Emily Gravett facts for kids

Emily Gravett (born in 1972) is a talented English author and illustrator. She creates amazing picture books for kids. She is famous for her unique drawing style and fun stories.

She even won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal twice! This award celebrates the best-illustrated children's book in the UK. She won for her first book, Wolves (2005), and again for Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears (2008).

About Emily Gravett

Emily Gravett was born in Brighton, England. Her dad was a printmaker, and her mom was an art teacher. She loved art from a young age. She would often go drawing in museums with her father.

She left school when she was 16 years old. She only had a good grade in Art. For the next eight years, she traveled all over Great Britain. She lived in different vehicles and met her partner, Mik.

Starting Her Career

By 1997, Emily and Mik settled in Wales. They had a daughter named Oleander, or Olly. Emily then realized she wanted a career. Drawing was her best skill, so she started an art course.

In 2001, her family moved back to Brighton. Emily worked hard to get into an illustration degree course. She started university that September. She graduated three years later. After raising her daughter in Brighton, Emily and her partner moved back to rural Wales in 2023.

Emily's Amazing Books

Emily Gravett became a published author while still a student. In her second year, she entered a school project into the Macmillan Prize for Children's Illustration. This is a big award for art students. She received a "Highly Commended" award.

She won the prize in her final year of university. She entered two books, and the judges loved them both. This led to a contract to publish her first book, Wolves. It was published by Macmillan Children's Books.

Winning Awards

Two years after graduating, Emily won her first Kate Greenaway Medal for Wolves. This award recognized it as the best-illustrated children's book of 2005 in the UK. Her books were soon sold in many other countries.

In 2007, her book Orange Pear Apple Bear was also nominated for the Greenaway Medal. The next year, she won her second Medal for Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears. She also had another book, Monkey and Me, nominated that same year.

Orange Pear Apple Bear is one of her most popular books. It uses only five simple words to teach about colors, shapes, and food. A bear juggles and plays with these items.

In 2008, Emily Gravett was chosen as the official illustrator for World Book Day (United Kingdom). This meant she created special drawings and showed how she drew characters from her books.

Collaborations

Emily has also illustrated books written by other famous authors. She worked with Julia Donaldson, who was a Children's Laureate. Together, they created Cave Baby in 2010. This picture book is about a prehistoric baby riding a woolly mammoth.

She also illustrated J. K. Rowling's Quidditch Through the Ages in 2020. For this book, Emily made many real objects. She created a broom, silk badges, and ceramics. These were then photographed for the book's illustrations.

Her Unique Style

Emily Gravett often uses creative and interactive ways to make her books. She finished her first book, Wolves, in just six weeks for a school project. Some books take longer, but she wrote and sketched Orange Pear Apple Bear in only 11 hours! She woke up with the four words in her head and finished the whole book that same day.

Interactive Books

Emily's books are often very interactive. For Wolves, she wanted the book to look like a wolf had chewed it. She tried letting her pet dog chew the dummy book, but it didn't work. So, she chewed it herself!

For Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, she wanted the book to look genuinely chewed and old. She painted yoghurt on plain white paper. Then, she put the paper in her pet rats' cage. The rats nibbled and peed on it. Emily then scanned these papers to create the unique backgrounds for her drawings.

The front cover of Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears shows a mouse looking through a hole it chewed. The edges of the book also look damaged. This book is also a movable book. It has fun lift-flaps and a fold-out map for readers to explore.

Books by Emily Gravett

Written and Illustrated by Emily Gravett

Illustrated by Emily Gravett

Awards and Nominations

Emily Gravett has won many awards for her amazing books.

Awards Won

• Wolves won the 2005 Kate Greenaway Medal.
• Monkey and Me won the 2007 Booktrust Best Emerging Illustrator Award.
• Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears won the 2008 Kate Greenaway Medal.
• Tidy won the 2017 Indie Book Awards for Picture Book.

Nominations and Recognitions

• 2005, Wolves was a bronze runner-up for the Smarties Prize.
• 2006, Orange Pear Apple Bear was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Pre-School Award.
• 2007, Orange Pear Apple Bear was shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal.
• 2007, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears was a bronze runner-up for the Smarties Prize.
• 2007, Wolves was shortlisted for the Hampshire Illustrated Book Award.
• 2008, Monkey and Me was shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal.
• 2012, Wolf Won't Bite! was shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal.
• 2013, Matilda's Cat was shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards.
• 2022, Too Much Stuff was shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal.