Chris Riddell Books In Order

Publication Order of The Edge Chronicles Books

Chronological Order of The Edge Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Alienography Books

Publication Order of Barnaby Grimes Books

Publication Order of Blobheads Books

Publication Order of The Cloud Horse Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Far-Flung Adventures Books

Publication Order of Knight's Story Books

Publication Order of Goth Girl Books

Publication Order of Muddle Earth Trilogy Books

Publication Order of Ottoline Books

Publication Order of Platypus Books

Publication Order of Scavenger Books

Publication Order of Wyrmeweald Books

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Chris Riddell is a renowned British writer, illustrator, and political cartoonist. He is a South Africa-born author of children’s books and is particularly famous for his collaboration with author Paul Stewart for developing the books of The Edge Chronicles series. Riddell worked on the illustration part of this series, while Stewart looked after the writing part. As a political cartoonist, Riddell has worked for the famous Observer magazine. He is the winner of 3 Kate Greenaway Medals, which is an annual award from the British Librarians association given to the best-illustrated children’s novel. A couple of his works have also been runners-up for the same award. Several other books written or illustrated by Riddell have won 3 Nestle Smarties Book Prizes as well as have been runners-up on four occasions. In 2015, Riddell was appointed the United Kingdom Children’s Laureate. As an author, Riddell is mainly popular for writing the Ottoline series and the Goth Girl series. In addition to this, he has collaborated with many other authors to work on their novels and series as an illustrator.

Author Riddell was born on April 13, 1962, in Capetown, South Africa. His father was employed as an Anglican vicar and was a part of the opposition to the apartheid system. When Riddell was 1 year old, his family moved back to England, where he grew up with his 3 brothers and a sister. Riddell’s siblings are now located in Brighton, Egypt, and South Africa. He studied at the Archbishop Tenison Grammar School, located in Kennington and showcased artistic talent from the beginning. Riddell’s mother encouraged him to hone his talents and even gave him pen & paper to keep himself immersed in it and remain quiet during his father’s sermons. In his childhood days, Riddell was a great admirer of Sir John Tenniel’s work. He was also very fond of the work of W. Heath Robinson. Riddell grew up to undertake a course in illustration at Brighton Polytechnic. One of his teachers was Raymond Briggs, who is the winner of 2 Greenaway Medals. In 2002, Riddell included E. H. Shepard and John Tenniel as his influences.

Following the completion of his college degree, Riddell obtained an illustrator’s job at The Economist. He was associated with the magazine during the 1980s and switched over to The Observer in 1995. As of today, Riddell is happily married and resides with his loving wife Joanne Burroughs in Brighton. Joanne is a print-maker and illustrator and has three children with Riddell. Their daughter, Katy Riddell, is also a famous illustrator of children’s books. In 1998, Riddell teamed up with Paul Stewart to do illustration work for the series called The Edge Chronicles. Riddell has also co-written a few chapters of the series. This series is praised for the beautiful illustrations and detailed line drawings by Riddell the collaborative writing process’s unique nature. The first Greenaway Medal commendation received by Riddell for his illustration work was for the 1995 Kathryn Cave novel Something Else. He followed it up with another commendation for the 1999 book called Castle Diary.

Riddell went on to win the Greenaway Medal for the first time in 2001 for illustrating Richard Platt’s Pirate Diary. The book’s press release called it the first ‘information book’ to receive the prize since 1975 and labeled it a ‘fictionalized account’. When Riddell spoke with Platt about it, historical accuracy’s harsh necessities came into play. He was forced to refrain from illustrating parrots, wooden legs, or eye-patches, but was relieved to know that he could describe amputations and weapons. After this book, Platt roped in David Parkins for illustrations for the later books of the Diary series. In 2004, Riddell won the second Greenaway Medal for Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver. In this book, Riddell has given 144 pages full of faultless, fantastic illustrations. A few other books illustrated by author Riddell include Corby Flood, Hugo Pepper, Fergus Crane. All these books and the novels of the Barnaby Grimes series and the Muddle Earth series were written in collaboration with Paul Stewart.

Recently, Riddell penned an independent series called the Ottoline series that also features illustrations by him. He wrote this series while he was on a vacation in Malaysia. Prior to trying his hand at illustrating and writing, Riddell was involved with the Observer as an acclaimed political cartoonist. His caricatures of many well-known politicians like Gordon Brown, John Major, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton had earned him popularity as an excellent draughtsman and political scene’s acute commentator. He has also worked for The Economist as an occasional cover artist and illustrator. Riddell has also been associated with Literary Review magazine as a cover artist. In 2017, Riddell accused John Lewis department store chain of plagiarizing several elements of his picture book called Mr. Underbed. When the chain defended Riddell’s allegations in court, it became a huge row and resulted in the book’s huge sales.

The Ottoline series written by author Chris Riddell is comprised of a total of 4 books released between 2007 and 2016. It features the central characters in the roles of Miss Ottoline Brown, Mr. Munroe, and several others. The debut book of the series is entitled ‘Ottoline and the Yellow Cat’. It was released by the Macmillan Children’s Books publication in 2007. Initially, Ottoline Brown is introduced as a mistress of the disguise and exceptionally inquisitive. She is the partner in crime of Mr. Munroe. They excel in solving the toughest of the puzzles. Ottoline Brown resides in a stylish apartment and looks after the eclectic collection of her family. Mr. Munroe is her companion and helps her in solving crimes in the city. The second installment of this series is called ‘Ottoline Goes to School’. It was also published by Macmillan in 2008. In this novel, Miss Ottoline is seen visiting the Alice Smith School for Differently Gifted. She is accompanied by her hairy partner Mr. Munroe. There, they indulge in yet another detective work and help solve an intriguing case of crime.

