Skip to Main Content

British Literature in Credo: Children's Literature

Famous People

Joan Aiken (1924 - 2004)

British writer, the daughter of Conrad Aiken, born in Sussex, SE England, UK.

Sir J. M. Barrie (1860 -1937)

From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
Barrie figures significantly in English fiction and drama from the Victorian and modernist periods. His reputation has been more erratic than the reputation of some of his contemporaries.

Enid Blyton (1897 - 1968)

Enid Blyton is famous as the creator of Noddy, a small pixielike character, as well as being the writer of many other successful children's stories.

Michael Bond (1926-2017)

Writer of children’s stories, born in Berkshire, S England, UK. Educated in Reading, he was a television cameraman (1947–66) before becoming a full-time writer.

John Burningham (1936 - 2019)

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
Much loved and admired British artist and author of over sixty picture books. He was married to fellow illustrator Helen Oxenbury.

Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)

English writer; an Oxford mathematics don who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872) and the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876).

Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990)

Writer, born in Llandaff, Cardiff, S Wales, UK, of Norwegian parents.

Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)

From Chambers Biographical Dictionary
In 1908 he published his best-known work, The Wind in the Willows, originally written in the form of letters to his son Alastair, and featuring the quaint and unforgettable riverside characters Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad. It did not at first win acclaim, but within a few years of Grahame's death had become a children's classic.

Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

English author, born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.

Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912)

Scottish historian and folklore scholar.

C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)

English academic and writer, born in Belfast.

Penelope Lively (1933 - )

Novelist and children’s author, born in Cairo, Egypt.

A. A. Milne (1882 - 1956)

English writer of plays, books for children, and novels; best-known works include verse in When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927) and the stories Winnie-The-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928).

Edith Nesbit (1858 - 1924)

From The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography
British writer. Born in London, the daughter of John Collis Nesbit, an agricultural chemist who died when she was three, Edith was the youngest of six children. Her writing combined realism, based on her own childhood memories, with magic and fantasy: she also wrote several excellent ghost stories.

Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943)

Writer and illustrator of books for children, born in London, UK.

Philip Pullman (1946- )

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
English writer, best known for the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. Pullman was born in Norwich, Norfolk, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He worked as a teacher for over 20 years before becoming a full-time writer.

J.K. Rowling (1965 - )

British author; wrote the Harry Potter series of children's novels, the first of which was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997).

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872 - 1898)

English illustrator: noted for his stylized black-and-white illustrations, especially those for Oscar Wilde's Salome and Pope's Rape of the Lock.

Quentin Blake (1932- )

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
British illustrator whose spindly, eccentric line drawings are instantly recognizable, and suited to children's and adult books alike. Blake was brought up in Kent and studied at Downing College, Cambridge. He then worked as a teacher of French. He had no artistic training up to this time, but from 1949 began to contribute cartoons to Punch, and attended life classes at Chelsea School of Art. In 1957 he became a freelance illustrator. Blake's distinguished career includes more than 300 illustrated books and has won him the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Eleanor Farjeon Award, and he was named the UK's first Children's Laureate in 1999.

Ernest Howard Shepard (1879 -1976)

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
British illustrator, best known for his drawings accompanying the work of A. A. Milne and his illustrations to The Wind in the Willows. As an artist, he has been called the last of the great Victorian fine black-and-white illustrators.

Arthur Rackham (1867 - 1939)

From The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English
British artist. Like his contemporary, Aubrey Beardsley, Rackham started his working life in an insurance office and, also like Beardsley, he was influenced by Japanese prints and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Notable People

  • Joan Aiken (1924 - 2004)

    British writer, the daughter of Conrad Aiken, born in Sussex, SE England, UK.

  • Sir J. M. Barrie (1860 -1937)

    From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature

    Barrie figures significantly in English fiction and drama from the Victorian and modernist periods. His reputation has been more erratic than the reputation of some of his contemporaries.

  • Enid Blyton (1897 - 1968)

    Enid Blyton is famous as the creator of Noddy, a small pixielike character, as well as being the writer of many other successful children's stories.

  • Michael Bond (1926-2017)

    Writer of children’s stories, born in Berkshire, S England, UK. Educated in Reading, he was a television cameraman (1947–66) before becoming a full-time writer.

  • John Burningham (1936 - 2019)

    From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature

    Much loved and admired British artist and author of over sixty picture books. He was married to fellow illustrator Helen Oxenbury.

  • Lewis Carroll (1832 - 1898)

    English writer; an Oxford mathematics don who wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1872) and the nonsense poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876).

  • Roald Dahl (1916 - 1990)

    Writer, born in Llandaff, Cardiff, S Wales, UK, of Norwegian parents.

  • Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932)

    From Chambers Biographical Dictionary

    In 1908 he published his best-known work, The Wind in the Willows, originally written in the form of letters to his son Alastair, and featuring the quaint and unforgettable riverside characters Rat, Mole, Badger and Toad. It did not at first win acclaim, but within a few years of Grahame's death had become a children's classic.

  • Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

    English author, born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.

  • Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912)

    Scottish historian and folklore scholar.

  • C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)

    English academic and writer, born in Belfast.

  • Penelope Lively (1933 - )

    Novelist and children’s author, born in Cairo, Egypt.

  • A. A. Milne (1882 - 1956)

    English writer of plays, books for children, and novels; best-known works include verse in When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927) and the stories Winnie-The-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928).

  • Edith Nesbit (1858 - 1924)

    From The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography

    British writer. Born in London, the daughter of John Collis Nesbit, an agricultural chemist who died when she was three, Edith was the youngest of six children. Her writing combined realism, based on her own childhood memories, with magic and fantasy: she also wrote several excellent ghost stories.

  • Beatrix Potter (1866 - 1943)

    Writer and illustrator of books for children, born in London, UK.

  • Philip Pullman (1946- )

    From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia

    English writer, best known for the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. Pullman was born in Norwich, Norfolk, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford. He worked as a teacher for over 20 years before becoming a full-time writer.

  • J.K. Rowling (1965 - )

    J.K. Rowling (1965 - )



  • Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872 - 1898)

    English illustrator: noted for his stylized black-and-white illustrations, especially those for Oscar Wilde's Salome and Pope's Rape of the Lock.

  • Quentin Blake (1932- )

    From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature

    British illustrator whose spindly, eccentric line drawings are instantly recognizable, and suited to children's and adult books alike. Blake was brought up in Kent and studied at Downing College, Cambridge. He then worked as a teacher of French. He had no artistic training up to this time, but from 1949 began to contribute cartoons to Punch, and attended life classes at Chelsea School of Art. In 1957 he became a freelance illustrator. Blake's distinguished career includes more than 300 illustrated books and has won him the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Eleanor Farjeon Award, and he was named the UK's first Children's Laureate in 1999.

  • Ernest Howard Shepard (1879 -1976)

    From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature

    British illustrator, best known for his drawings accompanying the work of A. A. Milne and his illustrations to The Wind in the Willows. As an artist, he has been called the last of the great Victorian fine black-and-white illustrators.

  • Henry Edward Manning (1808 - 1892)

    English churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

  • Arthur Rackham (1867 - 1939)

    From The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English

    British artist. Like his contemporary, Aubrey Beardsley, Rackham started his working life in an insurance office and, also like Beardsley, he was influenced by Japanese prints and the Pre-Raphaelites.

Awards