Helen Oxenbury and John Burningham win top books honour
The couple, whose children’s books include We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Borka, receive BookTrust’s first ever joint lifetime achievement award
Two giants of children’s books, Helen Oxenbury and John Burningham, are to be honoured with the first ever double BookTrust lifetime achievement award. The couple, who were married in 1964, are behind some of the most iconic picture books of the last half-century, leading to the unprecedented decision to celebrate them both for their outstanding contribution to children’s literature.
BookTrust chief executive Diana Gerald described them as “titans of industry”, adding that the charity had decided to honour them together because choosing between them proved near impossible “and [we] felt that the brilliance of both should be recognised”.
Related: How we made: Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen on We're Going on a Bear Hunt
