Focus on an author – Anthony Browne

10 Things you didn’t know about Anthony Browne

1. When he was a boy he wanted to be a journalist, a cartoonist, or a boxer.
2. He was once asked to present a programme on children’s books, in a cage with some gorillas – but one 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!”
3. 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 Dumb Tackle.
4. He wore short trousers until he was fifteen.
5. He thinks the character, Willy, is based on his own childhood.
6. 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.
7. He loves rugby and played as a scrum-half for eighteen years.
8. His book The Tunnel was inspired by a very frightening tunnel he and his brother used to go down when they were boys.
9. When he was a medical artist, he would often eat his lunch in the mortuary.
10. He says he has never found the perfect pair of swimming shorts!

To find out more go to http://www.anthonybrownebooks.com/