Graham Oakley (born Graham Thomas Oakley on 27 August 1929 – 19 December 2022) was an English writer and illustrator best known for children's books including the Church Mice and Foxbury Force series.
Early life Oakley was born on 27 August 1929 to Thomas and Flora (née Madelay) Oakley in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as their only child. Oakley grew up living above an electrical repair shop which his father ran before his family moved to Warrington.
Education Oakley's studies at Warrington Art School were interrupted when Oakley was called up for national military service in 1947, returning in 1950 to finish studies.
Military service Oakley served two years at the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine.
Art career Oakley freelanced for London repertory theatre companies as a scenic artist from 1950 to 1955; as a design assistant at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, 1955 to 1957; at Crawford's Advertising Agency, 1960 to 1962; at BBC-TV as a set designer for films and series, 1962 to 1967. At BBC, Oakley worked on How Green Was My Valley, Nicholas Nickleby, Treasure Island, and Softly, Softly.
Children's books
Oakley is best known for the Church Mice series of picture books (1970 to 2000), next for the Foxbury Force series (1994 to 1998). He also won a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Special Citation in 1980 for the picture book Graham Oakley's Magical Changes."Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards: Winners and Honor Books 1967 to present" . The Horn Book Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-24. It features detailed scenes drawn on pages that are cut in half, permitting the user to "turn" the top and bottom halves separately. The combinations are surreal; the original whole-page drawings are already strange. In 1981, it was republished in France, entitled 512 for the number of different combinations possible.
The Church Mice The Church Mouse - Atheneum, 1972 The Church Cat Abroad - Atheneum, 1973 The Church Mice and the Moon - Atheneum, 1974 The Church Mice Spread Their Wings - Macmillan (London), 1975 The Church Mice Adrift - Macmillan (London), 1976 The Church Mice at Bay - Macmillan (London), 1978 The Church Mice at Christmas - Atheneum, 1980 The Church Mice in Action - Macmillan (London), 1982 The Diary of a Church Mouse - Macmillan (London), 1986 The Church Mice and the Ring, 1992 Humphrey Hits the Jackpot - Hodder Children's Books, 1998 The Church Mice Take a Break - Hodder Children's Books, 2000
The Church Mice Adrift and The Church Mice in Action were Highly Commended runners-up for the 1976 and 1982 Kate Greenaway Medals from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject."Kate Greenaway Medal" . 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 2012-07-02.
The Foxbury Force The Foxbury Force - Macmillan, 1995 Foxbury Force And The Pirates - Macmillan, 1996 The Foxbury Force & The Ghost - Macmillan, 1998
Non-series Books Henry's Quest - Atheneum, 1986. A children's dystopian/post-apocalyptic story book ’’Hetty and Harriet’’ - Macmillan, 1981.
Later life and death According to the 2008 Modern Classics edition of The Church Mice, he lived in Lyme Regis, Dorset and was "mostly retired".
Oakley died in Dorset on 19 December 2022, at the age of 93.
See also Movable books
Notes
References
External links
Official website Who is Graham Oakley? and Bibliography by librarian Kathleen Watson (alia.org.au/~kwatson), archived 2012-02-04 Interview with the Church Mice () Graham Oakley: The Man Who Created The Church Mice (Part 1) and (Part 2) – 2011 interview at The Polymath Perspective