Lucy Cousins facts for kids

Lucy Cousins (born in 1964) is a British writer and artist. She creates and illustrates children's books. She is most famous for her books about Maisy Mouse. These books are part of the Maisy Series. They started coming out in the 1990s. A TV show called Maisy was made from these books in 1999. A new cartoon show, My Friend Maisy, is being developed. It was planned for 2025 but is now expected in 2026.

Early Life and Education

Lucy Cousins' parents were also artists. She was interested in children's books from a young age. However, it took her six years of art college to decide to create them.

Cousins earned a degree in graphic design. She studied at Brighton Polytechnic's Faculty of Arts and Architecture. Later, she went to the Royal College of Art. There, she met artist Quentin Blake. He encouraged her work and helped her develop her style. She learned a lot about design and color at the Royal College of Art.

Lucy Cousins' Creative Work

Lucy Cousins' books are mostly for young children. This includes preschool-aged kids and even older ones.

Her work, especially the character Maisy Mouse, is very popular. It has become a successful publishing brand. Her books are printed in 27 different languages. Over 27 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. The collection of books is known as the Maisy Series.

Besides the Maisy books, Cousins has written other children's stories. These include Jazzy in the Jungle (published in 2002). She also wrote a book about Noah's Ark.

Awards and Special Recognition

Lucy Cousins' board books are highly praised. These books are made especially for toddlers. The Horn Book Magazine considers them among the best.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh chose Maisy's First Colors for its "Best Books for Babies" list in 2013.

Maisy, Lucy Cousins' famous character, appeared on a postage stamp. The United States Postal Service released it in 2006. It was part of their "Favorite Children's Book Animals Series."

Cousins won a Booktrust Best Book Award in 2014. This award was for her book Peck, Peck, Peck.

She also received Mathical Honors for her book Count with Maisy, Cheep, Cheep, Cheep!.