Never heard of Kitty Crowther? Shame on you! Kitty is Belgians most notable children’s books illustrator. Raised in an international environment in Brussels, Kitty studied visual arts and illustration at the Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels. As a young illustrator, she received several prices for her illustrations. Her first book, Mon Royaume became an instant success. Since then she illustrated over 35 books for both children and adults.

In 2010 she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial award, named after the Swedish creator of Pippi Longstocking, considered the Nobel Prize for youth literature. The jury described Crowther as ‘the master of line but also of atmosphere. She maintains the tradition of the picture book while transforming and renewing it. In her world, the door between imagination and reality is wide open. She addresses the reader gently and personally, but with profound effect.’

Her love for books started in Kitty’s early childhood, due in part to the fact that she was born with a hearing defect that delayed her speaking until the age of four. Kitty’s style speaks for itself. A simple, pure line, a light stroke that creates movement, that traces emotion, that touches the heart. Characters are drawn with a few, clear pen strokes and are revealed subtly. Her own words? “I trust my visual memory. Restoring things because they are pretty does not have meaning for me. I live what I draw.”

© I Love Belgium

I LOVE BELGIUM

I LOVE BELGIUM

I LOVE BELGIUM

I LOVE BELGIUM

I LOVE BELGIUM