Penny Dale
Penny Dale was born in Abbey Road near The Beatles’ Studio, but grew up in Ottery St Mary, Devon. Her first school was so small that all the children were in one classroom, and even that wasn’t full. Penny took a Foundation Course at Bristol, then took a gap year to work with the Arts Workshop in Bath, making props, costumes and scenery, as well as acting, and counting the takings on foreign tours. Later she completed a Fine Art Degree at Exeter College of Art, where she met her husband Bryan. After college she worked at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter, designing and making costumes and props again, before she and her husband moved to Northumberland to work on renewable energy projects and graphic design. Their daughter Sarah was born in Hexham, and a friendship developed with an artist she met at childbirth classes, which led to shared daughter-minding, making time for painting, drawing and print making. A year later the family moved down to South Wales, it was there that she started to write and illustrate children’s books.
Today Penny is one of the UK’s leading illustrators of children’s books. Her books have met with great success: Bet You Can’t and Once There Were Giants were included in the UK SATS booklist for many years. Wake Up Mr B! was commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal 1988. Rosie’s Babies (written by Martin Waddell) won the Best Book for Babies award and was also shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1990. Night Night Cuddly Bear (also written by Martin Waddell) and Ten In The Bed both won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Jamie and Angus (written by Anne Fine) won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in 2003. Penny has sold over three million books worldwide and has been published in over twenty languages. Her most recent work includes Princess, Princess (2003), as well as The Boy On The Bus (2007) and Jamie and Angus Together (2007). Soon to be published, a new picture book Princess Fairy (September 2009) and Jamie and Angus Forever (November 2009, 3rd in the series written by Anne Fine).