Charles Dickens

Mick Manning grew up in Haworth, West Yorkshire and studied Illustration at the Royal College of Art in London. He has written and illustrated over 60 books, mostly with his partner Brita Granstrom.Their distinctive books have won many awards. Their first book, The World is Full of Babies, won the Smarties Silver Prize in 1996. Mick and Brita live in the Scottish Borders and have 4 sons. Their other books with Frances Lincoln include the critically acclaimed Fly on the Wall series: Roman Fort, Pharaoh's Egypt, Viking Longship, Greek Hero, Tail-End Charlie and What Mr Darwin Saw. Both Roman Fort and Viking Longship were shortlisted for the English Association 4-11 Awards and Greek Hero won in 2008. Snap! is the follow-up to Yuck! which was a regional winner of the Highland Book Awards 2006. Recently Mick and Brita donated the entire body of work created for their book Fly on the Wall: Greek Heroto Seven Stories, the centre for children's books To visit the website of Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom click here To read an interview with Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom click here Brita Granstrom grew up on a Swedish farm and has an MFA in Fine Art from Konstfack, Stockholm. She and Mick Manning live in the Scottish Borders have four sons. Their first book together, The World is Full of Babies won the Smarties Silver Award in 1996 and their second book, What's Under the Bed? took the TES Junior Information Book Award in 1997. Yum Yum and How Did I Begin? were 2 of the 6 children's books shortlisted for the Rhone Poulene Prize in 1998. Science School made the shortlist in the following year. In 2000, Wash, Scrub, Brush! won the English Association's non-fiction award for the best picture book, with Let's Party making the shortlist in 2001. Brita won both Parenting Magazine's Book of the Year and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2000 with her illustrations for Judy Hindley's Eyes, Nose, Fingers, Toes. To visit the website of Brita Granstrom and Mick Manning

Excellent combination of historical facts, illustrations and cartoon strips really bring the great man's story to life. The key novels are fitted in chronologically so you get a sense of how they arose from the events of his life. Good for grown ups too. Angels & Urchins Shows the power of the visual to awaken the imagination. Books for Keeps I couldn't resist this 'picture book' by Brita Granstrom and Mick Manning. I have learned more from their brief, non-fiction book than I would from most longer and perhaps 'worthier' works ... contains the bare bones of facts while depicting the life of Dickens in great detailed drawings, sometimes cartoon style. A picture really can replace a lot of words. Book Witch The book provides a lively and comprehensive overview of the life of the great man ... and would be a useful addition to a school library. English 4-11 'This book is fun, informative and inspiring.' The Guardian Kids Online