Children's Laureate 2010 - 2012.
Things you didn't know about Anthony Browne
When he was a boy he wanted to be a journalist, a cartoonist, or a boxer.
He was once asked to present a programme on children's books, in a cage with some gorillas. But a gorilla bit him badly on the leg. It didn't put him off them, "but," he says "you wouldn't catch me going into a cage with one again!"
He grew up in a pub and when he was little, would go into the bar, stand on a table and tell stories about a character he'd made up called Big Dum Tackle.
He wore short trousers until he was fifteen.
He thinks the character, Willy, is based on his own childhood.
When he was a boy, he wanted a real trumpet for his birthday, but he got a toy plastic one instead. He says his book, Gorilla, was partly based on that experience.
He loves rugby and played as a scrum-half for eighteen years.
His book The Tunnel was inspired by a very frightening tunnel he and his brother used to go down when they were boys.
When he was a medical artist, he would often eat his lunch in the mortuary.
He says he has never found the perfect pair of swimming shorts!
