John Burningham: United Kingdom Illustrator

Lydia Kokkola

Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature, Volume 52, Number

2, April 2014, p. 54 (Article)

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bkb.2014.0087

For additional information about this article

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/539768

[ This content has been declared free to read by the pubisher during the COVID-19 pandemic. ]
iLLUSTrATor NoMiNEE: UNiTEd kiNGdoM
JOHN BURNINGHAM
United Kingdom ★ Illustrator
John burningham (b. 1936) was very young
when the Second World War broke out, which
contributed to his unusual childhood, some of
which was spent living in a caravan because his
parents rented out their home to pay for school
fees. burningham attended nine different experi-
mental boarding schools, including Summer-
hill. burningham left Summerhill with a school
certificate in English literature, but failed many
other subjects including art.
Nevertheless, he was able to
enter the Central School of Art
in London, where he met his
wife, the award-winning chil-
dren’s illustrator, Helen oxen-
bury. Some of burningham’s
most loved books are based on
incidents in their family life with
their three children.
This year marks the fiftieth
anniversary of burningham’s first
picture book Borka: The Adven-
tures of a Goose with No Feathers
(1963), and a special anniversary
issue has been released. Loved for its delightful
protagonist who—because she has no feathers—
cannot live like other geese, and so has to find
her own way of being in the world, Borka also
marks an important turning point in publica-
tion history. Borka was the first book that Jona-
than Cape published using full color lithography.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Borka: The Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers. London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. Print.
• Come Away from the Water, Shirley. London: Jonathan Cape, 1977. Print.
• Granpa. London: Jonathan Cape, 1984. Print.
• Husherbye. London: Jonathan Cape, 2000. Print.
• Mr. Gumpy’s Outing. London: Jonathan Cape, 1970. Print.
54 | bookbird
Until then, the colors were separated by hand,
a technique burningham claims he could never
have managed. The result drew instant acclaim
and was awarded the kate Greenaway Award for
illustration. Since then, burningham has aver-
aged more than a book a year, and his pace has
increased in recent years.
burningham’s stories typically portray ordi-
nary family life. His parents are often rather
tired. in his two books about
Shirley: Come Away From the
Water, Shirley (1977) and Time to
Get Out of the Bath, Shirley (1978),
the divide between the right and
left pages is used to separate the
mundane world of the adult from
the imaginative interior world
of the child’s imagination. Shir-
ley’s parents are so caught up in
the prosaic concerns of the here
and now, they fail to notice Shir-
ley’s fantasy world. burningham
has frequently commented on
the importance of the extended
family, especially grandparents. Granpa (1994)
was inspired by the loving relationship his
youngest daughter had with her grandfather. A
similarly affectionate bond across the generations
is evident in the stories about Mr. Gumpy.
Lydia Kokkola
ibbY.orG