Anthony Browne

A warm welcome back to NCBF to one of the UK's most imaginative and sophisticated illustrators..

10 Things You Didn't Know about Anthony Browne

1. When he was a boy he wanted to be a journalist, a cartoonist or a boxer.

2. He was once asked to present a programme on children's books in a cage with some gorillas. But the gorillas thought he was after their food and one of them bit him very badly on the leg.

3. He grew up in a pub and when he was little, he would go into the bar, stand on a table and tell stories about a character he'd made up, called Big Dum Tackle.

4. He wore short trousers until he was 15.

5. He thinks the character Willy is based on his own childhood.

6. When he was a boy, he wanted a real trumpet for his birthday, but he got a toy plastic one instead. He says his book Gorilla was partly based on that experience.

7. He loves rugby and played as a scrum-half for 18 years.

8. His book The Tunnel was inspired by a very frightening tunnel he and his brother used to go down when they were boys.

9. When he was a medical artist he would often eat his lunch in the mortuary.

10. He says he has never found the perfect pair of swimming shorts!