Benedict Blathwayt started as a painter working from his own studio at the age of seventeen, and held a number of successful exhibitions. Since then he has worked in the Hebrides as a dairyman (which accounts for his wonderful character, Bramble the cow and for the Scottish scenery in Little House by the Sea) and in Wales as a wildlife artist for Nature Conservancy. Now living on Exmoor, he has published over thirty children's books, the very successful Bramble books selling over a million copies in Sainsburys in the l990s. He was short-listed for the Smarties Book Award, (middle category) with Tangle and the Firesticks. He builds his picture book stories round farm animal heroes, Kip the sheep dog, Tig and Tag, the sheep, Bella the goose, Pebble the pony. He has also created board books featuring a tractor, a rally car, an aeroplane, a big truck and a ferry. More recently Hutchinson have published Ben`s Big Book of Cars which is proving immensely popular. Ben is planning more in this series.
His most successful and best known books tell of the adventures of the Little Red Train. There are now five picture story books as well as board books about the train which, driven by Duffy Driver,has a great many fans amongst young readers. Children love the narrative detail in his pictures.
Married to an artist, Ben Blathwayt lives in Somerset on the edge of Exmoor and has two sons.
