Macnaughton, Tina

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Macnaughton, Tina

Personal

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Education: John Moore's University, B.A. (illustration; with honours). Hobbies and other interests: Traveling, sailing, films, reading, going to art galleries; nature and animals.

Addresses

Home and office—56 Rookwood Court, Guilford, Surrey GU2 4EL, England. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Illustrator and graphic designer. Worked as graphic designer for Hasbro and Grosvenor for London; freelance illustrator.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

The Fairy Who Could Not Fly, Kids Play (New York, NY), 2007.

ILLUSTRATOR

Christina M. Butler, One Snowy Night, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2004.

Christina M. Butler, Snow Friends, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

Claire Freedman, Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

Susie Jenkin-Pearce, Pugwug and Little, Gullane (London, England), 2005, published as A Pal for Pugwug, Gingham Dog Press (Columbus, OH), 2006.

Christina M. Butler, One Winter's Day, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2006.

Marni McGee, While Angels Watch, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2006.

Claire Freedman, One Magical Day, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2007.

Also illustrator of picture books Little Fallow and Brown Bear's Wonderful Secret for Gullane; An Arkful of Animal Stories for Lion Hudson; and The Littlest Owl and The Little Lost Robin for Little Tiger Press.

Sidelights

While Tina Macnaughton has created the original board book The Fairy Who Could Not Fly, she is best known as the illustrator of stories for other writers, among them Claire Freedman's Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones and One Magical Day, Susie Jenkin-Pearce's A Pal for Pugwug, Marni McGee's While Angels Watched, and Christina M. Butler's One Winter's Day. In a review of Snuggle Up, Sleepy One, a Publishers Weekly critic wrote that "Macnaughton's soft pastel animals portraits … are cute and snug," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor maintained that the illustrator's use of "lavish color" contributes to a picture book that "will lull young sleepyheads pleasantly into la-la land." While Angels Watch "achieve[s] a rather magical air, mainly due to the appealing illustrations," according to another Kirkus Reviews writer, and in School Library Journal Maryann H. Owen maintained that Macnaughton's "soft-focus pictures charmingly enhance the simple text" of One Magical Day.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Macnaughton earned an honors degree in illustration, then worked as a graphic designer in London for several years before turning to children's book illustration. In her artwork, she strives for a soft, delicate look and she often uses oil pastels on tinted paper. Many of Macnaughton's illustration projects feature animal characters, and like many illustrators, she is constantly on the lookout for interesting images of creatures of all sorts, as well as of plants and other elements she can incorporate into her picture-book settings.

Asked about her job as a book illustrator, Macnaughton noted on the Little Tiger Press Web site: "The best thing is creating worlds and characters in your head and making them come alive on paper. Not only that, it's very very fulfilling to know that so many people gain pleasure from looking at my pictures." Her advice for aspiring illustrators? "You have to be very self-motivated and organised. A lot of people fail because they are not prepared to work hard. On a practical note you need financial back-up in the form of savings or a part-time job in the beginning for at least one or two years. Never enter into this with big debts because you need to give it plenty of time to grow and allow you to

work at it full-time. Finally, don't let any rejection make you depressed or destroy your confidence—even the very best artists get turned down."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2005, review of Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones, p. 588; October 1, 2005, review of Snow Friends, p. 1077; May 1, 2006, review of While Angels Watch, p. 463; September 15, 2006, review of One Winter's Day, p. 948.

Publishers Weekly, June 27, 2005, review of Snuggle Up, Sleepy Ones, p. 61; March 27, 2006, review of While Angels Watch, p. 82.

School Library Journal, November, 2005, Amelia Jenkins, review of Snow Friends, p. 83; November, 2006, Rachel G. Payne, review of One Winter's Day, p. 86; August, 2007, Maryann H. Owen, review of One Magical Day, p. 80.