Horrible Histories - Martin Brown

INTERVIEW:

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?

I was born in Melbourne, Australia.  Now I live in Dorset, England near Kingston Lacy. (In the half term holidays I had gone to Kingston Lacy so I knew where it was!)

HOW DID YOU START ILLUSTRATING?

It was my dream job, I never thought I would be an illustrator, but actually I am more of a cartoonist.

Can you draw normal, as in not cartoon?

I can draw normal things its just I prefer drawing funny unrealistic cartoons. (I thought this was a very good answer and I am the same too)

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO DO YOUR NEW BOOK, LESSER-SPOTTED ANIMALS?

I wanted to let people know about animals we should all know about, like the black-footed ferret from the prairies. Imagine if the Koala were soon to be extinct, everyone would donate or sign a petition to keep them alive. But animals like the very cute Chinese Ili Pika, which is on the endangered list also need attention and saving. If you saw it you would want to save it… Google a picture of it and you will go “awwwwww” (high pitched sound that only dogs can hear, its so high!)

WHICH WAS YOUR FAVOURITE HORRIBLE HISTORIES BOOK TO ILLUSTRATE?

I really liked the Terrible Tudors. It was the first one I did.

How did you come to illustrate Horrible Histories?

I was working on a series of books called ‘coping with’ and I wanted to do a book on ‘coping with history’ but my agent told me we couldn’t as they were bringing in a new series called Horrible Histories. I made it important to see Terry (the creator/ author) and the rest you know.

Martin Brown, took part in the Big Draw Challenge and drew a very tricky Big Ben illustration and a café with stairs… I will put this in another blog post because I want to really show you the pictures clearly so you can see. I will also try to upload a video too.

Martin’s latest book is a must read for all ages, I really mean that because even my mum and dad have read it and we have all learnt from it. It’s really inspiring. I have been finding out my own ‘Lesser Spotted Animals’ and will share them with you on this blog soon.

http://horrible-histories.co.uk/awesome-author-and-illustrator#eventsection