Pierre Pratt - Illustrator

Being born in 1962 isn't easy, but that's exactly what Pierre Pratt did, on February 8th. Little by little, he began to grow. Like any growing artist, he drew the objects around him and the people he met in the quiet atmosphere of his little room, his face a mask of perfect concentration. He still retains that expression. He studied graphic design at Ahuntsic College in Montreal. At the beginning of the 1980s, he began drawing small comic strips. Then he turned to illustration. He did his apprenticeship with several different magazines in Quebec. Since 1990, he has been illustrating (and also writing) books for children, some 50 by now. He has won several prizes, including three Governor General's Literary Awards, a Golden Apple and a Golden Plaque at the Bienniale of Illustrations Bratislava, a Totem at the Montreuil Salon du Livre, the UNICEF Illustrator of the Year award at the Bologna Book Fair, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award, the Mr. Christie Book Award and the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. In 2008, he represented Canada for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award.