Jez Alborough

As a child

Jez Alborough was born and grew up in Kingston-upon-Thames. He loved drawing and painting from an early age and always wanted to be an artist. "I used to love the exercise books which had one blank page opposite one lined page," he says. "It was like an invitation to me to write a story and draw the illustrations." Jez didn't much like secondary school, but going to art college in Norwich was a much happier experience: "It felt like freedom. Having the time and space to do what I wanted to do was so uplifting." He graduated with a BA Honours degree in Graphic Design, and started to look for illustration work.

As an adult

Jez and his wife live in London, where they both like to practise Shiatsu, a form of Japanese massage. The author-illustrator also enjoys guitar playing, laughing, roller-skating, learning how to do new things, and juggling, a hobby he finds relaxing when working on a book (he has been known to demonstrate it in bookstores).

As an artist

Jez has written and illustrated over thirty picture books, including the hugely popular stories about Eddy and the Bear, which were turned into a BAFTA award-winning animated TV series. "Some people write children's books for their own children," says Jez. "But I don't have any children. I write for the child I was." Jez stays connected with his readership by spending a good deal of time talking with school children. When they ask where his ideas come from, he answers with a poem he wrote: "Ideas are like butterflies / If I chase them, they will get away. / But if I sit perfectly still, / and I'm lucky, / one might land with a tickle on my open hand. / Then I just look / as the butterfly opens up its wings like the pages of a book, / and I think: "Aha! I will write that book." / Then the butterfly flies, leaving me to capture it between my pages.

Things you didn't know about Jez Alborough

1. With his brother, Jez wrote an episode of the TV comedy series Murder Most Horrid, starring Dawn French, and made a very brief appearance in the final scene.
2. His favourite books as a child were A. A. Milne's Now We Are Six (especially the poem "Wheezles and Sneezles") and Bennet Cerf's Book of Riddles.
3. He is a qualified practitioner of Shiatsu - a Japanese form of massage.
4. He first saw his name in print on a runner-up certificate for a Ready Brek art competition.
5. He once had a job drawing people's portraits at a Butlin's holiday camp.
6. His favourite film is Whistle Down the Wind.
7. He loves to cook with vegetables which he has grown himself.
8. He took part in a sponsored Hugathon (inspired by his book Hug) with 480 pupils at Thomas's Preparatory School in London that set a new world record for the most people hugging in one place at the same time.
9. His favourite food is his wife's home-made focaccia bread with melted goat's cheese and grilled tomatoes.
10. He loves playing the guitar and writing and recording his own music - and recently composed a theme tune for Duck in the Truck.