786–1859), were Germans, German academics who together collected and published folklore. The brothers are among the best-known storytellers of Oral tradit ...
(MacRae, 1981) * ''The Visitors Who Came to Stay'' by Annalena McAfee (Hamilton, 1984) – winner of the 1985 German youth literature prize for picture books in its
German-language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It is a ...
translation retaining Browne's illustrations * ''Knock, knock! Who's there?'' by Sally Grindley (Hamilton, 1985), picture book * ''Kirsty Knows Best'' by Annalena McAfee (MacRae, 1987), picture book * ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' by
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
(MacRae, 1988) – an edition of the 1865 classic, highly commended for the Greenaway and winner of the Emil * ''Trail of Stones'' by Gwen Strauss (MacRae, 1990), picture book * ''The Night Shimmy'' by Gwen Strauss (MacRae, 1991), picture book * ''The Topiary Garden'' by Janni Howker (Hamilton, 1993), short stories published 1991 * ''Anthony Browne's King Kong'' (MacRae, 1994) – from the 1932 novelised story of King Kong * ''The Daydreamer'' by
Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...
(New York:
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
, 1994), novella * ''Anthony Browne, Playing the Shape Game'' by Joe Browne (Doubleday, 2011), biography


See also


Notes


References


Further reading

* D. Martin, "Anthony Browne", in Douglas Martin, ''The Telling Line: Essays On Fifteen Contemporary Book Illustrators'' (Julia MacRae Books, 1989), pp. 279–90. * Jane Doonan, "The object lesson: picture books of Anthony Browne", ''Word & Image'' 2:2 (1986 April–June), pp. 159–72. *
Tony Bradman Tony Bradman (born 22 January 1954) is an English writer of children's books and short speculative fiction best known for the ''Dilly the Dinosaur'' book series. He is the author of more than 50 books for young people published by multiple houses ...
, "Through the magic mirror: the work of Anthony Browne", ''British Book News'', 1984 Autumn hildren's Books pp. 2–5. * Ellen Handler Spitz, ''Inside Picture Books'', Yale University Press, 1999, pp. 192–94.


External links


Anthony Browne
Personal website *
Anthony Browne
index at ''The Guardian'' —include
one Gallery (14 pictures)

Anthony Browne
at Children's Book Illustration —with extensive Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Anthony 1946 births Living people 20th-century British writers 21st-century British writers Alumni of Leeds Arts University British children's book illustrators British Children's Laureate British children's writers British illustrators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration winners Kate Greenaway Medal winners Writers from Sheffield Writers who illustrated their own writing