Babies Love Books

About Catherine Anholt, Laurence Anholt

Catherine and Laurence Anholt are one of today's leading author/illustrator teams. The stories are written by Laurence for Catherine's illustrations, but Laurence has written for many other artists including Tony Ross, Arthur Robins, Martin Chatterton and Sheila Moxley. To make things even more complicated, Laurence also illustrates his own books, in particular, the bestselling series about great artists published by Frances Lincoln which were described by the Guardian as "enchanting and illuminating". These books are currently being adapted as a major animation by the creators of The Snowman. Catherine Anholt Catherine comes from an Irish family. Her father was a potter and she was one of eight brothers and sisters. She has the unusual quality of total childhood recall - right back to being swaddled in a hairy blanket as a baby! After a brief nursing career, she found her true vocation as an artist at Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall where she also met Laurence. She went on to the Royal College of Art in London and was awarded an MA. Her work is acclaimed as having a uniquely personal character - "It is difficult to define the magic of particular books, but this positively shines and the light will not go out... obtain a copy. You will never regret it." [Child Education] Laurence Anholt Laurence has been described as "one of the most versatile authors writing for children today". [William Watt] He was brought up mainly in Holland where he developed a lasting passion for Art - especially van Gogh. He claims to have a butterfly mind and is happiest working on several diverse projects at once; this might explain the rather confusing list of early careers: Hotel-Night-Receptionist, Carpenter, School Teacher and Art Lecturer; he has also sold encyclopaedias and tropical fish! Laurence studied painting for eight years and finished with a Master's Degree from the Royal Academy of Art in London. His books range from poignant true adventures, like Stone Girl Bone Girl to the outrageously daft and hugely popular Seriously Silly Stories, currently under development by King Rollo Films as a proposed 26 part TV series. The Anholts live and work in a rambling farmhouse, (haunted, of course!) in the woods above the sea at Lyme Regis in South West England. Many of their ideas come directly from family life with their three children, who test every book.