Joanne Cole (6 June 1934 – 7 August 1985) was a British artist and illustrator. She most notably produced numerous children's books in the 1960s through to the 1980s. She also created artwork and puppets for British TV children's programmes. Together with husband Michael Cole they created '' Bod''. Bod originally appeared as four books, published in the UK by Methuen in 1965 and later released in France and the United States. The Coles collaborated on other children books including ''Wet Albert'' (1967) about a boy followed around by a rain cloud with crayon drawings by Cole and a series of four ''Kate and Sam'' books (1971) about the over-imaginative ideas of a young brother and sister. She also illustrated seven Jill Tomlinson books, including ''

The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark ''The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'' is a children's book by Jill Tomlinson, of which there is also an audio version read by Maureen Lipman. It was published in 1968, illustrated by Joanne Cole, and an abridged edition illustrated by Paul Howar ...

'' (1973). In 1972 the Coles created the children's BBC TV show ''

Fingerbobs ''Fingerbobs'' is a British children's television programme made by Q3 for the BBC. The first episode was broadcast on 14 February 1972 on BBC1 as part of ''Watch with Mother''. The show was created by Joanne and Michael Cole, who also created ...

'', starring Rick Jones and the finger-puppet adventures of a paper mouse and his friends, made by Cole. In 1973 Cole created puppets and artwork for BBC children's programme ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

'', which won a Society of Film and Television Award (later known as a BAFTA) in 1973 for Best Children's Programme and was followed by a second series. In 1975 the original Bod books were developed into a BBC children's show. The Bod stories were made into 5 minute films animated by Alan Rogers, based on Cole's original drawings, narrated by

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation co ...

and with music by

Derek Griffiths Derek Griffiths (born 15 July 1946) is a British actor, singer, and voice artist who appeared in numerous British children's television series in the 1960s to present and has more recently played parts in television drama. Career Griffiths was ...

. The rest of the programme, narrated by Maggie Henderson, was made up of Cole's illustrations with games such as Bod snap, songs and stories of Alberto Frog and his Amazing Animal Band. Bod was broadcast on BBC until 1984. It was also shown in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Poland and Israel. In the United States, Bod aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

as part of the '' Pinwheel'' program. The series of 13 episodes included nine new Bod adventures which were published as books in 1977 and illustrated by Cole. In 1982 Cole co- wrote with her husband the BBC children's programme '' Gran''. These tales of a most surprising grandmother, which were later developed into books illustrated by Cole, were animated by

Ivor Wood Ivor Sydney Wood (4 May 1932 – 13 October 2004) was a prolific Anglo-French' animator, director, producer and writer. He was known for his work on children's television series. Born in Leeds to an English father and a French mother, his famil ...

and narrated by

Patricia Hayes Patricia Lawlor Hayes (22 December 1909 – 19 September 1998) was an English character actress. Early life Patricia Hayes OBE was born in Streatham,Dennis Barker, "Hayes, Patricia Lawlor (1909–1998)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biogra ...

. She also provided artwork regularly for ITV's ''

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

'' and BBC's '' Play School''. Cole died of cancer in 1985 aged 51 and in the same year Michael Cole wrote and produced ''

Fingermouse ''Fingermouse'' is a British children's television programme created by Michael Cole for the BBC in 1985. It is a spin-off of the earlier series '' Fingerbobs''. The first episode was broadcast on 25 September 1985 on BBC1. The eponymous star ...

'', a musical version of ''

'' starring paper puppets made by Cole.

Publications

*Bod's Apple 1965 Follett Pub. Co *Bod's Present 1965 Follett Pub. Co ASIN B0000CMRX0 *Bod's Dream 1965 Follett Pub. Co *Bod and the Cherry Tree 1965 Follett Pub. Co *Wet Albert 1967 Follett Publishing Co ASIN B0000CO53I *Kate and Sam's Pet 1971 Metheun & Co. Ltd *Kate and Sam's Tea 1971 Metheun & Co. Ltd *Kate and Sam's New Home 1971 Metheun & Co. Ltd *Kate and Sam Go Out 1971 Metheun & Co. Ltd *The Baby and the Band 1973 Methuen young books *

, Jill Tomlinson 1973 Young Puffin Books *The Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up Jill Tomlinson 1977 *The Otter Who Wanted to Know Jill Tomlinson 1981 *The Gorilla Who Wanted to Grow Up Jill Tomlinson 1977 *The Aardvark Who Wasn't Sure Jill Tomlinson 1973 *Penguin's Progress Jill Tomlinson 1975 *The Cat Who Wanted to Go Home Jill Tomlinson 1972 *The Boot in the Field 1973 Methuen young books *It's Ragtime 1976 BBC *Bod and Breakfast 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Dog 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Grasshopper 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Kite 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Beach 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Cake 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Birds 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Park 1977 Methuen Publishing Ltd *Bod and the Tiger 1977 * What is Red 1978 * All about me 1978 *'' Gran'' books 1985

Television

*'' Bod'' *''

'' *'' Gran'' *'' Play School'' *''

'' *''

References

External links

*
Why Michael Cole Was an Incredible Star of Children's TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Joanne 1934 births 1985 deaths British children's book illustrators