The children's author-illustrator Mick Manning

Mick Manning (born 1959) is a British artist and creator of children's books.

Biography

Manning was raised in

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages incl ...

, near

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...

, Yorkshire, England. He first attended

Bradford College Bradford College is a further and higher education college in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, with approximately 25,000 students. The college offers a range of full and part-time courses from introductory level through to postgraduate ...

, then studied graphic design at the

University of Northumbria , mottoeng = A lifetime of learning , established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status , type = Public , budget = ...

and later Natural History Illustration at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

, where his tutors included John Norris Wood,

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 ...

, and Sheila Robinson. In 1990 he devised and ran the BA honours Illustration option at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

as Course Leader. As an artist Manning is represented by Godfrey & Watt, and St Judes. Manning is a Fellow of the English Association. and in 2015, was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Bradford College.

Children's Books

Manning is best known for his long-term collaboration as a writer and co-illustrator with his partner the illustrator and painter

Brita Granström Brita Granström (born 1969) is a Swedish artist who graduated from Konstfack Stockholm in 1994 and now lives and works between Great Britain and her homeland as a painter and illustrator. Painting In 2011 Granström's self-portrait ''Mother of ...

.
Mick and Brita (website) In 1998, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'' newspaper wrote, "Mick Manning and Brita Granström's approach to non-fiction for younger children has revolutionised our bookshelves."

Awards and recognition

Manning and illustrator

began making children's books together in 1993. Their first combined effort (''The World Is Full of Babies'') won the Smarties Silver Prize (years 0-5) in 1996. Later recognitions include the Times Education Supplement Award; five Royal Society Junior Science Book prizes; and The English Association Non-Fiction Award (2000, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014).

Topics

The 2014 Royal Society Junior Science Book prizewinner book, ''Charlie's War Illustrated'' addressed some of the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

experiences of Manning's grandfather. His book ''Tail End Charlie'' also addressed wartime adventures, this time featuring Manning's father. The duo's book ''How Did I Begin'' was part of a controversy in 2011 when some segments of English society objected to literature aimed at pre-school children which included explicit explanations of how human conception occurs.
Kershaw, Allison, "Sex education books are inappropriate, say campaigners" The Independent (9 March 2011)

References

External links

* (Manning and Granström) {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Mick 1959 births British children's writers People from Haworth Alumni of Northumbria University Alumni of the Royal College of Art Living people Fellows of the English Association