Polly Dunbar facts for kids

Polly Dunbar, born in 1977, is a talented English author and illustrator. She creates wonderful picture books for children.

You might know her from her popular book Penguin or the Tilly and Friends series. The Tilly and Friends books even became a fun TV show on BBC! Polly also illustrates books by other authors. She has also written Hello, Mum, which is a visual diary about being a new mother.

Polly is the daughter of Joyce Dunbar, who is also a children's book writer. Polly even illustrated her mother's picture book called Shoe Baby.

About Polly Dunbar

Polly Dunbar was born in the Cotswolds, a beautiful area in England, in 1977. When she was just eight months old, her family moved to Stratford upon Avon. She went to school there until she was eleven.

Later, her family moved to Norwich. Polly went to City of Norwich School and then studied at Norwich School of Art and Design. She started writing and illustrating when she was 16 years old. She even published two "cartoon books" about teenage adventures! After that, she went to Brighton University and finished her illustration degree in 1999.

Today, Polly lives in Waveny Valley, Suffolk. She lives there with her partner and their two sons.

Polly's Books and Career

Polly Dunbar's first books as both author and illustrator, Dog Blue and Flyaway Katie, came out in 2004. The next year, she illustrated Shoe Baby, which was written by her mum, Joyce Dunbar.

Her book Penguin, published in 2007, is one of her most famous. It won the Booktrust Early Years Awards and a silver award in the Nestle Children's Book Prize.

Polly also illustrated Here's A Little Poem, which was recognized by IBBY in 2008. Another book she illustrated, Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy, won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 2009.

In 2004, Publishers Weekly magazine called Polly the "Most Promising New Illustrator". In 2008, The Times newspaper listed her as one of the best new picture book illustrators. Booktrust also named her one of the Ten Best Illustrators in 2008. In 2011, she became their fourth writer in residence.

More recently, in 2020, Polly illustrated several books. These include Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus, Owl or Pussycat? by Michael Morpurgo, and While We Can't Hug by Eoin Mclaughlin. In 2021, her first book for adults, Hello, Mum, was published.

Books Come to Life

Polly's Tilly and Friends books became a popular animated television series. It aired on CBeebies in 2012, bringing her characters to life on screen.

In 2006, Polly also helped start a puppet company called Long Nose Puppets. This company creates puppet shows based on her books! They have performed adaptations of Penguin, Flyaway Katie, Shoe Baby, and Arthur's Dream Boat. Soon, they will also perform While We Can't Hug. Their puppet show of Shoe Baby even won an award for Best Children’s Show at the Brighton Fringe Festival.