In Memoriam
Eric Carle
Over a career spanning more than half a century, Eric Carle produced a string of classic American picture books. Carle began his artistic career in the early 1960s and found success in 1967 by illustrating Bill Martin, Jr.’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? There would be three sequels, all published many years later. In 1969 Carle crafted The Very Hungry Caterpillar, inspired by the circular cut-outs of a hole punch. Utilising his distinctive collage style of layered, hand-painted papers, the book became an instant popular and critical favourite and has gone on to sell nearly 50 million copies worldwide. Carle wrote and illustrated other bug-based books such as The Bad Tempered Ladybird and The Very Busy Spider, as well as The Tiny Seed, Mister Seahorse and Draw Me a Star.
Judith Kerr
Judith Kerr, the celebrated children’s author and illustrator, was awarded the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. When she was a child Judith escaped 1940’s Germany, which was the inspiration for her Out of the Hitler Time trilogy. The books, including When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, tell of her family’s escape from Germany through Switzerland and France before settling in England. Judith shot to fame in 1968 when The Tiger Who Came to Tea was published, becoming one of the best-selling children’s books of all time.
As well as The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Judith also created the beloved Mog books. This series of books chronicled the life of a family tabby cat, Mog as she experiences new babies, getting lost and more. Judith was presented with her award at London Zoo by BookTrust President Michael Morpurgo. She sadly passed away in May 2019.
John Burningham
John Burningham has written and illustrated over 30 utterly wonderful picture books, which have won countless awards and affectionate praise over the years. There’s a mischief and a humour to his stories, but they also touch often on some big, profound themes. And of course, they are brilliantly illustrated, with some pages looking like they could easily be framed as works of art. John Burningham, who sadly passed away in January 2019, is famous for books such as Borka: The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers, Husherbye, Avocado Baby and Granpa, which tackles important issues such as bereavement.
