Week 8 - Christine Pym

Christmas and New Year have been and gone and during the festive period the book was kept snug and well fed by the amazing Christine Pym. Apart from keeping it safe, Christine also got to work on her spread. Look below for her work in progress images and sneak peeks of the final piece!


Christine was born on New Years Eve in 1984.

The urge to draw animals dressed in snazzy knitwear encouraged her that it was the right decision to study Illustration for Childrens Publishing at the North Wales School of Art. In 2006 she graduated and moved to the pretty Peak District. Shortly afterwards Christine illustrated her debut book, ‘The Tail of the Whale’ written by Ellie Patterson and in 2009 the title was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Award in the pre-school category.

Clients include Meadowside Books, Usborne Publishing, Oxford University Press, A Productions, Roger la Borde and American Greetings.

Christine loves drawing, painting, reading and creating her own stories. She also loves rummaging through antique fairs, walking up hills and one day hopes to become an author and a master of embroidery.

Christine lives in Derbyshire with her partner Stephen and their teeny tiny Yorkshire terrier who tends to go a bit bonkers at the sight and smell of Pâtè. They all work downstairs in their Post office and General Store.

And that's the end of Week 8! You can follow Christine on twitter and take a gander at her work on here website and blog. Now its off to Matt Robertson in Norwich for week 9!

Week 5 - Chris Haughton

The brilliant Chris Haughton had the book in his hands this week. He took to his twitter account and tweeted some sneak peeks along the way (see images below). He also tweeted that he might try and rope Oliver Jeffers into doing a doodle on his spread but unfortunately it didn't materialise. Anyway, even without the amazing Oliver Jeffers, Chris produced a classic red bear in his distinctive paper cutting style and the story seems to have a taken a nice surprising twist too...

Chris is an Irish illustrator currently residing in London. He has illustrated for The Guardian, Wired and other publications. He was listed in Time magazine's 'DESIGN 100' for the work he has been doing for fair trade clothing company People Tree. His debut book 'A Bit Lost'  has been translated into 14 languages and won nine awards including Gold at the AOI 'Best of British Illustration Awards 2010'  and the Dutch Picture Book of the Year 2012. 'Oh No George' came out in March 2012. Follow Chris on his Twitter account and have a gander at his work here & here.

Next up Alex T Smith!

Week 4 - Leigh Hodgkinson

It's week 4 and the book had the pleasure of having the wonderful Leigh Hodgkinson doodle and paint in it. Leigh graduated from the University of Hull in 1998 with a first in graphic design. She went on to study Animation Direction at the National Film and Television School. Leigh has worked in the animation industry since then making award winning animated short films amongst other more commercial projects. She is currently a represented director at animation company Beakus.

In 2004, Leigh worked as art director for the first series of Tiger Aspects “Charlie and Lola”, based on the books by Lauren Child.

Leigh is passionate about writing, making things and daydreaming. She has had a gaggle of vibrant picture books published and there are lots more to come! She is also hoping to dabble in the wonderful world of etsy to sell her crafty creations very soon. She works in a nice shed in her back garden in East Sussex. “Goldilocks and Just the One Bear” and “Magical Mix Ups – Friends and Fashion” both published by Nosy Crow are her latest books to hit the shops.

Check out how she did with her spread below. Even her 2 year old daughter Eebee contributed to the bear's journey! Follow Leigh on Twitter and check out her latest work on her blog!

Now time for the book to leave East Sussex and travel back up to London where it will be welcomed by Irish illustrator extraordinaire Chris Haughton.