Graham Oakley (born Graham Thomas Oakley on 27 August 1929 – 19 December 2022) was an English writer and illustrator best known for

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

Early life

Oakley was born on 27 August 1929 to Thomas and Flora (née Madelay) Oakley in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, as their only child. Oakley grew up living above an electrical repair shop which his father ran before his family moved to

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

Education

Oakley's studies at Warrington Art School were interrupted when Oakley was called up for national military service in 1947, returning in 1950 to finish studies.

Military service

Oakley served two years at the headquarters of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility locate ...

Art career

Oakley freelanced for London

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...

companies as a scenic artist from 1950 to 1955; as a design assistant at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

in Covent Garden, 1955 to 1957; at

Crawford's Advertising Agency Crawford's Advertising Agency, formally WS Crawford Ltd, was one of the most important British advertising agencies of the first half of the 20th century. It was responsible for introducing a highly visual style more influenced by European artistic ...

, 1960 to 1962; at BBC-TV as a set designer for films and series, 1962 to 1967. At BBC, Oakley worked on '' How Green Was My Valley'', ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'', ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...

'', and '' Softly, Softly''.

Children's books

Oakley is best known for the Church Mice series of

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 images ...

(1970 to 2000), next for the Foxbury Force series (1994 to 1998). He also won a

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and P ...

Special Citation in 1980 for the picture book ''Graham Oakley's Magical Changes''. It features detailed scenes drawn on pages that are cut in half, permitting the user to "turn" the top and bottom halves separately. The combinations are surreal; the original whole-page drawings are already strange. In 2001 it was republished in France, entitled ''512'' for the number of different combinations possible. ;The Church Mice *''The Church Mouse'' - Atheneum, 1972 *''The Church Cat Abroad'' - Atheneum, 1973 *''The Church Mice and the Moon'' - Atheneum, 1974 *''The Church Mice Spread Their Wings'' - Macmillan (London), 1975 *''The Church Mice Adrift'' - Macmillan (London), 1976 *''The Church Mice at Bay'' - Macmillan (London), 1978 *''The Church Mice at Christmas'' - Atheneum, 1980 *''The Church Mice in Action'' - Macmillan (London), 1982 *''The Diary of a Church Mouse'' - Macmillan (London), 1986 *'' The Church Mice and the Ring'', 1992 *''Humphrey Hits the Jackpot'' - Hodder Children's Books, 1998 *''The Church Mice Take a Break'' - Hodder Children's Books, 2000 ''The Church Mice Adrift'' and ''The Church Mice in Action'' were Highly Commended runners-up for the 1976 and 1982

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

s from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the ...

, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject."Kate Greenaway Medal"
. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library.

Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University (Central Connecticut, CCSU, Central Connecticut State, or informally Central) is a public university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1849 as the State Normal School, CCSU is Connecticu ...

(CCSU). Retrieved 2012-07-02. ;The Foxbury Force *''The Foxbury Force'' - Macmillan, 1995 *''Foxbury Force And The Pirates'' - Macmillan, 1996 *''The Foxbury Force & The Ghost'' - Macmillan, 1998 ;Non-series Books *''Henry's Quest'' - Atheneum, 1986. A children's dystopian/post-apocalyptic story book

Later life and death

According to the 2008 Modern Classics edition of ''The Church Mice'', he lived in

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

and was "mostly retired". Oakley died in Dorset on 19 December 2022, at the age of 93.

Notes

References

External links

*
Who is Graham Oakley?
an

by librarian Kathleen Watson (alia.org.au/~kwatson), archived 2012-02-04
Interview with the Church Mice
()
Graham Oakley: The Man Who Created The Church Mice (Part 1)
an
(Part 2)
– 2011 interview at The Polymath Perspective * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, Graham 1929 births 2022 deaths Artists from Shrewsbury British children's book illustrators English children's writers English illustrators Writers from Shrewsbury Artists from Warrington Writers from Warrington