Axel Scheffler (born ) is a German illustrator and animator based in London. He is best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, in particular ''

The Gruffalo ''The Gruffalo'' is a British children's picture book by author Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. Its tells the story of a mouse taking a walk in the woods and deceiving different predators, including the Gruffalo. ''The Gruf ...

'' and ''

The Gruffalo's Child ''The Gruffalo's Child'' is a British children's picture book by writer and playwright Julia Donaldson, and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It is the bestselling sequel to '' The Gruffalo''. Plot The story is about the Gruffalo's daughter who ...

'', written by

Julia Donaldson Julia Donaldson (born Julia Catherine Shields; born ) is an English writer and playwright, and the 2011–2013 Children's Laureate. She is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, ...

. He has also authored/illustrated the ''Pip and Posy'' series of books for children.

Early life

Scheffler was born on 12 December 1957 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. He began studying the

History of Art The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visu ...

at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vo ...

but dropped out, deciding instead to do alternative

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

, caring for the mentally ill. He moved to England in 1982, at the age of 25, to study Visual Communications at the

Bath Academy of Art Bath School of Art and Design is an art college in Bath, England, now known separately as Bath School of Art and Bath School of Design. It forms part of the Bath Spa University whose main campus is located a few miles from the City at Newton P ...

Corsham Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. The course also included an exchange to Cooper Union in New York. It was during these years (1982–1984) that Scheffler decided to become an illustrator.

Career

Scheffler worked in advertising and publishing after graduating in 1985. During this time he lived at

Streatham Hill Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surre ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and soon began children's illustrating. The first book he illustrated was ''The Piemakers'' by

Helen Cresswell Helen Cresswell (11 July 1934 – 26 September 2005) was an English television scriptwriter and author of more than 100 children's books, best known for comedy and supernatural fiction. Her most popular book series, '' Lizzie Dripping'' and '' T ...

, in 1988. Since then, he has drawn his distinctive illustrations for authors of children's books from Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, including, in addition to

, Jon Blake,

Paul Shipton Paul Shipton (born 1963) is an English children's author. He was born in Manchester and attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Manchester University. After completing two master's degrees (in Classics and Philosophy), he taught English in Is ...

, David Henry Wilson,

Uwe Timm Uwe Timm (; born 30 March 1940 in Hamburg) is a German writer. Life and work Uwe Timm was born in the year 1940 in Hamburg. Uwe Timm was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the Waffen SS and died i ...

Paul van Loon Paul van Loon (born 17 April 1955) is a Dutch writer of children's literature. His best-known books are the series about ' and the series '. A musical and a movie have also been made of both. The series ' also became one of his best known works ...

and

Toon Tellegen Antonius Otto Hermannus (Toon) Tellegen (born 18 November 1941) is a Dutch writer, poet, and physician, known for children's books, especially those featuring anthropomorphised animals, particularly those about an ant and a squirrel. His writin ...

. Scheffler was commissioned by Faber and Faber to provide new illustrations for a new edition of ''

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'' ...

'' that commemorated the 70th anniversary of the book and the 80th anniversary of the company, which was published in October 2009. He illustrated

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

's 2006

Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during ...

s and all seven Christmas 2012 stamps designed by Webb & Webb Design Limited for Royal Mail.

Personal life

Scheffler lives in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

."Illustrator Axel Scheffler on The Gruffalo, artistic inspiration and Richmond life"
. Roy Sharp. ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''. 25 November 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2014.

References

External links

Axel Scheffler's official website (https://axelscheffler.com)
*
Axel Scheffler, latest news, breaking stories and comment
on ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''
Axel Scheffler, latest news, breaking stories and comment
on the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''
Axel Scheffler
on the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffler, Axel 1957 births Living people Alumni of Bath School of Art and Design Artists from Hamburg Donaldson and Scheffler German children's book illustrators German contemporary artists German expatriates in England German illustrators People from Hamburg People from Richmond, London