Oliver Jeffers

Oliver jeffer's is an artist, illustrator and writer who is widely known for his picture books for children published by harpercolins UK and penguin USA. He has won numerous awards such as the Nestle Smarties book prize, the Blue peter book award and the Irish book award. His work first became an interest to me when i was introduced to one of his books called 'The Great Paper Caper', when life in the forest between a group of animals begins to change because of a timber thief stealing tree trunks to make a huge paper aeroplane. The reason why i find him so inspiring is because in some ways, his drawings are also very childlike. The simplicity of the drawings and powerful emotions make these drawings so moving, and the best pages are the big double spreads. But before even reading the book, the physical materials of the book itself invites readers to rip up the texts covers and recycle them for aeroplanes!
Jeffer's use of watercolour gives the simple pictures texture and shading which makes illustrations stand out from the crowd. During an interview with the Guardian, Jeffers said "even before entering the book, you are immediately aware of its warmth, its depth and its organic, wholemeal textures." I love how he uses lots of different types of paper because it gives texture to each element on the page and has more of an impact on the young reader as opposed to using to flat, bold colours which personally, i find quite boring. There are gorgeous dark blues and deep violets, people with cute stick legs, and lolly pop trees with a square or two layered over the top. I think what makes him different to many other illustrators is the fact that he also appeals to people of all ages, like the parent who is actually reading their child the story.