Michael Foreman (illustrator)

Michael Foreman (illustrator)
Michael Foreman (born 21 March 1938) is a British author and illustrator, one of the best-known and most prolific creators of children's books. He won the 1982 and 1989 Kate Greenaway Medals for British children's book illustration and he was a commended runner-up five times.
For his contribution as a children's illustrator he was U.K. nominee in 1988 and again in 2010 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.
Life
He was born and grew up in Pakefield, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, where his mother kept the village shop. His father died a month before he was born. When he was three, the family home was hit by a German bomb, but he survived along with his mother and two older brothers. He studied at Lowestoft School of Art, and later in London at the Royal College of Art, where he won a scholarship to the United States.
Foreman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to literature.
Approach to illustration
Foreman learned to respond instantly to text as an art student. Having drawn for the newspapers and for the police, drawing female suspects when Identikit only catered for men, he gained valuable drawing experience. A travel scholarship took him all around the world, drawing landscapes, architecture and wildlife. Although many of his books feature luminous watercolours, it is the drawing that he sees as vital: "It's all in the drawing and illustration. It's a question of creating another world, believable in its own right. I think I was very lucky to have started art school so young when they actually taught Art. It was a rigorous training – not just painting and drawing from life – but hours of anatomy and perspective. ... it really taught you to understand what you were looking at." His aim in illustration is to make the worlds created believable, real: "I keep trying to make things more real, not in a literal photographic sense, but in an emotional sense, telling a story by capturing the essence of the situation, giving it some meaning."
Selected works
1960s
1961 Comic Alphabets: Their origin, development, nature (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul, by Eric Partridge
1961 The General (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul, by Jane Charters
1961 The King Who Lived on Jelly (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul
1962 Poems by Children 1950–61 (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul
1966 Huit Enfants et un Bebe (illustrator) Abelard-Schuman
1966 Making Music (illustrator) Longman
1966 The Bad Food Guide (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul
1967 I'm for You, and You're for Me (illustrator) Abelard-Schuman
1967 The Perfect Present (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1967 The Two Giants (author/illustrator) Brockhampton Press
1968 Let's Fight! and Other Russian Fables (illustrator) Pantheon (U.S.)
1968 The Great Sleigh Robbery (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1969 Essex Poems, 1963–67 (illustrator) Routledge & Kegan Paul
1970s
1970 Adam's Balm (illustrator) Bowmar (U.S.)
1970 Horatio (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1970 The Birthday Unicorn (illustrator) Gollancz
1971 James and the Giant Peach (an adaptation) (illustrator) Penguin
1971 Moose (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1971 The Living Arts of Nigeria (illustrator) Studio Vista
1972 Dinosaurs and all that rubbish (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton, adapted into an online series and musical theatre production by Roustabout Theatre in 2021
1973 Alexander in the Land of Mog (illustrator) Brockhampton Press
1973 Mr Noah and the Second Flood (illustrator) Gollancz
1973 The Living Treasures of Japan (illustrator) Wildwood House
1973 The Pushcart War (illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1974 War and Peas (writer and illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1975 Private Zoo (illustrator) Collinsn
1975 Rainbow Rider (illustrator) Collins
1976 Hans Andersen: His Classic Fairy Tales (illustrator) Gollancz
1976 Monkey and the Three Wizards (illustrator) Collins
1976 The Stone Book (illustrator) Collins
1977 Granny Reardun (illustrator) Collins
1977 Panda's Puzzle (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1977 Teeny-Tiny and the Witch-Woman (illustrator) Andersen Press
1977 Tom Fobble's Day (illustrator) Collins
1978 Borrowed Feathers and Other Fables (illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1978 Mickey's Kitchen Contest (illustrator) Andersen Press
1978 Popular Folk Tales (illustrator) Gollancz, newly translated from Brothers Grimm by Brian Alderson —a Greenaway runner up,
