Beardshaw, Rosalind 1969–

views updated

Beardshaw, Rosalind 1969–

Personal

Born 1969, in England. Education: Manchester Polytechnic, B.A. (illustration), 1992.

Addresses

Home and office—York, England. Agent—Heather Richards, 9 Somerville Lea, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5LH, England.

Career

Illustrator. Volunteer with learning disabled adults.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

Grandma's Beach, Bloomsbury (London, England), 2001, Bloomsbury Children's Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Grandpa's Surprise, Bloomsbury Children's Books (New York, NY), 2004.

My Fairy Mobile Book (interactive book), Campbell (London, England), 2005.

ILLUSTRATOR

Kate Ruttle and Richard Brown, Hickory, Dickory, Dock, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1996.

Kate Ruttle and Richard Brown, adaptors, Over in the Meadow, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1996.

Kate Ruttle and Richard Brown, Afloat in a Boat, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1996.

Susan Price, reteller, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cambridge University Press (Cambridge, England), 1999.

Lisa Bruce, Fran's Flower, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1999, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.

Sally Grindley, Who Is It?, Peachtree (Atlanta, GA), 2000.

Gillian Lobel, Does Anybody Love Me?, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2002.

Laura Dollin, Christmas Angel, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Lisa Bruce, Fran's Friend, Bloomsbury Children's Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Laura Dollin, Santa Claus, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Pennie Kidd, Oops!, Lion (Oxford, England), 2004.

Tony Bonning, Snog the Frog, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2005.

Tom Barber, A Tale of Two Goats, Barron's (Hauppauge, NY), 2005.

Catherine Shoolbred, Merry Christmas!, Egmont (London, England), 2005.

Anna McQuinn, Lola at the Library, Charlesbridge (Watertown, MA), 2006.

Lynne Rickards, Jack's Bed, Crabtree Pub. Co. (New York, NY), 2006.

Cristin Ditchfield, Cowlick!, Random House (New York, NY), 2006.

Diana Kimpton, The Lamb-a-Roo, Gingham Dog Press (Columbus, OH), 2006.

Janet Bingham, Mommy's Little Star, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2008.

Books featuring Beardshaw's art have been published in French, Chinese, Greek, Danish, Korean, Slovenian, Basque, Spanish, and Italian.

Sidelights

British illustrator Rosalind Beardshaw knew she wanted to be an artist as a young girl. Since graduating from college in the early 1990s, she has focused her talents on illustrating children's books, particularly stories that feature animal characters. In addition to creating art for writers such as Sally Grindley, Gillian Lobel, Tony Bonning, and Lisa Bruce, Beardshaw has also created two original picture books which were inspired by her memories of her fun-loving grandparents: Grandma's Beach and Grandpa's Surprise. Reviewing the artist's work for Bonning's amusing Snog the Frog, Be Astengo wrote in School Library Journal that Beardshaw's large-scale "illustrations are painted with bright, vibrant colors and have humorous perspectives." According to a Kirkus Reviews writer, the book's "rich, colorful illustrations add a charming element" to Lobel's reassuring story in Does Anybody Love Me?, and in Publishers Weekly a critic concluded that Beardshaw's acrylic paintings for Lobel's child-centered tale "exude a gung-ho cheeriness."

In Grandma's Beach Emily and her mother are excited about their upcoming day at the seashore, but when Mom has to go to work instead, Grandma finds a way to make a day spent at home just as exciting. In Grandpa's Surprise a little boy named Stanley feels bad when a neighbor gets a shiny new bike, but when Grandpa finds out, he puts his engineering and scavenging skills to work on a new go-cart for Stanley that quickly becomes the envy of the neighborhood. Citing Beardshaw's colorful illustrations, a Kirkus Reviews critic praised the two books as "subtle and positively uplifting" stories designed to "help any child through those inevitable crestfallen moments in life." "Using thick strokes and a melange of summer fruit-colored paints, Beardshaw zooms in on her characters," observed Ilene Cooper in her Booklist review of Grandma's Beach and Grandpa's Surprise, and School Library Journal critic Catherine Threadgill deemed the images "bright, glossy, and scaled to draw the attention of tiny eyes."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Grandma's Beach, p. 1940.

Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2002, review of Does Anybody Love Me?, p. 1394; February 1, 2003, review of Fran's Friend, p. 226; April 1, 2004, review of Grandma's Beach, p. 324; January 1, 2005, review of Snog the Frog, p. 48; June 15, 2006, review of Lola at the Library, p. 636; December 1, 2006, review of Cowlick!, p. 1218.

Publishers Weekly, October 7, 2002, review of Does Anybody Love Me?, p. 72; January 1, 2007, review of Cowlick!, p. 48.

School Library Journal, August, 2004, Catherine Threadgill, review of Grandma's Beach, p. 83; August, 2005, Be Astengo, review of Snog the Frog, p. 85.