The Reading Room

• Name: Kes Gray
• Lives: Chelmsford
• First Picture Book: 1997 - Eat Your Peas!
• Studied: English and American Literature
• Children's books should be...: 'fresh', 'insightful' and 'fun'
• Recent Titles: See all titles from Kes

Do you know what colour ladybird guts are?

I do.

Do you know what caps smell like, after a toy gunfight in the street?

I do.

Ever picked a scab more than 12 inches long?

I have.

My childhood was punctuated with small, and to be honest, pretty unspectacular moments, that somehow, for some reason have stayed with me big time. The smells, the sounds, the fears, the fun, the challenges and the cowpats are as fresh in my mind as they were then.

As I've grown older, many of my childhood memories and observations have turned to ink.

Of course I've cheated too. A wife and three children of my own, have added to the ink bottle.

I find it a privilege and a challenge to write for children, because children are where it's at. Instinctive, spontaneous, generous, accepting and demanding, they make story writing possibilities endless, and keep me in touch with some of the most precious chapters of my life.

Being nominated for the Red House Children's Book Award is special indeed. Right up there with the only goal I nearly, almost, but not quite, scored with my head, my first tench, my first love bite, and the strangely exhilarating time I watched my pet tortoise munch a dead slow-worm.

Good luck to all the authors and illustrators nominated this year. To be nominated is to win.

But to win, and I'm lucky enough to have won before, to win is... well nothing can prepare you for that.

Back to top

Born in Chelmsford, Kes Gray studied at Kent University - graduating with a 2:1 in English and American Literature - before beginning his writing career as an advertising copywriter. Kes believes that too many children's books rely too heavily on the illustrative content and that all books aimed at children should be as well written as they are illustrated. Children's books, Kes says, should be 'fresh, insightful and fun; a happy marriage between a great idea and a very talented illustrator'. Kes gains inspiration and ideas everywhere and thinks that it's just a case of spotting them. His best idea to date? Writing children's books of course! His books have won many awards including the Sheffield Children's Book Award, the Experian Big 3 Award and Best Picture Book and Overall Winner (beating Harry Potter!) of the Red House Children's Book Award 2001 for Eat Your Peas

Back to top