Babette Cole
Babette Cole was born September 10th, 1950 on a
little island called Jersey were she went to school in a convent. She spent
most of her time drawing and writing stories, so when she got tired of school
she left and went to Canterbury College of Arts. In 1973 she graduated with a
first degree honors degree in illustration and film. Cole got her first job
drawing for Jackanory and TV comics from her friends Peter Firmin and Oliver
Postgate, who were creating Children’s TV programs. She got her first book
published in 1976. She has lived in different parts of the world, but is now in
England with a stud farm where she breeds and rides Show Hunters. Cole has rode
since she was seven years old and has been National Champion for consecutive years.
Since she has started writing she has gotten over 70 books published with some
being translated into different languages. She has the ability to take serious
topics like death, reproduction, and health into comical and entertaining for
her young readers and she is known as Britain’s best-selling authors and
illustrators.
Quotes:
“Do not attempt illustrating unless you have a gift for it.
If you do then draw whatever you like whenever you want to. Keep sketchbooks
and eyes open. For the budding writer, read as much as you can. Keep your eyes
and ears open and feed your imagination with whatever it likes eating!”
When asked is there a topic you would not cover for a
children’s book she replied with…”There are many that would not be appropriate.
I am only dealing with difficult questions that are always asked in the main
stream by children.”
Read Along with Babette Cole:
Major Works:
Mommy Laid an Egg: Or, Where Do Babies Come From?
Summary: In this hilarious twist on one of the most
difficult discussions in a child's development, award winning author Babette
Cole illustrates the one question all children are bound to ask: Where do
babies come from? Mom explains that you can make babies out of gingerbread,
grow them from seeds, or squeeze them out of tubes, while Dad says you can find
babies under rocks. Amused by their parents' silly answers, the children decide
to set the adults straight. In a series of zany diagrams, the children show the
adults exactly where babies come from. The offbeat illustrations are
accompanied by a text that is short, simple, and anything but predictable. This
is a funny book that will delight, entertain, and educate the entire family.
(Amazon)
Hair in Funny Places
Summary: Puberty. Who else but Babette Cole would have the temerity to
tackle this subject in a picture book, and the genius to carry it off. The
text, which takes the form of a conversation between a small girl and her teddy
bear, is ingenious and funny.
As it turns out, it is the behavior of the wonderfully depicted Mr. and Mrs. Hormone that plays havoc with the physical and emotional states of girls and boys between, roughly, eight to eighteen years. The book is bound to be controversial but Babette Cole has never taken the conventional path and her readers love her for her outrageous approach to little-mentioned topics. (Amazon)
As it turns out, it is the behavior of the wonderfully depicted Mr. and Mrs. Hormone that plays havoc with the physical and emotional states of girls and boys between, roughly, eight to eighteen years. The book is bound to be controversial but Babette Cole has never taken the conventional path and her readers love her for her outrageous approach to little-mentioned topics. (Amazon)
Doctor Dog
Summary: Dr. Dog is not your usual doctor. For one thing, he makes
house calls. For another, he's a pet beagle! When his entire family falls sick,
only Dr. Dog can save the day, with cure for head lice, pinworms, and (yikes!)
even a case of too much gas... (Amazon)
Princess Smartypants
Summary: Princess Smartypants enjoys being an independent Ms. and has
no intention of getting married. When family pressure mounts, she agrees to
look for a mate but sets the candidates’ tasks that are impossible. But then
Prince Swashbuckle shows up.... (Amazon)
Prince Cinders
Summary: Take a classic story, substitute a few key ingredients,
season freely with silliness and imagination, dress it all up in jaunty
illustrations, and what have you got? In the case of Cole's Prince Cinders, an
outrageously funny romp of a picture book. Prince Cinders is a spotty, skinny
fellow who envies his brothers' brawn and hairiness. Left behind to do the
laundry while they zoom off to the Palace Disco, he is visited one evening by a
fairy who seeks to grant his wishes. Trouble is, the fairy hasn't quite gotten
the knack of spell-casting and "big and hairy" translates into an oversized
ape. Blissfully unaware of the slip-up, Prince Cinders heads off in his new
incarnation to the Rock 'n' Royal Bash to claim his princess a conventional end
he achieves through most unconventional means. A madcap, highly entertaining
spoof. (Amazon)
Drop Dead
Summary: Two thoroughly modern grandparents tell their life stories to
their skeptical grandchildren, and along the way debunk the myth that kids have
a monopoly on fun and living dangerously. From childhood on through teenage
angst and college dares, to young love and parenthood, these spunky
octogenarians have seen and done it all. And they're not afraid of what the
future holds. Blithely suggesting the possibility of reincarnation, they joke
"we might be recycled as anything at all!" Cole combines a spare text
with wickedly funny illustrations to create an utterly novel approach to the
process of growing up and growing old. (Amazon)
Nungu and the Hippopotamus
Summary: A young African boy living in a remote village where water is
scarce goes on a journey to make a river reappear. (Amazon)
Awards:
Princess Smartypants
(1986)
Kate Greenaway Medal commended runner up
British Library Association (BLA)
BLA Annabell Fargeon Award
Prince Cinders (1987)
Kate Greenaway Medal commended runner up
BLA Annabell Fargeon Award
Drop Dead (1996)
Kurt Maschler Award
The British Book Trust
Nungu and the
Hippopotamus (1980)
Children’s Picture Book of the Year
Children’s Books of the Year
Child Study Association of America
The Wind in the
Willows Pop-Up Book (1983)
New York Public Library Children’s Books
Books:
A Dose of Dr. Dog
Alabama Moon
Animals Scare Me Stiff
Bad Good Manners Book
Bad Habits!
