Elizabeth "Lucy" Cousins (born 1964) is a British author and illustrator of
children's books
A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...
. She is best known for her books featuring Maisy Mouse, referred to as the ''Maisy Series'' published from the 1990s onwards, from which the TV series ''
Maisy'' was created in 1999. A new animated adaptation ''My Friend Maisy'' is currently in the works and was slated to be released in 2025 but has since delayed to 2026.
Early life and education
Cousins, whose parents were also artists, was interested in children's books from an early age. But it took until the end of six years in art college for her to decide that she wanted to create children's books. Cousins received BA Honours in
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 ...
from the Faculty of Arts and Architecture at
Brighton Polytechnic.
She then attended the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
, where she met artist
Quentin Blake
Sir Quentin Saxby Blake (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his l ...
, who encouraged her work.
She developed her sense of design and colour at the Royal College of Art.
Work
Cousins' books are aimed at
preschool
A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...
-aged children and younger or older.
Her work, especially the character of Maisy Mouse, is a successful publishing brand, with books printed in 27 different languages and over 27 million copies of her books in print. The series is known as the ''Maisy Series''.
Apart from the ''Maisy'' books, Cousins has also published other children's books, such as ''Jazzy in the Jungle'' (2002) and one about
Noah's Ark.
Recognition
Her
board book
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 ...
s, designed especially for
toddler
A toddler is a child approximately 1 to 3 years old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, as children at thi ...
s, are considered among the best, according to ''
Horn Book Magazine''.
The
Carnegie Library listed ''Maisy's First Colors'' as a 2013 pick for their Best Books for Babies list.
Cousins' character, Maisy, was featured on a postage stamp published by the
U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
in their 2006 Favorite Children's Book Animals Series.
Cousins won a Booktrust Best Book Award in 2014 for ''Peck, Peck, Peck''.
She received Mathical Honors for ''Count with Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!''.
Bibliography
*
*
*
* ''Maisy's ABC''. Walker Books. 1994. ISBN 9780744532296.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Lucy
Living people
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
Alumni of the University of Brighton
English children's book illustrators
English women children's book illustrators
English children's writers
20th-century English women writers
20th-century English writers
21st-century English women writers
1964 births
Writers who illustrated their own writing