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Chris Riddell Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Chris Riddell
©harpercollinschildrens.com

Chris Riddell

Chris Riddell Biography

Chris Riddell is an accomplished graphic artist who studied illustration at Brighton Polytechnic and has illustrated many acclaimed books for children, including Pirate Diary by Richard Platt, and Jonathan Swifts Gulliver, which both won the Kate Greenaway Medal. Something Else by Kathryn Cave won the Unesco Award and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, whilst Castle Diary by Richard Platt was Highly Commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal. The Swans Stories by Brian Alderson was shortlisted for the 1997 Kurt Maschler Award and won the 2001 Kate Greenaway Medal.

Together with Paul Stewart, he is co-creator of the Far-Flung Adventures series. In addition to his children’s book work, Riddell is a renowned political cartoonist, whose work appears regularly in UK newspapers the Observer and the Guardian, as well as The Literary Review and The New Statesman.

Riddell lives in Brighton with his wife and children.

From the author's website

Chris Riddell's website

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Interview

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell discuss their extraordinary Deepwoods series for children.

What was your inspiration for The Edge Chronicles?
Paul:
The Edge Chronicles started off with the map. Chris drew it and gave it to me saying, 'here is the world, tell me what happens there.'
Chris: I drew a map that looked like the edge of a map because I've always been fascinated by the edges of maps - the place where the known world ends.
Paul: My main inspiration for the Deepwoods was perhaps the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, though other books–Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Gormenghast, Gulliver's Travels– also played their part.

What was your favorite character(s) to create?
Chris:
My favorite character is the spindlebug. It was easy for Paul to write that it was see-through, like glass, but a challenge for an illustrator to draw. The creatures live an immense amount of time–up to four centuries –which means that they witness a lot more history of the Edge than other characters.
Paul: My favorite characters are the banderbears. Chris drew them first as fierce, pyramid-like bear creatures. Because they ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Chris Riddell at BookBrowse
Corby Flood jacket The Last of the Sky Pirates jacket Beyond The Deepwoods jacket Stormchaser jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Chris Riddell but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Georgia Byng

    Georgia Byng

    Georgia Byng is the creator of Molly Moon and the author of Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism; Molly Moon Stops the World; Molly Moon’s Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure; Molly Moon, Micky Minus, & the Mind ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Corby Flood

    Try:
    Molly Moon Stops The World
    by Georgia Byng

  • Eoin Colfer

    Eoin Colfer

    Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Beyond The Deepwoods

    Try:
    Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception
    by Eoin Colfer

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