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Catherine Rayner was born in Harrogate and now lives in Edinburgh. She has a BA Hons in Visual Communication and Illustration from Leeds College of Art and Edinburgh College of Art. Much of her inspiration – and occasionally modelling! – for her illustration comes from her pets: her horse Shannon, guinea pig Marvin, dog Ellie, cat Emma and two goldfish, Bruce and Sheila. Catherine was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Award Best New Illustrator in 2006, and she won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2009.
Julia Eccleshare, the editorial expert on Lovereading4kids says, Prize winning illustrator Catherine Rayner has created stunning picture books introducing delightful characters including Harris, a hare with exceptionally large feet and Ernest, a moose who is determined to get himself into a book – no mean feat when you are too big to fit in the pages. Gorgeous, warmly coloured large scale pictures lie at the heart of Catherine’s work.
Prize-winning illustrator Catherine Rayner fills her pages with big animals. This time it is Solomon the crocodile with great big teeth who wants to play - but Solomon’s idea of play is rather different from everyone else. Solomon charges and stalks - “Uh oh” - no one wants to play with him! But then someone turns up who wants to play just like Solomon… Find our favourite bedtime reads for toddlers here!
Award-winning illustrations by Catherine Rayner show the cheeky young crocodiles Solomon and Mortimer who love to play tricks and make surprising things happen. When they try to play a trick on the great big hippo that is wallowing in the river, they find that they are the ones who are tricked. And what a great big splash they make! Catherine Rayner creates a beautiful, watery landscape for her mischievous young crocs!
Nobody smells quite like Louie. This pongy pooch has his own particular odour and it is definitely NOTHING like roses and apple blossom. After he’s forced to have a bath, Louie is determined to recreate his Special Smell so he sets off on a mission – what will he find? An old boot that smells like mouldy cheese? Some stinky bins? None of them are quite right … but what will happen if they are all mixed together?
Having suffered heatwaves and COVID anxiety, we can all empathise with the tired and grumpy Arlo who just cannot sleep. The hero of the Greenaway medal winner’s new book speaks to us all, but particularly to over-tired and over excited small children who do not know how to let go of the day. Luckily for Arlo, and for children, Owl is to hand with some useful advice on how he manages to sleep when everyone is awake during the day. The logic of receiving advice from a nocturnal animal will really register with this audience. “Have a good stretch from your nose to your toes/ Do a little wriggle, let your eyes gently close/Relax your whole body, slow your breathing right down/ Imagine you’re sinking into the soft ground". The gentle refrain that Owl teaches Arlo is the perfect antidote for us all- a little bit of mindfulness that would also be a lovely calm down routine in the classroom! Not only are the illustrations a visual feast, with a stunning colour palette marking the transitions between night and day, but Arlo and Owl are beautifully characterised. Another trademark from this hugely talented author is the warm humour. Arlo is so excited by his long and restful sleep that he must tell Owl- and wakes him up! The song is reciprocated with success and their joint celebrations at dusk wake the rest of the neighbourhood and a duet is required to restore calm. The repeated refrain will be one that is copied in homes and classrooms everywhere. Useful for mindfulness and as an introduction to Night and Day topics, this stunning book is a real triumph of beautiful words and images working in absolute harmony.
The tiger star of this very beautiful counting book first appeared in Catherine Rayner’s picture book Augustus and his Smile. Not only does he look gorgeous in this new story – bold black stipes overlay vibrant orange and gold – but he’s hugely expressive too so that even the youngest child will understand why he’s sad at first, and how that changes as he makes new friends. The large format shows the illustrations off to full advantage and it’s a good size for sharing too. More than just a counting book, this is just the thing to introduce children to the power of art and illustration. ~ Andrea Reece
A reissue to mark the 10th Anniversary of this absolutely delightful picture book. The opposing emotions of happiness and sadness are conveyed quite beautifully throughout Augustus’s story until at last his smile returns because he starts looking at the wonderful world around him. Augustus and His Smile was the well-deserved winner of the ‘Early Years – Best New Illustrator Award’ and was shortlisted for the 2007 Greenaway Medal. The Greenaway Judges' comment: A very fresh and appealing book which makes good use of mixed media to convey the feel of a real tiger. Rayner’s broad loose strokes reflect the beauty of the animal, and give him real expression and emotion: so much is conveyed in the flick of his tail. The whole has a Zen-like simplicity but it is also a very physical book which draws you in. There is real artistic skill here and great maturity of style.
One of our Books of the Year 2016 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award and Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Month, February 2016 Award-winning illustrations by Catherine Rayner show the cheeky young crocodiles Solomon and Mortimer who love to play tricks and make surprising things happen. When they try to play a trick on the great big hippo that is wallowing in the river, they find that they are the ones who are tricked. And what a great big splash they make! Catherine Rayner creates a beautiful, watery landscape for her mischievous young crocs!
Nobody smells quite like Louie. This pongy pooch has his own particular odour and it is definitely NOTHING like roses and apple blossom. After he’s forced to have a bath, Louie is determined to recreate his Special Smell so he sets off on a mission – what will he find? An old boot that smells like mouldy cheese? Some stinky bins? None of them are quite right … but what will happen if they are all mixed together?
Louie the dog has just had a bath - and he is NOT happy about it. He smells all wrong. Determined to get his Special Smell back, he goes on a hunt for it and meets lots of smelly things along the way - a fox, some interesting dustbins and a marvellously muddy puddle to roll in. Will he succeed in getting his smell back? And, more importantly, will he be able to keep it this time ...?
Prize-winning illustrator Catherine Rayner fills her pages with big animals. This time it is Solomon the crocodile with great big teeth who wants to play - but Solomon’s idea of play is rather different from everyone else. Solomon charges and stalks - “Uh oh” - no one wants to play with him! But then someone turns up who wants to play just like Solomon… An entertaining book about different kinds of play. Solomon Crocodile was shortlisted for the 2012 Kate Greenaway Medal. The Judges said: The depiction of the animal characters is superb, with Solomon the archetypal naughty toddler. The use of colour is exquisite throughout, and the book has a real sense of vibrancy and energy. There's such variety in the layout but the images follow on from each other perfectly.
Shortlisted for the 2015 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal Louie the dog has just had a bath - and he is NOT happy about it. He smells all wrong. Determined to get his Special Smell back, he goes on a hunt for it and meets lots of smelly things along the way - a fox, some interesting dustbins and a marvellously muddy puddle to roll in. Will he succeed in getting his smell back? And, more importantly, will he be able to keep it this time ...?
Longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal 2014 Kate Greenaway winner Catherine Rayner’s gorgeous bold animals fill the pages perfectly in this entertaining counting book. Abigail the giraffe wants to count everything and anything she can. But counting is hard when the cheetah goes by so fast that she can’t see all his spots in time and the zebra moves around while she is trying to count the stripes. Luckily, the stars come out…A glorious night time sky shows million of stars – and Abigail happily counting them.
