Graham Oakley

Graham Oakley (born Graham Thomas Oakley on 27 August 1929 – 19 December 2022) was an English writer and illustrator best known for children's books including the Church Mice and Foxbury Force series.

Early life Oakley was born on 27 August 1929 to Thomas and Flora (née Madelay) Oakley in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as their only child. Oakley grew up living above an electrical repair shop which his father ran before his family moved to Warrington.

Education Oakley's studies at Warrington Art School were interrupted when Oakley was called up for national military service in 1947, returning in 1950 to finish studies. It features detailed scenes drawn on pages that are cut in half, permitting the user to "turn" the top and bottom halves separately. The combinations are surreal; the original whole-page drawings are already strange. In 1981, it was republished in France, entitled 512 for the number of different combinations possible.

The Church Mice The Church Mouse - Atheneum, 1972 The Church Cat Abroad - Atheneum, 1973 The Church Mice and the Moon - Atheneum, 1974 The Church Mice Spread Their Wings - Macmillan (London), 1975 The Church Mice Adrift - Macmillan (London), 1976 The Church Mice at Bay - Macmillan (London), 1978 The Church Mice at Christmas - Atheneum, 1980 The Church Mice in Action - Macmillan (London), 1982 The Diary of a Church Mouse - Macmillan (London), 1986 The Church Mice and the Ring, 1992 Humphrey Hits the Jackpot - Hodder Children's Books, 1998 The Church Mice Take a Break - Hodder Children's Books, 2000

The Church Mice Adrift and The Church Mice in Action were Highly Commended runners-up for the 1976 and 1982 Kate Greenaway Medals from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject.

The Foxbury Force The Foxbury Force - Macmillan, 1995 Foxbury Force And The Pirates - Macmillan, 1996 The Foxbury Force & The Ghost - Macmillan, 1998

Non-series Books Henry's Quest - Atheneum, 1986. A children's dystopian/post-apocalyptic story book ’’Hetty and Harriet’’ - Macmillan, 1981.

Later life and death According to the 2008 Modern Classics edition of The Church Mice, he lived in Lyme Regis, Dorset and was "mostly retired".