Peter Brown

Peter Brown (born February 24, 1979) is a New York based American writer and illustrator, known for children's picture books.

Early life and education Peter Nathan Brown was born on February 24, 1979 in Hopewell, New Jersey to Kate McGinnity, a teacher, and an astrophysicist father. Brown was educated at Hopewell Valley Central High School, and attended animation classes at Mercer County Community College whilst still in high school.

Brown quickly wrote his second and third books, and his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books was under way. Since then Brown has written and illustrated many books for children and earned numerous honors, including a Caldecott Honor, a Horn Book Award, two E.B. White Awards, two E.B. White Honors, a Children’s Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year, two Irma Black Honors, a Golden Kite Award, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award and multiple New York Times bestsellers that include the novels The Wild Robot, The Wild Robot Escapes, and The Wild Robot Protects. My Teacher Is a Monster! (2014), The Wild Robot (2016), and The Wild Robot Escapes (2018),

Six of Brown's books have landed on the New York Times bestseller list: Children Make Terrible Pets, The Curious Garden, The Wild Robot, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, You Will Be My Friend!, and The Wild Robot Escapes. The Wild Robot, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, and My Teacher is a Monster! are also IndieBound bestsellers. The Wild Robot Escapes is also a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller.

In 2009, The Curious Garden was named one of the best children's books of the year by Publishers Weekly.

In 2010, The New York Times named Children Make Terrible Pets one of the best illustrated children's books of the year.

In 2014, My Teacher is a Monster! was named one of the best children's books of the year by Publishers Weekly.

In 2016, The Wild Robot was named one of the best children's books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness.

In 2019, The Wild Robot Escapes was named one of the best children's books of the year by Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, the New York Public Library, and School Library Journal.

The same year, Booklist included The Wild Robot on their "50 Best Middle-Grade Novels of the 21st Century" list.

As illustrator Four of the books Brown has illustrated are Junior Library Guild selections: Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House (2008), Creepy Carrots! (2012), Creepy Pair of Underwear! (2017), and Creepy Crayon! (2022).

Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear, and Creepy Crayon! are New York Times bestselling books. Creepy Carrots! is also an IndieBound bestseller.

ALSC Notable Children's Books Selection Caldecott Medal Honor Crystal Kite Member Choice Award: Midwest Winner E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Book Honor 2017 Creepy Pair of Underwear! Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Book Finalist Publications As writer and illustrator Flight of the Dodo (2005) Chowder (2006) The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder (2007) The Curious Garden (2009) Children Make Terrible Pets (2010) You Will Be My Friend! (2011) Mr. Tiger Goes Wild (2013) My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.) (2014) The Wild Robot (2016) The Wild Robot Escapes (2017) Fred Gets Dressed (2021) The Wild Robot Protects (2023) The Wild Robot on the Island (2025)

As illustrator Barkbelly (2006) by Cat Weatherill Snowbone (2007) by Cat Weatherill Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House (2008) by Haven Kimmel The Purple Kangaroo (2009) by Michael Ian Black Creepy Carrots! (2012) by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Pair of Underwear! (2017) by Aaron Reynolds Creepy Crayon! (2022) by Aaron Reynolds Troubling Tonsils! (2025) by Aaron Reynolds Unsettling Salad! (2026) by Aaron Reynolds Yarn Is Everything! (2026) by Aaron Reynolds