1978 The Aimer Gate (illustrator) Collins
1978 The Princess and the Golden Mane (illustrator) Collins,
1978 The Selfish Giant (illustrator) Kaye & Ward
1979 Alan The Three Golden Heads of the Well (illustrator) Collins
1979 How to Catch a Ghost (illustrator) Holt (U.S.)
1979 The Golden Brothers (illustrator) Collins
1979 Winter's Tales (author) Benn
1980s
1980 After Many a Summer (illustrator) Folio Society
1980 Alan Garner's Fairytales of Gold (illustrator) Collins
1980 City of Gold and Other Stories from the Old Testament (illustrator) Gollancz, retold by Peter Dickinson, who won the Carnegie Medal —a Greenaway runner up (Highly Commended),
1980 The Faithful Bull (illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1980 The Pig Plantagenet (illustrator) Hutchinson
1980 The Tiger Who Lost his Stripes (illustrator) Andersen Press
1981 Fairy Tales (illustrator) Pavilion, by Terry Jones
1981 Over the Bridge (illustrator) Viking Kestrel
1981 Panda and the Old Lion (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1981 The Nightingale and the Rose (illustrator) Kaye & Ward
1981 Trick a Tracker (author/illustrator) Gollancz
1982 Land of Dreams (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1982 Long Neck and Thunder Foot (illustrator) Viking Kestrel, by Helen Piers —joint winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal for British children's book illustration
1982 Sleeping Beauty and other favourite fairy tales (illustrator) Gollancz, selected and translated from Perrault and Le Prince de Beaumont by Angela Carter —joint winner of the Greenaway Medal and winner of the Kurt Maschler Award for integration of writing and illustration in a British children's book
1982 The Crab That Played with the Sea (illustrator) Macmillan
1982 The Magic Mouse and the Millionaire (illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1983 A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas (illustrator) Gollancz
1983 Poems for 7-Year-Olds and Under (illustrator) Viking Kestrel
1983 The Brontosaurus Birthday Cake (illustrator) Methuen
1983 The Saga of Erik the Viking (illustrator) Pavilion, by Terry Jones —a Greenaway runner up
1983 Treasure Island (illustrator) Puffin
1984 A Cat and Mouse Love Story (illustrator) Heinemann Quixote
1984 Cat and Canary (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1984 Panda and the Bunyips (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1984 Poems for 9-year-olds (illustrator) Viking Kestrel
1984 Poems for Over 10-year-olds (illustrator) Viking Kestrel
1985 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (illustrator, revised edition) Allen & Unwin, by Roald Dahl
1985 I'll Take You to Mrs Cole (illustrator) Andersen Press
1985 Nicobobinus (illustrator) Pavilion
1985 Poetic Gems (illustrator) Folio Society
1985 Seasons of Splendour: Tales, myths, and legends of India (illustrator) Pavilion, Madhur Jaffrey —a Greenaway runner up,
1986 Ben's Box: A Pop-up Fantasy (author/illustrator) Hodder & Stoughton
1986 Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (illustrator) Allen & Unwin
1986 Early in the Morning: A Collection of New Poems (illustrator) Viking
1986 Letters from Hollywood (illustrator) Harrap
1986 Panda and the Bushfire (author/illustrator) Hamish Hamilton
1986 Tales for the Telling (illustrator) Pavilion
1987 Ben's Baby (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1987 Brontosaurus Superstar (illustrator) Magnet
1987 du Maurier's Classics of the Macabre (illustrator) Gollancz
1987 Fun (illustrator) Gollancz
1987 Adventures of Charlie and Mr Willy Wonka (illustrator) Unwin Hyman
1987 The Jungle Book (illustrator) Puffin
1988 Edmond Went Far Away (illustrator) Walker Macmillan
1988 The Angel and the Wild Animal (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1988 The Curse of the Vampire's Socks (illustrator) Pavilion
1988 The Magic Ointment (illustrator) Macmillan
1988 The Night Before Christmas (illustrator) Viking
