Helen Oxenbury
Encyclopedia
Helen Gillian Oxenbury is an award-winning illustrator of children's picture books. She lives with her husband, the illustrator John Burningham
, in north London.
, England, and from an early age developed a passion for drawing. She attended art school as a teenager, and during holidays she worked at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre Workshop, mixing paints. In her adult life she embarked on a career in theatre, film and television. After marrying the children’s book illustrator John Burningham
in 1964, she herself also turned to illustrating children’s books.
In 1988 Oxenbury created a series of books about a mischievous young boy called Tom, and his stuffed monkey, Pippo. She commented that Tom was very much like her own son in his younger years. Like Tom, her son would often blame his misdeeds on an accomplice (the family dog). Oxenbury is still illustrating children’s books: some of her most recent work includes the illustrations for "The Growing Story" in the September 2008 edition of Bayard Presse's
StoryBox
magazine.
John Burningham
-Biography:Burningham was born April 27, 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, England to Charles and Jessie Burningham. After primary school, he joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit in 1953. When he was 20, he attended the Central School of Art and graduated in 1959...
, in north London.
Background
Oxenbury grew up in IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, England, and from an early age developed a passion for drawing. She attended art school as a teenager, and during holidays she worked at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre Workshop, mixing paints. In her adult life she embarked on a career in theatre, film and television. After marrying the children’s book illustrator John Burningham
John Burningham
-Biography:Burningham was born April 27, 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, England to Charles and Jessie Burningham. After primary school, he joined the Friends' Ambulance Unit in 1953. When he was 20, he attended the Central School of Art and graduated in 1959...
in 1964, she herself also turned to illustrating children’s books.
In 1988 Oxenbury created a series of books about a mischievous young boy called Tom, and his stuffed monkey, Pippo. She commented that Tom was very much like her own son in his younger years. Like Tom, her son would often blame his misdeeds on an accomplice (the family dog). Oxenbury is still illustrating children’s books: some of her most recent work includes the illustrations for "The Growing Story" in the September 2008 edition of Bayard Presse's
Bayard Presse
Bayard Presse was founded in Paris in 1870 and has since expanded into a global publishing network. Considered the e-map of France, their core publications market comes from the children's sector, and they have many magazine titles, books and the like are a core part of children's growing up...
StoryBox
StoryBox
StoryBox is a high quality magazine publication released each month by Bayard Presse. It is designed for children who are just being introduced to reading...
magazine.