Leonard Leslie Brooke

Illustration by Leonard Leslie Brooke of the story "Three Little Pigs".

Leonard Leslie Brooke (24 September 1862 – 2 May 1940) was a British artist, book illustrator and writer.

Early life and education Brooke was born in Birkenhead, England, the second son of Leonard D. Brooke. He was educated at Birkenhead School and the Royal Academy Schools. While travelling in Italy, Brooke survived a serious illness, but was left permanently deaf.

However, Brooke was best known as a book illustrator. WorldCat library records show that he illustrated several works by Mrs. Molesworth in the mid-1890s, perhaps from 1892; one was The Carved Lions (1895) in its first edition. His skillful and witty illustrations in Andrew Lang's Nursery Rhyme Book (1897) established his reputation as a leading children's book illustrator of pen-and-ink line drawings and watercolors. His acclaimed works include Johnny Crow's Garden (1903), "Ring O' Roses", "The Golden Goose Book", Johnny Crow's Party (1907), Johnny Crow's New Garden (1935), "The Nursery Rhyme Book", and "Oranges and Lemons" published by Frederick Warne & Co. In Children's Reading, Lewis M. Terman and Margaret Lima recommended some of his picture books (such as "The Golden Goose Book", the two that feature Johnny Crow, and others), commenting that Brooke "catches the spirit of childhood with rare skill".