Michelle Cartlidge is an English writer and illustrator.

Early life and studies

Cartlidge was born in Hampstead,

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 ...

to a British father and a German Jewish refugee mother. Her sister

Katrin Cartlidge Katrin Juliet Cartlidge (15 May 1961 – 7 September 2002) was an English actress. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1983), before going on to win the 1997 Evening Standard Fil ...

was an English actress who died in 2002. She trained in ceramics at

Hornsey College of Art Hornsey College of Art (a.k.a. Hornsey School of Art) was a college in Crouch End in the London Borough of Haringey, England. The HCA was "an iconic British art institution, renowned for its experimental and progressive approach to art and design ...

and 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 o ...

. After leaving the

, Michelle decided to concentrate on drawing and started developing ideas for children's books.

Career

She won the

Mother Goose Award The Mother Goose Award was an award annually presented to "the most exciting newcomer to British children's book illustration." It was inaugurated in 1979 and last awarded in 1999. Sponsored by Books for Children booksellers, award winners receive ...

for the most exciting newcomer to British Children's Books in 1979, for her first book ''Pippin and Pod''. Since then she has had over a hundred books published world wide in over ten languages, and her

Teddy Trucks ''Teddy Trucks'' is a British children's cartoon television programme which was based on the best-selling books by award-winning author and illustrator, Michelle Cartlidge. The series was developed in conjunction with BBC Children's Television ...

books have been made into a popular animated cartoon series for Children's BBC. Her work is also included on the Signed Stories web site where books are performed in sign language for hearing-impaired children. Best sellers include ''Mouse Ballet'' and ''The Cornish Cats Who Went To Sea''. Apart from the books that Michelle writes and illustrates herself, she has illustrated two collections of poetry for young children with

Brian Patten Brian Patten (born 7 February 1946) is an English poet and author. He came to prominence in the 1960s as one of the Liverpool poets, and writes primarily lyrical poetry about human relationships. His famous works include "Little Johnny's Confessi ...

. She has also designed a twenty-nine-piece bone china gift range for

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

, and greetings cards, tins and wrapping paper.

Personal life

Cartlidge lives in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, in the fishing village of

Mousehole Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ...

. She is a patron of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartlidge, Michelle English children's writers English illustrators Living people Alumni of the Royal College of Art Year of birth missing (living people)