Peter Brown

 Kids and grown-ups alike love Peter Brown books for their quirky characters, zany humor and strong visual style. Growing up in Hopewell, New Jersey, Peter had lots of practice. He’d spend time at zoos and farms, sketching the animals and dreaming up silly characters for his earliest picture book. Even as a little kid, he produced a few stories. So it’s no wonder Peter grew up to become a children’s book author and illustrator with more than one New York Times bestseller to his name! But it wasn’t easy. Peter endured lots of ribbing from fellow students, but with support from his painter grandfather and a beloved art teacher, he persevered. After high school, he got his B.F.A. in Illustration from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and then spent a year knocking around Europe before ending up in New York. There he worked painting backgrounds for animated TV shows, until, in 2003, he got a book deal to write and illustrate his first book for children, Flight of the Dodo, a little picture book with a big message about dreams, friendship—and poop! Since then the roster of Peter Brown books includes Chowder and The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder, and children’s books he illustrated for other writers, such as The Purple Kangaroo (words by Michael Ian Black) and Cat Wetherill’s Snowbone. Peter Brown books have been translated into a dozen languages and adapted into plays and animated short films. The Curious Garden—inspired by New York City’s High Line—won the E.B. White Award, and the Children's Choice Award, and became a New York Times bestseller. Peter’s fifth book for children, the hilarious Children Make Terrible Pets, is his second New York Times bestseller. Besides his gig as children’s book author, Brown, who lives in Brooklyn, also gives presentations about his work at schools, libraries, conferences and even on cruise ships.