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Looking around his Brighton home, with the pile of best-selling children’s books on the table in front of me, I ask Nick if he thinks other people would envy his job. He laughs. 'People always think it's a lovely job to have ,which it is but they always think it's really easy, too. That you just sit there and you effortlessly sketch. They don't know about all the roughs. Even the simplest picture I draw has been through at least half a dozen rough versions before I actually do the artwork.' But by his own admission, Nick is doing exactly what he has always 'really, really wanted to do'.

Common to many of Nick's books is the use of rhyme, rhythm, repetition and humour to draw the reader in to interact with the text and illustrations. This is obviously a winning combination for Nick, but what does he think makes a good book? 'It's got to have a satisfying story or tale to it, he says after a pause.' ''But it's also a combination of lots of things - it's when everything comes together and it just feels whole and right. It includes the format, the typography, even the kind of paper used. All these things have to marry. You can have a superb story, but if the other elements aren't quite right then the book's not going to be as satisfying.'

Nick sometimes visits schools and nurseries and uses his own books in workshops with the children. 'I get very positive feedback from schools and I think the books work in the classroom because they're not blatantly educational. They weren't conceived as educational books ' my priority was to entertain. But it's wonderful if the rhymes, repetition and word play mean that they work as teaching tools, too.' Some of Nick's particular favorites are the range of flap books being reprinted in time for World Book Day.

'a lovely job to have. Books are so vitally important in our lives; it's wonderful to contribute to getting that message across.' – Recorded the week before world book day
'Drawing is easy,' Nick says, 'it's the writing I find really hard work.' Nick started writing his own books 15 years ago. Since then he has written around 40 books for children from birth to 11. But this doesn't seem to have made the writing of them any easier.
'I find them pretty laborious because I worry and fret over every single little word. I know what's not right but I never know what is right until I stumble across it by trial and error. So it's a really long process. 'I may start with a character or theme that Id like to explore, such as pirates or castles, and then chip away at various ideas, trying everything out. Gradually I'll get some kind of story going and then I'll consult with my editor. The book evolves slowly. I do wish I could just wake up with a light-bulb idea and think 'right, that's it!' and just go for it. But it's definitely more of a case of stripping away lots of layers to find out what it is I want to say.'

Nick was born 1962
He was chosen to be the official Illustrator for world book day!
He has written and illustrated more then 40 books for children.
He is a British illustrator.

Looking around his Brighton home, with the pile of best-selling children’s books on the table in front of me, I ask Nick if he thinks other people would envy his job. He laughs. 'People always think it's a lovely job to have ,which it is but they always think it's really easy, too. That you just sit there and you effortlessly sketch. They don't know about all the roughs. Even the simplest pictur... More