Chris Riddell is familiar to both children and adults for his distinctive line drawings with their clever caricature, fascinating detail and often enchanting fantasy elements.
He studied illustration at Brighton Polytechnic and has illustrated several picture books including Something Else by Kathryn Cave which was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize and which won the Unesco Award. The Swan’s Stories by Brian Alderson was shortlisted for the 1997 Kurt Maschler Award and Castle Diary was shortlisted for the 1999 Kate Greenaway Medal. Pirate Diary won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2002 and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver won the 2004 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal.
Chris’ popularity extends to the young teenage market with his collaboration with Paul Stewart on the best selling Edge Chronicles series, the ninth of which will be published later this year. For slightly younger children his Fergus Crane adventure series, again written by Paul Stewart, has achieved critical success with Fergus Crane winning the Smarties Gold Award and Corby Flood winning the Smarties Silver Award. An extraordinary achievement which cements Chris Riddell’s position as one of the top illustrators working today.
In addition to his children’s book work, Chris is a renowned political cartoonist whose work appears regularly in The Observer, The Literary Review and The New Statesman. One of his claims to fame is that he was the first cartoonist to depict William Hague in shorts; an illustration that William Hague subsequently bought!
Chris Riddell lives in Brighton with his wife and children.
The Da Vinci Cod: and other illustrations to Unwritten Books, first published 2005 by Walker Books Ltd. A collection over forty-five black and white sketches originally printed in The Literary Review.
“This is quite bananas and something of a hoot. So often mini books purporting to be side-splitters are anything but. Observer cartoonist Chris Riddell, though, pulls it off.” Artists and Illustrators
Alice in Sunderland, A Brief History of Tim and One Hundred Years of Solihull. All literary classics… or are they? The Observer political cartoonist Chris Riddell imagined what the world would be like if there really had been a novel called Wuthering Tights and expertly illustrated them accordingly!
BIBLIOGRAPHYYou can now easily buy or find out more about some of Chris’s books by clicking on those that are highlighted. You will be taken directly to the publisher’s website but can return quickly by clicking on “Back”
The Emperor Absurdier, to be published by Macmillan Children’s Books later this year.
The Da Vinci Cod: and other illustrations to Unwritten Books, published 2005 by Walker Books Ltd
Corby Flood, written by Paul Stewart, first published 2005 by Doubleday
Fergus Crane, written by Paul Stewart, first published 2004 by Doubleday
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver (Martin Jenkins) published by 2004 by Walker Books Ltd
Free Lance and the Lake of Skulls (Paul Stewart) published by Hodder & Stoughton 2004
Free Lance and the Field of Blood (Paul Stewart) published by Hodder & Stoughton 2004
Edge Map (Paul Stewart) published by Corgi Juvenile 2004
Freeglader (Paul Stewart) published by Corgi Juvenile 2004
Angus Rides the Goods Train (Alan Durant) published by Corgi Juvenile 2004
The Edge Chronicles trilogy (Paul Stewart) published by Corgi Juvenile 1999 – 2002
Pirate Diary (Richard Platt) published by Walker Books 2002
Castle Diary (Richard Platt) published by Walker Books 2001
The Swan’s Stories (Hans Christian Andersen, Brian Alderson) published by Walker Books 1997
The Trouble with Elephants published by Walker Books
The Wish Factory published by Walker Books