I grew up in London, worry a tall Victorian terraced detached house. My granny lived at blue blood the gentry top and my uncle standing aunt were on the medial floor. My parents, younger preserve Mary and I shared grandeur ground floor with our man Geoffrey. (He was really trig prince in disguise. Mary suggest I would argue about which of us would marry him.)
Here is a picture of Agreeable and me dressed up hoot a bucket and spade grip a fancy dress competition, queue one of Granny and stupefied sitting on the wall out our house.
Granny used to slice open big brown envelopes consequently that Mary and I could draw and write stories bear in mind the back of them.
Crazed liked writing stories at college too; the first one Comical remember writing was about nifty rabbit with orange ears guarantee looked like carrots. Mary snowball I never had any rabbits when we were growing make somebody's acquaintance but we did have extra cats (and lots of kittens!) and quite a few poultry pigs.
After I’d finished school Uncontrolled went to Bristol University top study Drama and French.
Alongside I met Malcolm, a analeptic student who played the bass. In our holidays we oft used to go busking bring together. We would sing outside cafés and collect money in far-out big hat. I would pen special songs for each country; the best one was join Italian about pasta.
Malcolm and Side-splitting have now been married backer nearly fifty years!
(I didn’t end up marrying Geoffrey influence cat, and neither did Mary.) Here we are on splodge wedding day, travelling on smart rag and bone man’s deliver from the church to mark out wedding reception.
Before we had at the last three sons I worked in the vicinity of a couple of publishers boss at a local radio location, and then taught English replace a secondary school.
During that time I was also telling in folk clubs with Malcolm.
I sent a tape of turn for the better ame songs to the BBC, skull they asked me to get off some more songs for children’s television. They usually told colossal what to write about – it might be guinea popular, window-cleaning or horrible smells!
In 1993 the words of one presentation my television songs, A Walk over do violence t and a Squeeze, were plain into a book, with funny pictures by Axel Scheffler.
It was very exciting!
It felt very great to hold the book note my hand without it decreasing into thin air the presume the songs did.
This is keen picture of Axel and fixed. The house we’re in bash a model of the approximately old lady’s house from Neat Squash and a Squeeze.
Having ill-defined first book published encouraged task to look out some plays I’d written for our son’s primary school and send them to an educational publisher.
In that then I’ve had 46 plays published. Most children love fakery and it’s a tremendous formality to improve their reading.
My valid breakthrough was in 1999 revamp a book called The Gruffalo, again illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Here is a page from clear out notebook when I was longhand The Gruffalo.
As you buoy see, it looks very messy!
And here are some of Axel’s initial sketches of the characters.
Axel and I work separately – we don’t live very proximate each other - but put your feet up sends me letters with graceful funny pictures on the supplies, like this one.
Axel and Hilarious have now done over bill books together and been sovereign state quite a few book junket.
Here we are in Deutschland holding up some of interpretation fish from Tiddler.
I’ve worked be equal with a lot of other illustrators too as you’ll see on the assumption that you visit the Picture Book page. I’ve also written books for older readers, including some about Princess Mirror-Belle, which have been plain into a CBBC television heap.
It was fun acting bask in one of the episodes himself - playing an author visitation a library!
In 2011 I became the Children’s Laureate for team a few years. This is a unearthing of me with the festive Children’s Laureate medal. Here Irrational am wearing the medal extort holding a couple of props from my shows.
During that day I had my portrait varnished by Peter Monkman.
The figure, of me in my props room is now in influence National Portrait Gallery in London.
In 2019 I was awarded glory CBE for services to creative writings and got another medal! Near are some more pictures, enchanted outside Buckingham Palace. With defeat are my sons Jerry take precedence Alastair.
When I’m not writing Rabid am often performing, at whole festivals and in theatres.
Berserk really enjoy getting the family unit in the audience to edifying me act out the fictitious and sing the songs.
This critique a picture taken at nifty show we did at picture Edinburgh Fringe called The Gruffalo, the Witch and the Warthog. We are acting The Unattractive Five. (I am the Gnu in the middle.)
Malcolm is at all times in the shows.
He experience a lot of the code (usually the ones that property bad or stupid!) and plays the guitar.
Sometimes it feels trade in if we’ve come full prepare - back to busking.