Jim Kay facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Kay
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Jim Kay at a book signing in 2018.
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| Born | 4 April 1974 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | BA Honours of Illustration and Visual Communication |
| Alma mater | University of Westminster |
| Known for | Harry Potter |
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Notable work
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A Monster Calls Harry Potter |
| Awards | Kate Greenaway Medal 2012 A Monster Calls – Illustrator |
Jim Kay (born April 4, 1974) is a talented British artist and illustrator from Northamptonshire, England. He is famous for his amazing drawings in children's books. In 2012, he won the Kate Greenaway Medal for his illustrations in the book A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. He was also personally chosen by J. K. Rowling to create the beautiful color illustrations for all the books in the beloved Harry Potter series.
Contents
Jim Kay's Journey as an Artist
Jim Kay has always loved art and nature, especially plants and insects. He studied at the University of Westminster, where he learned about illustration and visual communication.
Working with Art and History
For two years, Jim worked at Tate Britain, a famous art museum. He helped with the personal papers of artists like Paul Nash. Later, he became an Assistant Curator at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Here, he worked with old art collections, including beautiful illustrated books and records from explorers. He saw many amazing paintings of plants made by Indian artists.
In 2008, Jim had his own art show in Richmond. It was all about his ideas for children's books.
Award-Winning Illustrations
In 2012, Jim received his first Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is given to illustrators for outstanding children's books. He won it for his detailed drawings in A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
Illustrating Harry Potter
In 2013, something very exciting happened! J. K. Rowling herself chose Jim to illustrate the entire Harry Potter series. This meant he would create full-color pictures for every book.
The first four illustrated Harry Potter books were released between 2015 and 2019:
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2015)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2016)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2017)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2019)
On October 11, 2022, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was released. For this book, Jim Kay worked with another award-winning illustrator, Neil Packer, who also added his artworks.
In October 2022, Jim Kay announced that he would be stepping back from illustrating the Harry Potter series. He needed to focus on his well-being. The publishers, Bloomsbury, shared that other talented artists will continue to illustrate the rest of the books.
Books Illustrated by Jim Kay
Here are some of the books that Jim Kay has illustrated:
- A Monster Calls (Illustrated Edition, 2011)
- Bugs: A Pop-up Journey into the World of Insects, Spiders and Creepy-crawlies (Illustrated Edition, 2013)
- The Great War (Illustrated Edition, 2014)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Illustrated Edition, 2015)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Illustrated Edition, 2016)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Illustrated Edition, 2017)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Illustrated Edition, 2019)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Illustrated Edition, 2022)
