Angela Barrett facts for kids

Angela Barrett, born in 1955, is a talented British artist. She is famous for illustrating many books, including picture books, children's stories, and even novels. She has also brought many classic fairytales to life with her drawings.

Angela Barrett's Life and Work

Angela Barrett loved to sew and draw when she was growing up. She went to Thurrock Technical College to study art. After that, she worked in shops, helping to arrange displays. She then continued her art education at Maidstone art school and later at the famous Royal College of Art.

Angela's first book with her illustrations was The King, the Cat and the Fiddle. It was published in 1983 and written by Yehudi Menuhin and Christopher Hope.

In 2013, special stamps were released by Royal Mail. These stamps showed scenes from novels by Jane Austen, like Pride and Prejudice. Angela Barrett was the artist who created these beautiful illustrations for the stamps.

Angela's Art Style

Angela Barrett mainly uses watercolor paints, gouache (which is like opaque watercolor), colored pencils, and ink for her artwork. She is well-known for her "period pieces," which means her illustrations often show scenes from specific times in history. She does a lot of research to make sure her drawings are accurate for the time period.

For example, when she illustrated the 1998 book Joan of Arc, she studied art from the 1400s and old illuminated manuscripts. These were handwritten books with beautiful decorations. She used ideas from medieval French fabrics to create the visual style for the story. Angela also uses photographs to help her plan how her pictures will look.

Her art style is realistic, but she sometimes changes figures and perspectives a little. This can make her drawings feel still and intense, or even add a sense of mystery.

Books Illustrated by Angela Barrett

Angela Barrett has illustrated many wonderful books. Here are some of them:

• The King, the Cat and the Fiddle (1983), by Yehudi Menuhin and Christopher Hope
• The Wild Swans (around 1984) by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Dragon wore Pink (1985) by Christopher Hope
• Through the Kitchen Window (around 1986) by Susan Hill
• The Snow Queen (1988) by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis
• Proud Knight, Fair Lady: The Twelve Lays of Marie de France (1989), translated by Naomi Lewis
• The Hidden House (1990)
• Snow White (1991), retold by Josephine Poole
• Beware, Beware (1993), by Susan Hill
• The Ice Palace (1994), by Angela McAllister
• The Random House Book of Stories from the Ballet (1995) by Geraldine McCaughrean
• The Emperor's New Clothes (1997), by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Naomi Lewis
• Joan of Arc (1998) by Josephine Poole
• Rocking Horse Land and Other Classic Tales of Dolls and Toys (2000), by Hans Christian Andersen, put together by Naomi Lewis
• Through the Tempests Dark and Wild: a Story of Mary Shelley, Creator of Frankenstein (2003) by Sharon Darrow
• Anne Frank (2005) by Josephine Poole
• Beauty and the Beast (2006), retold by Max Eilenberg
• The Snow Goose (2007 edition), by Paul Gallico
• Sylvie and the Songman (2009) by Tim Binding
• The Night Fairy (2010) by Laura Amy Schlitz
• The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (2010) by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Most Wonderful Thing in the World? (2015), by Vivian French
• A Christmas Carol (2015) by Charles Dickens
• The Restless Girls (2019) by Jessie Burton
• A Far Away Country (2022) by Ruth Boswell

Awards and Honors

Angela Barrett has received several awards for her amazing illustrations:

• In 1991, she won the W. H. Smith Illustration Award for her work on The Hidden House by Martin Waddell.
• In 1993, her book Beware, Beware! by Susan Hill was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. This is a very important award for children's book illustration.
• In 1998, she won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for Can It Be True?.