Cabban, Vanessa 1971-

Personal

Born 1971; married. Education: Brighton University, B.A. (illustration; with honors); attended Royal College of Art.

Addresses

Home and office—Northumberland, England.

Career

Children's book author and illustrator.

Awards, Honors

Washington State Book Award, Washington Center for the Book, and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, both 2001, both for Down in the Woods at Sleepy Time, by Carole Lexa Schaefer.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Bertie and Small and the Brave Sea Journey, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

Bertie and Small and the Fast Bike Ride, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999.

ILLUSTRATOR

Giles Andreae, Love Is a Handful of Honey, Little Tiger Press (Waukesha, WI), 1999.

Carole Lexa Schaefer, Down in the Woods at Sleepytime, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

Jonathan Emmett, Bringing down the Moon, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Nigel Gray, Little Bear's Grandpa, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2001.

Giles Andreae, Heaven Is Having You, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2002.

Giles Andreae, There's a House inside My Mommy, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2002.

Michael Catchpool, Where There's a Bear, There's Trouble!, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2002.

Claire Freedman, Gooseberry Goose, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2003.

Kathryn White, Nutty Nut Chase, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2004.

Marion Rose, Cassie and the Kiss Soldier, Orchard Books (London, England), 2004.

Alan Durant, Dear Tooth Fairy, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

Jonathan Emmett, No Place like Home, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Alan Durant, Dear Santa Claus, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Jonathan Emmett, Diamond in the Snow, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2006.

Sidelights

British illustrator Vanessa Cabban has always been enchanted by picture books. Although as a child she collected an assortment of illustrated children's books, she never considered a career in illustration until she became an adult student at art college. Known for her line and wash techniques, Cabban explained on the Walker Books Web site that she prefers the medium of soluble water color over other methods because of its "ability to be strong or delicate." "Creating characters in my drawings is the most important element" of each project, she added.

Cabban has contributed illustrations to numerous picture books and has also written two self-illustrated titles: Bertie and Small and the Brave Sea Journey and Bertie and Small and the Fast Bike Ride. Sharing both plot and characters, these companion books follow title character Bertie, a toddler with a big imagination, as he ex-

plores the world around him while clutching a stuffed animal named Small. A Publishers Weekly reviewer acknowledged Cabban for her "admirable skill at capturing how toddlers bend, reach and walk," adding that this talent "helps keep Bertie's cuteness balanced with realism."

As an illustrator, Cabban is most well known for her simple yet animated drawings and her ability to depict a range of emotions in her illustrated characters. School Library Journal critic Kathleen Kelly observed that the animal characters Cabban creates for Carole Lexa Shaefer's Down in the Woods at Sleepytime are "extremely expressive, from the mischievous grins of the playful bear cubs to the look of utter contentment." A Publishers Weekly contributor, in a review of the illustrator's work for Claire Freedman's Gooseberry Goose, also commented on the artist's skill at generating human-like animal characters. "Cabban's characterizations strike a satisfying balance between anthropomorphism and realism," wrote the critic, adding that, because of their warm tones, "her watercolors glow with autumn light."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of Bertie and Small and the Brave Sea Journey, p. 709.

Publishers Weekly, October 18, 1999, review of Bertie and Small and the Fast Bike Ride and Bertie and Small and the Brave Sea Journey, p. 81; November 12, 2003, review of Gooseberry Goose, p. 60.

School Library Journal, November, 2000, Kathleen Kelly, review of Down in the Woods at Sleepytime, p. 131.

ONLINE

Candlewick Press Web site,http://www.candlewick.com/ (January 1, 2007), "Vanessa Cabban."

Walker Books Web site,http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/ (January 1, 2007), "Vanessa Cabban."