Chapman, Lynne 1960-

Personal

Born 1960, in London, England; married. Hobbies and other interests: Jiving, sketching, reading novels walking, films, travel.

Addresses

Home—Sheffield, England. E-mail—contact@lynnechapman.co.uk.

Career

Illustrator and author of children's books. Presenter of workshops, talks, and storytellings to schools, libraries, and festivals. Formerly worked as an editorial illustrator. Sheffield College, Sheffield, England, former lecturer in illustration and electronic imaging; Need to Read (young people's literacy project), former tutor.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

When You're Not Looking!, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2004, Gingham Dog Press (Columbus, OH), 2007.

An ABC of Nursery Rhymes, Chicken House (London, England), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR

Helen Paiba, compiler, Funny Stories for Nine Year Olds, Macmillan (London, England), 1999.

Ann Jungman, Broomstick Rescues, Scholastic (London, England), 1999.

Jemma Beeke, The Show at Rickety Barn, David & Charles (London, England), 2000, published as The Rickety Barn Show, Doubleday Book for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2001.

Helen Paiba, compiler, Funny Stories for Eight Year Olds, Macmillan (London, England), 2001.

Miriam Moss, Smudge's Grumpy Day, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001.

Miriam Moss, A New House for Smudge, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001.

Miriam Moss, I'll Be Your Friend, Smudge, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001.

Miriam Moss, It's My Turn, Smudge!, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001.

Simon Puttock, Big Bad Wolf Is Good, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001, Sterling (New York, NY), 2002.

Terry Deary, Into the Lion's Den, A. & C. Black (London, England), 2002.

Miriam Moss, Bad Hare Day, Bloomsbury Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Sue Purkiss, Spook School, A. & C. Black (London, England), 2003.

Jamie Rix, Giddy Goat, Orchard (London, England), 2003, Gingham Dog Press (Columbus, OH), 2004.

Julia Jarman, Kangaroo's Cancan Café, Orchard (London, England), 2004.

Tom Barber, Open Wide!, Chrysalis (London, England), 2004.

Pamela Love, Two Feet up, Two Feet Down, Children's Press (New York, NY), 2004.

Damian Harvey, An Itch to Scratch, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2005, published as Just the Thing!, Gingham Dog Press (Columbus, OH), 2005.

Dori Chaconas, When Cows Come Home for Christmas, Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 2005.

Hiawyn Oram, Mr Strongmouse and the Baby, Orchard (London, England), 2005.

Jamie Rix, Giddy the Great, Orchard (London, England), 2006.

Greg Gormley, Rocky and the Lamb, Barrons Educational (Happauge, NY), 2006.

Julia Jarman, Class Two at the Zoo, Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

S. Purkiss, Ghosts Away, Stone Arch Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

S. Purkiss, Ghost School, Stone Arch Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Julia Rawlinson, Mule School, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2007, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2008.

Julia Jarman, Class Three at Sea, Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 2008.

Tony Mitton, Gnash, Gnaw, Dinosaur!, Kingfisher (London, England), 2009.

Susannah Corbett, Dragon's Dinner, Hodder (London, England), 2009.

Sidelights

Born in London, England, Lynne Chapman is a children's book illustrator whose work appears in dozens of picture books and beginning readers. In addition to her original self-illustrated picture book When You're Not Looking!, Chapman's pastel art, with its wide-eyed characters, has brought to life child-friendly stories by writers ranging from Julia Jarman and Simon Puttock to Hiawyn Oram and Miriam Moss. Praising her work for Damian Harvey's Just the Thing!, for example, Rosalyn Pierini wrote in School Library Journal that Chapman's "wonderful comic illustrations … highlighted by vibrant coloration add significantly to the humor and sweetness" of Harvey's picture-book tale.

While all of Chapman's books have been published in her native England, U.S. readers have also become familiar with her artistry through books such as Moss's Bad Hare Day and Dori Chaconas's When Cows Come Home for Christmas. In a review of Bad Hare Day, in which a young rabbit takes over coiffure-ing duties at her uncle Herbert's beauty salon, a Publishers Weekly critic concluded that Chapman contributes … more [visual] humor and characterization to the proceedings than the stolid text," while School Library Journal critic Martha Topol cited the artist's "vibrant and expressive" pastel drawings. In her collaboration with Chaconas, the illustrator "gives barnyard bovines a homey, humorous look," according to Booklist critic Connie Fletcher.

"I have always preferred drawing to painting," Chapman told SATA. "I love the hands-on messiness of pastels and their vibrant but subtle colours." She most enjoys illustrating humorous stories. "I have great fun creating funny, naughty or evil animal characters," the author/illustrator explained, "but it's not always easy. The very first drawings for a new book are always a bit scary. I often find excuses to put off getting going on that first day. I need to ‘warm up’ and the initial drawings can be pretty rubbish. Even after all these years, I always worry that I'll never be able to do it right, and then, like magic, on the next day it is fine!"

When it comes to writing, Chapman added, "People often ask where I get my ideas. Ideas come from ordinary, everyday things that are happening all the time all around you. The trick is to notice them."

When she travels, Chapman takes along a sketchbook, and she records people and places she sees, building visual diaries. These sketch books are among her most precious possessions; as she explained: "Each drawing is irreplaceable. It is not just a visual record, but forever imbued with all the smells, sounds and small happenings of the period it took to draw."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 1, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of The Rickety Barn Show, p. 1055; April 15, 2003, Connie Fletcher, review of Bad Hare Day, p. 1479; October 15, 2005, Connie Fletcher, review of When Cows Come Home for Christmas, p. 55.

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2002, review of Big Bad Wolf Is Good, p. 1318; March 15, 2003, review of Bad Hare Day, p. 474; November 1, 2005, review of When Cows Come Home for Christmas, p. 1191; August 1, 2006, review of Rocky and the Lamb, p. 786; August 15, 2007, review of Class Two at the Zoo.

Publishers Weekly, January 8, 2001, review of The Rickety Barn Show, p. 65; March 24, 2003, review of Bad Hare Day, p. 75; September 1, 2003, review of Giddy Goat, p. 87; September 26, 2005, review of When Cows Come Home for Christmas, p. 89.

School Library Journal, April, 2001, Anne Parker, review of The Rickety Barn Show, p. 98; August, 2002, Anne Knickerbocker, reviews of It's My Turn, Smudge and I'll Be Your Friend, Smudge!, p. 161, and Kathleen Simonetta, review of Big Bad Wolf Is Good, p. 164; April, 2003, Martha Topol, review of Bad Hare Day, p. 133; December, 2003, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Giddy Goat, p. 124; January, 2006, Rosalyn Pierini, review of Just the Thing!, p. 103; September, 2007,

[Image not available for copyright reasons]

review of Class Two at the Zoo, p. 166; August, 2008, Catherine Threadgill, review of Mule School, p. 100.

ONLINE

Lynne Chapman Home Page,http://www.lynnechapman.co.uk (January 10, 2009).

Lynne Chapman Web log,http://lynnechapman.blogspot.com (January 15, 2009).