Elizabeth "Lucy" Cousins (born 10 February 1964) is an English author and illustrator 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 ...

. She is best known for her books featuring Maisy Mouse, but she has also published other children's books, such as ''Jazzy in the Jungle'' (2002) and one about

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

. She lives in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England.

Biography

Cousins, whose parents were also artists, was interested in children's books from an early age. But it took until the end of six years in art college for her to decide that she wanted to create children's books. Cousins received BA Honours in

Graphic Design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

from The Faculty of Arts and Architecture,

Brighton Polytechnic The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achiev ...

. She then attended the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

, where she met

Quentin Blake Sir Quentin Saxby Blake, (born 16 December 1932) is an English cartoonist, caricaturist, illustrator and children's writer. He has illustrated over 300 books, including 18 written by Roald Dahl, which are among his most popular works. For his ...

, who encouraged her work. Her sense of design and color that she uses to this day, she developed while she was at the Royal College of Art.

Work

Cousins' work, especially Maisy, are a successful publishing brand, with books printed in 27 different languages and over 27 million copies of her books in print. Her books are aimed at preschool-aged children and younger or older, her "simple and vibrant" illustrations are attractive to "the eye of the prereading child." Her

board book Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

s, designed especially for toddlers are considered among the best, according to ''

Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

''. The Carnegie Library listed ''Maisy's First Colors'' as a 2013 pick for their Best Books for Babies list. Cousins' character, Maisy, was featured on a postage stamp published by the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

in their 2006 Favorite Children's Book Animals Series. Cousins won a Booktrust Best Book Award in 2014 for ''Peck, Peck, Peck''. She received Mathical Honors for ''Count with Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!''.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, Lucy 1964 births Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the University of Brighton English cartoonists British women cartoonists British women illustrators English children's book illustrators English children's writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers 21st-century English women writers