Michelle Cartlidge is an English writer and illustrator.

Early life and studies

Cartlidge was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to a British father and a German Jewish refugee mother. Her sister

Katrin Cartlidge Katrin Juliet Cartlidge (15 May 1961 – 7 September 2002) was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside'' (1982–1983), before going on to win the 1997 ...

was an English actress who died in 2002. She trained in ceramics at Hornsey College of Art and 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 ...

. After leaving the

, Michelle decided to concentrate on drawing and started developing ideas for children's books.

Career

She won the Mother Goose Award for the most exciting newcomer to British Children's Books in 1979, for her first book ''Pippin and Pod''. Since then she has had over a hundred books published worldwide in over ten languages, and her Teddy Trucks books have been made into a popular animated cartoon series for Children's BBC. Her work is also included on the Signed Stories web site where books are performed in sign language for hearing-impaired children. Best sellers include ''Mouse Ballet'' and ''The Cornish Cats Who Went To Sea''. Apart from the books that Michelle writes and illustrates herself, she has illustrated two collections of poetry for young children with Brian Patten. She has also designed a twenty-nine-piece bone china gift range for

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English China (material), fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons L ...

, and greetings cards, tins and wrapping paper.

Personal life

Cartlidge lives in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, in the fishing village of Mousehole. She is a patron of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartlidge, Michelle Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Artists from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead English children's writers English illustrators English people of German-Jewish descent Year of birth missing (living people) Writers from the London Borough of Camden