English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
illustrator and writer of
children's books
A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...
.
Career
Binch began working as a children's book illustrator in 1987, illustrating Therese Pouyanne's book ''Hippo''. Since then, she has gone on to illustrate 23 books.
Binch attended Salford Technical College where she majored in graphic design.
She has been commended or highly commended for the
Kate Greenaway Medal
The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...
three times: for ''Gregory Cool'' in 1995, and ''Down by the River'' in 1997.
She was also shortlisted for the Greenaway award with ''Silver Shoes'' in 2001. She was co-winner of the
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and ...
(age 0-5) for ''Hue Boy'', which was also on the New York Times list of the ten best illustrated children's books that year,
and has been twice short-listed for the Sheffield Children's Book Prize. Two of her books were listed in
Seven Stories
Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian m ...
' "50 best culturally diverse children's books" from 1950 to 2015.
Her illustrations for the book ''Amazing Grace'', especially popular in the United States, has won the "Certificate of Excellence" from ''
Parenting
Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a ...
'', "The Parents Choice Award" and "Best Children's Book Honour Award" from
Waldenbooks
Waldenbooks, operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain, from 1995 as a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a ...
, and has been listed as "One of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year" from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. She was also nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal for her illustrations on ''Amazing Grace''. It was followed by three sequels, all illustrated by Binch. ''
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' wrote that Binch was able to capture Grace's character "with her detailed, realistic watercolors."
''Amazing Grace'', first published in 1991, has been described as "ground-breaking" because it featured one of the first black heroines in a successful picture book.25 years of Amazing Grace, Guardian, 13 Oct 2015 /ref>
Binch has gone on to be recognised for her multicultural work, according to
Books for Keeps
''Books for Keeps'' is a British online magazine covering children's books.Tricia Kings, Authorgraph 216 Caroline Binch /ref> ''Crown Jewels'' was her first "black cover" and then came commissions for cover art for books by
Rosa Guy
Rosa Cuthbert Guy () (September 1, 1922Margalit Fox"Rosa Guy, 89, Author of Forthright Novels for Young People, Dies" ''The New York Times'', June 7, 2012. – June 3, 2012) was a Trinidad-born American writer who grew up in the New York metro ...
. She has illustrated various books with Caribbean themes, including ''Look Back!'' and ''Gregory Cool'', which Binch hopes will help children in different countries "identify with the similarities between them", and has been a guest of the Trinidad and Tobago
National Library and Information System
The National Library and Information System of Trinidad and Tobago (known as NALIS) is a corporate body established by the NALIS Act No. 18 of 1998 to administer the development and coordination of library and information services in Trinidad and ...
. Binch worked with
West Indian
A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...
families in order to create the illustrations for ''Amazing Grace'' and its sequels.
The author
Mary Hoffman
Mary Lassiter Hoffman (born 1945) is a British writer and critic. She has had over 90 books published whose audiences range from children to adults. One of her best known works is the children's book ''Amazing Grace'', which was a ''New York Ti ...
has said part of the success of the books about Grace "comes from Caroline Binch’s beautiful naturalistic pictures. She brought Grace and her family to life in a way that has helped to keep her popular for so many years." The illustrator, author and critic Joanna Carey described Binch's technique and style like this: "Planning and casting her books like a film director, she takes a vast number of black-and-white photos from which she creates her meticulous watercolour illustrations. She has a sparkling fluid technique, perfect tonal values, brilliantly consistent characterisation, scrupulous attention to detail" leading to a "resulting realism". When Carey interviewed Binch in 1998 she described her as "Well-known ..for her superb illustrations".Children's books: Cameras never lie;
In her latest picture book, Since Dad Left, Caroline Binch sees prejudice from a child's point of view. Here, she tells Joanna Carey about her quest for truth and realism. The Guardian, 24 March 1998
Works
* ''Petar’s Song'' (2003) by Pratima Mitchell
* ''Starring Grace'' (1996) by Marry Hoffman
* ''New Born'' (1999) by Kathy Henderson
* ''A Pack of Liars'' (1998) by Anne Fine
* ''Down by the River'' by Grace Hallworth
* ''Grace and Family'' (1995) by Mary Hoffman
* ''Hue Boy'' (1993) by Rita Phillips Mitchell
* ''Rosa’s Grandfather Sings Again'' (1993) by Leon Rosselson
* ''The Hell Hound of Hooley Street'' (1993) by Jon Blake
* ''Billy the Great'' (1992) by Rosa Guy
* ''Amazing Grace'' (1991) by Mary Hoffman
* ''Come into My Tropical Garden'' (1990) by Grace Nichols
* ''Taste of Blackberries'' (1990) by Doris Buchanan Smith
* ''Fibs'' (1990) by Dick Cate
* ''Flames'' (1989) by Dick Cate
* ''Close to Home: Say No is Not Enough'' (1989) by Oralee Wachter
* ''Foxcover'' (1988) by Dick Cate
* ''Ghost Dog'' (1987) by Dick Cate
* ''Twisters'' (1987) by Dick Cate
* ''The Private World of Leroy Brown'' (1987) by Rhodri Jones
* ''No More Secrets for Me'' (1985) by Oralee Wachter
* ''Paris Pee Wee and Big Dog'' (1985) by Rosa Guy
* ''Hippo'' (1983) by Therese Pouyanne