Michael Foreman

Michael Foreman (born 21 March 1938) is a British author and illustrator, one of the best-known and most prolific creators of children's books. When he was three, the family home was hit by a German bomb, but he survived along with his mother and two older brothers. He studied at Lowestoft School of Art, and later in London at the Royal College of Art,

Approach to illustration

Foreman learned to respond instantly to text as an art student. Having drawn for the newspapers and for the police, drawing female suspects when Identikit only catered for men, he gained valuable drawing experience. A travel scholarship took him all around the world, drawing landscapes, architecture and wildlife. Although many of his books feature luminous watercolours, it is the drawing that he sees as vital: "It's all in the drawing and illustration. It's a question of creating another world, believable in its own right. I think I was very lucky to have started art school so young when they actually taught Art. It was a rigorous training – not just painting and drawing from life – but hours of anatomy and perspective. ... it really taught you to understand what you were looking at."

Awards

1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award) 1993 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award) 1989 Kate Greenaway Medal 1982 Kate Greenaway Medal 1982 Kurt Maschler Award 1980 Bologna Children's Book Fair Graphics Prize 1977 Francis Williams Award for Illustration 1977 National Art Library Illustration Award 1972 Festival International du Livre Aigle d'Argent Award 1972 National Art Library Illustration Award 1971 Francis Williams Award for Illustration