Emily Gravett
- Name: Emily Gravett
- Date of Birth: 1972
- Place of Birth: Brighton
- Website: www.emilygravett.com
- Recent Titles: Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears
- See all titles from Emily
I love that there is a book out there for every mood, every occasion and every child.
I love children's books. I love the way that they look, and smell, and feel, but most of all I love that there is a book out there for every mood, every occasion and every child - and adult as well! The trouble is their diversity also makes it very hard to choose favourites - even when confined to recently published books.
I'm very lucky because as an illustrator I have a great excuse to read as many picture books as I want, and as my daughter has got older (she's 11 now) I've been able to read for her age group too. Two of our favourites this year were Cosmic and Here Lies Arthur.
Cosmic is the story of a boy who gets mistaken for an adult, and ends up in space, which sounds like an unlikely combination, but somehow it works beautifully. My daughter and me read it together (to prevent the fight over who should go first) and howled with laughter most of the way through.
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve won the Carnegie this year (which I was very happy about) because it's a fantastic book, which gives a really human touch and an original twist to Arthurian legend.
In picture books Oliver Jeffers' The Great Paper Caper is a great story about consumption and recycling that manages to avoid any 'preachiness'. I especially love that the jacket can be taken off, and turned first into a plane, and then recycled as... paper!
Polly Dunbar's Penguin is not only beautifully drawn, but it has a story that is so simple and clean and satisfying, that I had to mention it. It's the kind of book that makes me wish that I had done it, and glad someone else has in equal measures.
These are just a few of all the wonderful books that are out there to be wrapped up and put under the tree this year. I hope you love them as much as I do and wish you a very happy Christmas!
Emily Gravett was born in Brighton. After leaving school with few qualifications she spent 8 years living on the road before getting a place on the BA Illustration course at Brighton University. She won the Macmillian Prize for Illustration with WOLVES which was published to great acclaim in August 2005, winning many prizes and marking the beginning of an internationally stellar career creating extraordinary books for children.