Babette Cole 2
Babette Cole Shrinkwrap
Babette Cole’s Beastly Birthday Book
Babette Cole’s Cats
Babette Cole’s Dad
Babette Cole’s Dogs
Babette Cole’s Fish
Babette Cole’s Mum
Babette Cole’s Ponies
Babette Cole’s Revolting Rules for Getting a Woman
Babette Cole’s Revolting Rules for the Working Man
Babette Cole’s Revoluting Rules for the Working Woman
Babette Coles Revolting Rules to Get a Man
Babette Cole’s Sister
Bad Habits
Beware of the Vet
Cats
Cupid
Do as You Would be Done by
Dogs
Don’t Go Out Tonight A Creepy Concertina Pop-Up Book
Don’t Go Out Tonight
Dr. Dog
Drop Dead
Even My Ears are Smiling
Fetlocks Hall 3: The Curse of the Pony
Fish
Grasshopper and the Unwise Owl
Hair in Funny Places
Hurray for Ethelyn
Kenneth Grahame’s the Wind in the Willows (Coauthor Kenneth)
King Change-a-lot
Lany Lupin’s Book of Etiquette
Long Live Princess Smartypants
Mr. Dog
Mommy Laid An Egg: Or, Where Do Babies Come From?
Mummy Never Told Me
Nungu and the Crocodile
Nungu and the Elephant
Nungu and the Hippopotamus
Picture Book
Poines
Prince Cinders
Princess Smartypants
Princess Smartypants Breaks the Rules!
Princess Smartypants Rules
Promise and the Monster
Promise Solves a Problem
Rabbit Rabbits on the Other Stories
Raides Morts Drop Dead
Silly Slimy Hairy
Tale of Anabelle Hedgehog
Tale of Timothy Mallard
Supermoo!
Tarzanna
That’s Why
The Bad Good Manner Book
The Bible Beasties
The Enchanted Pony
The Ghostly Blinkers
The Hairy Book
The Inflatable Shop
The Pieces of the Puzzle
The Silly Book
The Smelly Book
The Slimy Book
The Trouble with…
The Trouble with Dad
The Trouble with Gran
The Trouble with Grandad
The Trouble with Mom
The Trouble with Uncle
The Un-Wedding
The Unicorn Princess
Three Cheers for Errol
Three Cheers Poster
TrueLove
Two of Everything
Personal Reflections:
Mummy Laid an Egg: I have mixed feelings on this book because it does talk about where babies come from and I feel like this topic shouldn't be explained through a children's book. Although I am not a fan of the topic the way it was written was pretty interesting. She was able to talk about such a touchy topic like it was nothing out of the ordinary. I don't think I would bring this book into classroom.
Prince Cinders: I loved this book! It took the traditional Cinderella story and threw in a twist of the main character being a guy. I feel like this may be a good book to incorporate at least your classroom library because I think that some boys don't feel confident in their skin if they aren't that sporty boy and this book tells them that it is totally okay to be lengthy and skinny.
Resources:
http://www.babette-cole.com/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_3sWE99u_k
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=babette%20cole&sprefix=Babette+Cole%2Cstripbooks%2C211&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Ababette%20cole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_3sWE99u_k
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=babette%20cole&sprefix=Babette+Cole%2Cstripbooks%2C211&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Ababette%20cole
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