Born in Sweden and now resident in England, Brita Granström is an award-winning painter and children’s book illustrator. She studied in Stockholm, with a semester at the Glasgow School of Art. Granström has exhibited her artwork extensively, both on her own and in group shows. With her husband and illustration partner Mick Manning, she has illustrated dozens of children’s books, many of which have received, or been shortlisted for, prestigious awards; including the Nestle Award (Smarties Prize—Silver) and the English Association Award (five wins). Their work has twice been shortlisted for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the largest international award in children’s literature. One reviewer credits them with having revolutionized non-fiction literature for young children. The pair was commissioned to write and illustrate The Brontës: Children of the Moors, in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth, and Books! Books! Books! which introduces children to the treasures of the British Library. Others of their works have celebrated the lives and work of Shakespeare, Darwin, and the Beatles, and explored the wartime experiences of Manning’s father and mother, or the mysteries of Stonehenge.
Seasons Before the War, her collaboration with Bernice Morgan, was published by Running the Goat in October 2018.
To learn more about Brita Granström’s artwork, visit britagranstrom.com; to learn more about her children’s book collaborations with Mick Manning, visit mickandbrita.com.
photo credit: Mick Manning
