'Incredibly important images for kids'

 

"The illustrations in picture books are the first paintings most children see, and because of that, they are incredibly important. What we see and share at that age stays with us for life."  – Anthony Browne

  

Born in Sheffield, England on this date in 1946, Browne said he started drawing and writing when he was 5 and “never really stopped.”  With more than 50 books to his credit – headed by the multiple award-winning Gorilla – he is perhaps the preeminent member of the genre today.  He’s twice won the Kate Greenaway Medal (for his illustrations) and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international honor that can be bestowed on creators of children's books.

 

His first book Through the Magic Mirror and another of his award-winners A Walk in the Park remain worldwide favorites, especially with his works translated into more than two dozen languages.  His most recent book is Our Girl.

 

While he enjoyed art as a boy and used to draw with his father, Browne also was active in sports, playing rugby, soccer and cricket.  He said as a teenager his goals were to be either a journalist, a cartoonist, or a boxer, but he always gravitated back to writing and illustrating things for kids and he’s glad he reaches a worldwide audience.  

 

 “I don’t like narrowing my readers down – there’s not a particular age or gender or nationality,” he said.  “I suppose I’m aiming at the child I was. I never want to make a child worried or afraid, and I don't think I do.  My pictures are born from the belief that children are far more capable and aware of social complexities than we give them credit for.”