Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett (born 1972) is an English author and illustrator of children's picture books. For her debut book Wolves published in 2005 and Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears published three years later, she won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal recognising the year's best-illustrated British children's book.

Life Emily Gravett was born in Brighton, England, the second daughter of a printmaker father and an art teacher mother. After her parents separated, she lived with her mother, but she and her father would "go out drawing" in museums. She left school at 16 with a GCSE qualification only in Art (grade A) and travelled Great Britain for eight years, living in "a variety of vehicles" and meeting her partner Mik. She is the illustrator of J K Rowling's Quidditch Through the Ages, illustrated edition (2020) published by Bloomsbury Children's Books. Gravett made many physical artefacts, including a broom, silk badges and ceramics that were then photographed for the illustrations

Style

Gravett completed Wolves in six weeks as an illustration course project and added only the back endpaper spread during the editorial process. Some projects take longer but she wrote and sketched Orange Pear Apple Bear in merely 11 hours, waking one Mother's Day with the four words in her head and staying in bed for "the whole book in one go". Orange Pear Apple Bear (2006) Meerkat Mail (2006) Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (2007) Monkey and Me (2007) The Odd Egg (2008) Spells (2008) Dogs (2009) The Rabbit Problem (2009) Blue Chameleon (2010) Wolf Won't Bite! (2011) Again! (2011) Matilda's Cat (2 August 2012) Little Mouse's Big Book of Beasts (2013) Bear and Hare: Go Fishing (2014) Bear and Hare: Snow! (2014) Bear and Hare: Where's Bear? (2015) Bear and Hare: Mine! (2016) Tidy (2016) Old Hat (2017) Cyril and Pat (2018) Meerkat Christmas (2019) Too Much Stuff (2020) 10 Cats (2022) 10 Dogs (2023) Bothered by Bugs (2024) Bear's Nap (2025)

As illustrator Cave Baby (2010), written by Julia Donaldson The Imaginary (2014), written by A. F. Harrold The Afterwards (2018), written by A. F. Harrold Evie and the Animals (2020), written by Matt Haig Evie in the Jungle (2020), written by Matt Haig A Song of Gladness (2021), written by Michael Morpurgo Locked Out Lily (2021), written by Nick Lake The House With a Dragon in it (2023), written by Nick Lake Island of Whispers (2023), by Frances Hardinge The Ogre Who Wasn't (2023), written by Michael Morpurgo The Forest of a Thousand Eyes (2024), by Frances Hardinge

Awards and recognitions Gravett has won annual British book awards three times.

Awards Wolves won the 2005 Kate Greenaway Medal. Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears won the 2008 Kate Greenaway Medal.

Runners-up, etc. 2005, Wolves was bronze runner-up for the Smarties Prize, ages 0–5 years. 2006, Orange Pear Apple Bear made the shortlist for the Booktrust Early Years Pre-School Award. 2007, Orange Pear Apple Bear made the Greenaway shortlist.