Chris Riddell is a reputed British illustrator, political cartoonist, and writer of children’s books and fiction novels. Born in South Africa, Chris is known for his political cartoons for the Observer. As a writer, he is particularly well known for collaborating with Paul Stewart. The two have worked together to develop their most popular book series called The Edge Chronicles. Chris was mainly involved as an illustrator, while Paul Stewart was in charge of the writing. While working for the Observer, Chris won three Kate Greenaway awards, a yearly award given to the best illustrator of children’s books by the British Librarians. Chris has also been nominated for the award for a few of his other works as well. Other prestigious awards and nominations, won by Chris include the Nestle Smarties prize on multiple occasions. In June 2015, Chris was made the Children’s Laureate of the United Kingdom.

As a novelist, Chris has penned several independent book series, including the Goth Girl series, the Ottoline series, and the recently started Cloud Horse Chronicles series. Additionally, he has worked with many authors in their original works, mainly for doing illustrations. Some of his collaborations are with authors like Kathryn Cave, Andrew Gibson, Brian Patten Philip Ridley, Paul Stewart, etc. Chris was born in Capetown on 13th April 1962. His dad was involved in opposing the system of apartheid. At the age of one, Chris’s parents relocated to England and brought him up with his sister and three brothers. His siblings now live in Brighton, South Africa, Egypt, and England. Chris developed artistic talent at a very young age when he was studying at Kensington based Archbishop Tennison school. He was encouraged by his mom to pursue arts and hone his skills. During his dad’s sermons, his mother would tell him to keep himself busy with the pen & paper she would give him.

During his childhood, Chris admired the works of John Tenniel very much. He was also a fan of Heath Robinson’s works. After growing up, Chris joined Brighton Polytechnic to study illustration. There, he studied under the guidance of Raymond Briggs, a previous two-time winner of the Greenway award. In 2002, Chris declared that he was greatly influenced by the works of E.H. Shepard and Tenniel to enter the career field of illustration. After earning his college degree, Chris started working in the post of an illustrator. He was employed with The Economist in the 1980s and starting from 1995, he began working for The Observer. Currently, Chris lives in Brighton with his beloved wife named Joanne Burroughs and their three children. Joanne also works as a printmaker & illustrator. Popular illustrator Katy Riddell is Chris’ daughter. Chris came across Paul Stewart for the first time in 1998 when they joined hands to create The Edge Chronicles books. Apart from illustrating, he has also written several chapters in the series.

Chris received a lot of praise for his beautiful illustrations, excellent line drawings, and detailed depictions in this series. He received his first Greenaway prize commendation in 1995 for Kathryn Cave’s novel called Something Else. This was followed by another one in 1999 for Castle Diary. Chris won the prestigious award in 2001 for the first time. It was for his beautiful illustrations in the Richard Platt’s novel called Pirate Diary. Platt did not use Chris’s services for illustrations in his future books as he was not comfortable with his depictions of eye-patches, wooden legs, parrots, etc. The second Greenaway prize won by Chris was for a Jonathan Swift novel called Gulliver. He provided 144 pages of fantastic illustrations. After this grand success, Chris went on to illustrate many other books and won numerous accolades for his work.

A popular book series penned by Chris Riddell is called the Goth Girl series and it consists of 4 novels and 1 novella, released between 2013 and 2017. The lead characters mentioned in this series include Ada Goth, Lord Goth, Ishmael, Maltravers, Vivienne Dashwood, Beau Peeps, Walter Splott, Plain Austen, Emily, Anne, Charlotte, etc. The debut book of this series is entitled ‘Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse’. It was released by the Macmillan Children’s Books in 2013. This humorous book begins by introducing Ada Goth as a small girl living with her dad, Lord Goth, several ghosts, and many servants in the Ghastly-Gorm Hall in Brighton. She wishes to have a friend with whom she would like to explore things. Ada misses the love of her father, who keeps a distance from her from the time her mother died.

One night, Ada comes across the ghost of a mouse named Ishmael. This encounter changes her life dramatically. Ishmael and Ada join hands to solve the strange things happening in and around Ghastly-Gorm Hall. While doing so, the two get involved in a much bigger adventure that none of them had anticipated. This novel is filled with funny characters and jokes. The readers found it quite enticing to read. Many critics have recommended this book as a must-read for all the fans of children’s books. Another popular book of the series is known as ‘Goth Girl and the Pirate Queen’. It was also published by Macmillan Books in 2015. Initially, it is depicted that Ada takes up a journey to a seaside resort for a holiday in Brighton. She looks forward to meeting the followers of a popular fashion lady named Vivienne Dashwood as well as her rival Beau Peeps. Like everyone, she is also excited to participate in the lavish ball on World Frock Night and dress up in fine costumes to win the grand prize.

Ada’ father gives her money to buy a good outfit for herself. But, when things do not happen as per the plan, Ada faces the biggest challenge of her life to save her reputation. This book is also filled with excellent illustrations provided by Chris. It entertained the readers like all the other books of the series and went on to achieve immense success. The success motivated Chris to develop more books in his career. He continued to collaborate with other writers as well as develop his independent books and series. Chris is hopeful of writing more exciting novels in the years to come and get the love and support of his fans.