John Burningham

Who is John Burningham?

John Burningham is an English author and illustrator of children's books, especially picture books for young children. He lives in north London with his wife Helen Oxenbury, another illustrator. As of August 2012, his latest published work is a husband-and-wife collaboration, There's Going to Be a New Baby, written by John and illustrated by Helen for "ages 2+".

Burningham won the 1963 and 1970 Kate Greenaway Medals for British children's book illustration. The first was for his debut as illustrator, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers, named one of the top ten winning works for the 50th anniversary of the Medal. His second Greenaway Medal winner, Mr Gumpy's Outing, is his work most widely held in WorldCat participating libraries, and it also won the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in the picture books category.

For his lasting contribution as a children's illustrator, Burningham was one of five or six finalists in 2012 and in 2014 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books. He was the U.K. national nominee in 1980 and 1986.