1988 Peter Pan and Wendy (illustrator) Pavilion
1988 Worms Wiggle (author/illustrator) Carnival
1989 Land of the Long White Cloud (illustrator) Pavilion
1989 Once Upon a Planet (illustrator) Puffin
1989 The Sand Horse (illustrator) Andersen Press
1989 War Boy: a country childhood (author/illustrator) Pavilion —memoir, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, —also entitled War Boy: a wartime childhood
1990s
1990 Michael Foreman (author/illustrator) Beetles
1990 Michael Foreman's Mother Goose (illustrator) Walker
1990 Michael Foreman's World of Fairy Tales (illustrator) Pavilion
1990 One World (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1990 The Brothers Grimm: Popular Folk Tales (illustrator) Gollancz
1991 Busy! Busy! Busy! (illustrator) Andersen Press
1991 Michael Foreman's Nursery Rhymes (illustrator) Walker
1991 The Boy Who Sailed with Columbus (author/illustrator) Pavilion
1991 The Puffin Book of Twentieth-Century Stories (illustrator) Viking
1991 The Puffin Book of Twentieth-Century Verse (illustrator) Viking
1991 The Young Man of Cury and Other Poems (illustrator) Macmillan
1992 Fantastic Stories (illustrator) Pavilion
1992 Jack's Fantastic Voyage (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1992 Spider the Horrible Cat (illustrator) Pavilion
1992 The Arabian Nights (illustrator) Gollancz
1992 The Echoing Green (illustrator) Viking
1992 Wyvern Winter (illustrator) Andersen Prensiess
1993 A Fish of the World (illustrator) Pavilion
1993 Funnybunch: A New Puffin Book of Funny Verse (illustrator) Viking
1993 Grandfather's Pencil (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1993 The Beast with a Thousand Teeth (illustrator) Pavilion
1993 The Long Weekend (illustrator) Andersen Press
1993 There's a Bear in the Bath (illustrator) Pavilion
1993 War Game (author/illustrator) Pavilion —a Greenaway runner up,
1993 Wyvern Spring (illustrator) Andersen Press
1994 Arthur, High King of Britain (illustrator) Pavilion/The National Trust
1994 Dad! I Can't Sleep (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1994 Sarah and the Sandhorse (illustrator) Andersen Press
1994 The Fly-by-Night (illustrator) Pavilion
1994 The Sea Tiger (illustrator) Pavilion
1994 Wyvern Fall (illustrator) Andersen Press
1994 Wyvern Summer (illustrator) Andersen Press
1995 After the War was Over (author/illustrator) Pavilion
1995 Peter's Place (illustrator) Andersen Press
1995 Shakespeare Stories II (illustrator) Gollancz
1995 Surprise! Surprise! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1995 The Little Prince (illustrator) Pavilion
1996 A Child's Garden of Verses (illustrator) Gollancz
1996 Peter Pan and Wendy (illustrator) Pavilion
1996 Robin of Sherwood (illustrator) Pavilion
1996 Seal Surfer (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1996 The Little Reindeer (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1996 The Songs My Paddle Sings (illustrator) Pavilion
1996 There's a Bear in the Classroom (illustrator) Pavilion
1997 Creation: Stories from Around the World (illustrator) Walker
1997 Farm Boy (illustrator) Pavilion
1997 Look! Look! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1997 The Knight and the Squire (illustrator) Pavilion
1997 The Little Ships (illustrator) Pavilion
1998 Chicken Licken (illustrator) Andersen Press
1998 Cockadoodle-doo Mr Sultana! (illustrator) Scholastic
1998 Jack's Big Race (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1998 Joan of Arc (illustrator) Pavilion
1999 Kensuke's Kingdom (illustrator) Heinemann
1999 Michael Foreman's Christmas Treasury (author/illustrator) Pavilion
1999 The Little Red Hen (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
1999 The Merrymaid of Zennor (illustrator) Orchard
1999 The Rainbow Bear (illustrator) Doubleday
1999 The Shining Princess and Other Japanese Legends (illustrator) Andersen Press
1999 The Story of Millennia the Angel (illustrator) Orchard
