Axel Scheffler

Axel Scheffler (born 1957) is a German-born illustrator and animator based in London. He is best known for his cartoon-like pictures for children's books, particularly The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, written by Julia Donaldson.

Scheffler was born in Hamburg, West Germany and moved to England in 1982 (age 25). He studied at the Bath Academy of Art and worked in advertising and publishing after graduating in 1985. He has drawn his distinctive illustrations for authors of children's books from Britain, Germany and the Netherlands, including, in addition to Julia Donaldson, Jon Blake, Paul Shipton, David Henry Wilson, Uwe Timm, Paul van Loon and Toon Tellegen. He lives in Blackheath, London.

Scheffler was commissioned by Faber and Faber to provide new illustrations for a new edition of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats that commemorated the 70th anniversary of the book and the 80th anniversary of Faber and Faber. This new edition was published in October 2009.

He illustrated Gordon Brown's 2006 Christmas cards and all seven Christmas 2012 stamps designed by Webb & Webb Design Limited for Royal Mail.

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