John Burningham

John Burningham (27 April 1936 – 4 January 2019) was an English author and illustrator of picture books for young children.

For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator, Burningham was one of five or six finalists in 2012 and in 2014 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. He entered the Central School of Art when he was 20 and graduated in 1959. Fleming had suggested cartoonist "Trog" (Wally Fawkes) of the Daily Mail, but the newspaper would not allow the illustrator of their popular Flook strip to work for an author whose James Bond stories were adapted as a comic strip for its arch-rival Daily Express. Fleming consulted his motor engineer friend Charles Amherst Villiers, who produced a sketch based on Fleming's description of the magical car—this drawing was passed to Cape's popular new illustrator John Burningham, who was asked to illustrate the whole series on the strength of his debut story Borka. Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was originally published in three volumes, 1964–1965; the omnibus edition followed in 1968. Burningham's witty and timeless art-work, along with Fleming's imaginative text, led Chitty to become the most famous and best loved car in English-language fiction.

Selected works

Burningham both wrote and illustrated almost all of his published books. The exceptions are listed here: