Maisy Big, Maisy Small

Lucy Cousins was born in 1964, attending a school in Kent. After doing a foundation course at Canterbury College, Lucy did a BA Honours in Graphic Design, followed by a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Art.

Lucy finds that illustration comes more easily to her than writing, which tends to work around the drawings. "I draw by heart," she says. "I think about what children would like by going back to my own childlike instincts." And what instincts they are! Lucy now has more than 12 million books in print, including picture books, sticker books, cloth books, colouring books, board books, pull-the-tab and lift-the-flap books, three-dimensional play sets, a clock book... Where does the prolific Lucy - a mother of four children - find the energy? "I'm quite disciplined," she says of her productivity. "If I'm having an 'ideas' day, I just sit at my desk and draw and write until I feel something is happening - though I admit that this is usually helped by a cup of tea, some lively music, and an abundance of sunshine." As for outside inspiration, she says she's sometimes influenced by the work of other artists, as long as those artists are children. Says the author-illustrator, "I get more pleasure and inspiration from walking around a primary school than from any art gallery."

Click here to visit the special Maisy website full of activities and games.

Here's a video of Lucy creating artwork for the Maisy books:

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