1999 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (illustrator) Pavilion
2000s
2000 Billy the Kid (illustrator) Pavilion
2000 Cat in the Manger (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2000 Memories of Childhood (author/illustrator) Pavilion
2000 Rock-a-doodle-doo! (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2000 The Lady and the Squire (illustrator) Pavilion
2000 Why Bear has a Stumpy Tail (illustrator) Walker
2001 Out of the Ashes (illustrator) Macmillan
2001 Saving Sinbad (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2001 The Wind in the Willows (illustrator) Pavilion
2001 Tom and the Pterosaur (illustrator) Walker
2001 Toro! Toro! (illustrator) Collins
2002 Bedtime Stories (illustrator) Chrysalis
2002 Cool! (illustrator) Collins
2002 Dinosaur Time (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2002 Evie and the Man who Helped God (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2002 Michael Foreman's Playtime Rhymes (author/illustrator) Walker
2002 The Last Wolf (illustrator) Doubleday
2002 The Sleeping Sword (illustrator) Egmont
2002 Wonder Goal (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2003 Bobby, Charlton and the Mountain (illustrator) Andersen Press
2003 Cat on the Hill (author/illustrator) Andersen Press
2003 Hello World (author/illustrator) Walker
2004 Dolphin Boy (illustrator) Andersen Press
2004 Gentle Giant (illustrator) Collins
2004 Sir Gawain & the green knight (illustrator) Walker
2004 Alice's adventures in Wonderland (illustrator) Sterling
2004 One world (author/illustrator) Anderson Press
2004 Christmas crimes (illustrator) Folio Society
2005 Classic fairy tales (illustrator) Sterling
2005 The amazing story of Adolphus Tips (illustrator) Harper Collins
2005 Can't Catch Me!, author/illustrator, Andersen Press
2006 Beowulf, illustrator, Candlewick
2006 Fox Tale, author/illustrator, Andersen Press
2006 Mia's Story, author/illustrator, Walker
2006 Norman's Ark, author/illustrator, Andersen Press
2007 Michael Foreman's Classic Fairy Tales, adapter/illustrator, Pavilion
2007 Say Hello, illustrator, Walker
2007 Soggy the Bear, illustrator, Mabecron Books
2007 Soggy to the Rescue, illustrator, Mabecron Books
2007 Team Trouble, illustrator, Andersen Press
2007 The Mozart Question, illustrator, Walker
2007 White Owl, Barn Owl, illustrator, Candlewick
2008 Kaspar, illustrator, HarperCollins
2008 Soggy and the Mermaid, illustrator, Mabecron Books
2008 The Lion Who Ate Everything, illustrator, Walker
2008 The Little Dinosaur, author/illustrator, Walker
2009 A Child's Garden: A Story of Hope, author/illustrator, Walker
2009 Pirates Ahoy!, illustrator, Andersen Press
2009 The Littlest Dinosaur's Big Adventure, author/illustrator, Walker
2010 Why the Animals Came to Town, author/illustrator, Walker
2015 The Tortoise and the Soldier, author/illustrator, Henry Holt
2021 Noa and the Little Elephant, author/illustrator, HarperCollins Children's Books in association with Tusk Trust
Awards
1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award)
1993 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award)
1989 Kate Greenaway Medal
1982 Kate Greenaway Medal
1982 Kurt Maschler Award
1980 Bologna Children's Book Fair Graphics Prize
1977 Francis Williams Award for Illustration
1977 National Art Library Illustration Award
1972 Festival International du Livre Aigle d'Argent Award
1972 National Art Library Illustration Award
1971 Francis Williams Award for Illustration
See also
Notes
References
External links
Michael Foreman at March House Books (dealer), a long list of books with preface
British children's writers
British illustrators
British children's book illustrators
Kate Greenaway Medal winners
20th-century illustrators of fairy tales
21st-century illustrators of fairy tales
Writers who illustrated their own writing
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
People from Lowestoft
1938 births
Living people
Officers of the Order of the British Empire