Russell Ayto is an English 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 ...

including many

picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

Biography

He was born in

Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1960 and grew up in

Kidlington Kidlington is a major village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and 7 miles (12 km) south-west of Bicester. It remains officially a village ...

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 ...

. After school he worked in the

Histopathology Histopathology (compound of three Greek words: ''histos'' "tissue", πάθος ''pathos'' "suffering", and -λογία '' -logia'' "study of") refers to the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of disease. Spe ...

Department of the

John Radcliffe Hospital The John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe, an 18th-century physici ...

before studying at

Oxford Polytechnic Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences. Polytechnic may also refer to: Educatio ...

and Exeter College of Art and Design where he gained a degree in Graphic Design. He gained work with '' Observer Magazine'' and '' Time Out'' and began illustrating adult fiction before his work was spotted by

Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

and he moved to illustrating children's fiction. He currently lives with his family in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

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 ...

Recognition

* 2001 shortlist,

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) ...

(for illustration); ''The Witch's Children'' by

Ursula Jones Ursula Jones is a British actor and author of children's fiction. Her picture book '' The Witch's Children and the Queen'' won a gold Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, and the sequel ''The Witch's Children Go to School'' won the inaugural Roald Dahl ...

"Shortlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awarded in 2002"
Press release 2002. CILIP. Retrieved 2013-07-03. * 2003

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 ...

, ages 0–5; '' The Witch's Children and the Queen'' by

* 2004 shortlist, Greenaway Medal; ''One More Sheep'' by Mij Kelly" – Judges' Comments on the Shortlist"
. Press release 29 April 2005. CILIP. Retrieved 2013-07-03. * 2008 shortlist,

Booktrust Early Years Award The Booktrust Early Years Awards, originally the Sainsbury’s Baby Book Award(s), was a set of annual literary prizes for children's picture books. It was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity that promotes books and reading; from ...

, Pre-school; ''The Cow That Laid an Egg'' by Andy Cutbill * 2008 Roald Dahl Funny Prize, ages 0–6; ''The Witch's Children go to School'' by Ursula Jones * 2014 Honor, Irma Black Award

Works

Adult cover art

*''Oxford Coffee Houses, 1651–1800'' by Norma Albertin-Potter and Alyx Bennett (Hampden, 1987) *''

Why Are We in Vietnam? ''Why Are We In Vietnam?'' (''WWVN'') is a 1967 novel by the American author Norman Mailer. It focuses on a hunting trip to the Brooks Range in Alaska where a young man is brought by his father, a wealthy businessman who works for a company that ...

'' by

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...

, later edition (Oxford University Press, 1988) *'' Fludd'' by

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...

, first edition (Viking Press, 1989)

Children's books as writer

*''The Other Day I Met a Bear'', self-illustrated,

, 2001

Children's books as illustrator

1990s

2000s

2010s

*''The Love Bugs'' by Simon Puttock, HarperCollins, 2010 *''Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs – Smugglers Bay!'' by Giles Andreas, Puffin, 2010 *''First Week at Cow School'' by Andy Cutbill, HarperCollins, 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayto, Russell 1960 births English children's book illustrators English illustrators English children's writers Alumni of Oxford Brookes University People from Chichester People from Kidlington People from Penzance Living people