Helen Oxenbury - Background

Background

Helen Oxenbury was born in 1938 in Ipswich, Suffolk. Her father was an architect. From an early age she developed a passion for drawing. On leaving school she attended the Ipswich School of Art as a teenager, and during holidays she worked at a small theatre in Felixstowe and at the Ipswich Repertory Theatre Workshop, mixing paints. She went on to study in London at the Central School of Art and Design (1957-1959), where she met her future husband, John Burningham.

In her adult life she embarked on a career in theatre, film and television. She worked as assistant designer at Colchester Repertory Theatre, and for three years as painter and designer for the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 1962 she returned to Britain and did some design work for ABC Television and Shepperton Film Studios.

After marrying the children's book illustrator John Burningham in 1964, she turned to illustrating children’s books herself. In 1988 she created a series of books about a mischievous young boy called Tom, and his stuffed monkey, Pippo. She commented that Tom was very much like her own son in his younger years. Like Tom, her son would often blame his misdeeds on an accomplice (the family dog). She continues to illustrate books. Some of her most recent work includes the illustrations for "The Growing Story" in the September 2008 edition of Bayard Presse's StoryBox magazine.