Giles Andreae (born 16 March 1966) is a British writer and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

. He is the creator of the stickman poet Purple Ronnie, the humorous artist / philosopher Edward Monkton, and the author of Giraffes Can't Dance, along with many other books for children.

Early life

Andreae attended

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

before attending

Worcester College, Oxford University Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

, from 1985 – 88. During his final year at Oxford, and while debuting early versions of his signature Purple Ronnie character, Andreae developed

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

, a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

of the

lymph glands A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that include ...

, and began an intensive course of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

and

radiotherapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

the day before his

final exams A final examination, annual, exam, final interview, or simply final, is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the ac ...

began. He managed to sit some of his papers, and the university awarded him an upper-second-class degree. Upon graduation, Andreae worked as a trainee account manager at an advertising agency, while Purple Ronnie took on an overarching

joie de vivre ( , ; "joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ''joie de vivre'' may be ...

theme.

Career

Purple Ronnie

Andreae debuted the Purple Ronnie character in 1987 as a stage act for an Oxford revue before picking eight poems to appear on greetings cards with simple black and white line drawings akin to doodles. He initially self-distributed the cards throughout Oxford's stationery shops, but later signed a deal with an established greetings card publisher. The illustrator drew the cartoon in a

stick man ''Stick Man'', written by former Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, is a children's story about an anthropomorphic wooden stick who becomes separated from his family home and his '' Odyssey''-like adventure ...

style with a smiley face and a large oval body. Andreae typically depicts Ronnie as a comic poet, the cartoon's rhyming captions being written in a simple style and including mild taboo language. The cartoons often feature light-hearted, toilet humour-themed poems about belching or

flatulence Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environm ...

. The character featured on greetings cards, books, T-shirts and toiletries, and soft drinks company,

Vimto Vimto is a soft drink first sold in Lancashire in the United Kingdom. It was first manufactured as a health tonic in cordial form, then decades later as a carbonated drink. It contains the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants (in a ...

also used the character in several advertising campaigns. Andreae sold Purple Ronnie to Coolabi in April 2007 in a deal worth £4.8 million. Since then, the company has tried to break into the US market by adapting the designs and language for American audiences and digital media.

Edward Monkton

Andreae also writes under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Edward Monkton; a self-described "philosopher, poet, artist and interesting fellow". Monkton is best known for ''A Lovely Love Story'', a story about two dinosaurs falling in love, which has become a popular reading at weddings. Other Monkton stories include ''The Pig of Happiness'', a YouTube video of which Andreae financed and created after recovering from a bout of

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...

. Andreae expanded on ''The Pig of Happiness'' to create a series of short animated films for the BBC entitled ''World of Happy''. Like his predecessor Purple Ronnie, Edward Monkton cartoons typically feature distinctive black-line illustrations.

Giraffes Can't Dance

''Giraffes Can't Dance,'' is Andreae's bestselling children's book about self-esteem and negative stereotypes. The book follows a simple rhyming pattern and full-colour illustrations by

Guy Parker-Rees Guy Parker-Rees is a British illustrator and author of children's books. Biography Parker-Rees studied Literature and Philosophy at York University. He currently lives in Brighton with his wife and three children. Before becoming a children's ...

. Since its release in 1999, the book has undergone several adaptations for children's television and theatre. Publishing house,

Hachette Books Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette publishes general-intere ...

have translated the book into 34 languages, and the book remains a perennial bestseller in the UK and the US with reported sales of 10 million copies worldwide.

Winnie-the-Pooh: The Great Heffalump Hunt

In 2017, Andreae's book,

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear and Pooh, is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. The first collection of stories about the character w ...

: The Great Heffalump Hunt, was released. It was commissioned by A.A. Milne's publishers to celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the publication of Milne and Shepard's first-ever Winnie-the-Pooh book.

Other works

Andreae collaborated on a series of children's books with illustrator Emma Dodd called the ''I Love'' series. The series includes titles such as ''I Love My Grandad, I Love My Daddy'' and ''I Love My Mummy''. Other popular titles include ''Rumble in the Jungle'' with illustrator David Wojtowycz, ''Pants,'' and ''Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs''. Several of his books have been adapted for television and theatre.

Personal life

Andreae lives with his wife, Victoria, with whom he has four children, beside the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, England. Before that, he lived in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London, where he shared a studio with screenwriter

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...

References

External links

Giles Andreae at Puffin Books

PurpleRonnie.com
nbsp;— official website
EdwardMonkton.com
nbsp;— official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Andreae, Giles 1966 births Living people People educated at Eton College Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford British poets British male poets