Once Upon a Journey

About Nick Butterworth

Nick Butterworth was born in Kingsbury, North London in 1946, but moved to Romford in Essex with his parents at the age of three. They moved to run a sweet shop, so Nick found himself fulfilling every child's sugar-coated dream of growing up right inside the proverbial chocolate factory.

Having intended to go to art college after leaving school, Nick decided to take a job as a typographic designer in the printing department of the National Children's Home at the last minute instead. He went on to work for several major London design consultancies before moving into freelance graphics. He has also worked as a television presenter on the TV-AM children's programme Rub-a-Dub-Tub and produced a regular illustrated story called Upney Junction for the Sunday Express magazine. At present, Nick concentrates on writing and illustrating his phenomenally successful children's books.

Percy The Park Keeper first came to life in One Snowy Night in 1989, which The Sunday Times described as, 'a tremendous and well-deserved success' and The Independent called, 'a heart warming bedtime tale.' It wasn't just the reviewers who loved Percy and the world of his park - children, parents and teachers alike fell in love with the kind hearted park keeper. More Percy adventures followed and the range now includes 6 hardback books, paperbacks, audio tapes (read by Richard Briers) and a range of activity books. The latest Percy book, Percy's Bumpy Ride was published in October 1999.

Percy has sold a staggering 4 million copies worldwide and been translated into 16 languages. A Percy book is bought every 15 minutes - not bad for an animal-loving park keeper!

Nick has also written and illustrated other popular books for children including Thud!, All Together Now!, Amanda's Butterfly, Jingle Bells, Q Pootle 5 and Q Pootle 5 in Space. Autumn 2004 saw the publication of a new departure for Nick in The Whisperer - a dark tale of rival alley cats which weaves a strong moral message through an elegant , involving and classic story.

Nick has two grown-up children and lives in Essex with his wife. He is a founding partner, with his son Ben, of Snapper Productions. His success is outstanding and marks him out as one of the most popular and talented author/illustrators in the world of children's books today.