Hobson, Sally 1967–

Personal

Born January 15, 1967, in London, England; daughter of Peter Jesse (a university lecturer), and Patricia (a child welfare worker; maiden name, Powell) Hobson; companion of Tony Bonning (a writer); children: Thor-finn Peter Hobson-Bonning, Lochlunn Padraic and Sorley McQuater Hobson-Bonning (twins); Jaye Heather Bonning, Merlin Charles Bonning (stepchildren). Education: Attended Esher College, and Kingston University, 1985–86; Falmouth School of Art, B.A. (with honors), 1990. Politics: "Apolitical." Religion: "Agnostic."

Addresses

Home and office—Glenroan Cottage, Glenroan Farm, Barwhillanty, Knockvennie, Castle Douglas, Galloway DG7 3NU, Scotland.

Career

Children's book illustrator. Animation painter for Universal Pictures/Amblimation, for An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, London, England, 1990–91.

Awards, Honors

Mother Goose Award runner-up, 1994, for "most exciting newcomer to British children's illustration."

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

By the Sea, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

All Aboard, David & Charles Children's (London, England), 2000.

Under the Ground (lift-the-flap book), Walker Books (London, England), 2001.

On the Farm (lift-the-flap book), Walker Books (London, England), 2001.

In the City (lift-the-flap book), Walker Books (London, England), 2002.

Dan's Digger (board book; "Things That Go" series), Macmillan (London, England), 2003.

Charlie's Car (board book; "Things That Go" series), Macmillan (London, England), 2003.

Toby's Train (board book; "Things That Go" series), Macmillan (London, England), 2003.

Fred's Fire Engine (board book; "Things That Go" series), Macmillan (London, England), 2003.

Also illustrator of "Cuddle-Cuff" series of board books, published by Little Tiger Press.

ILLUSTRATOR

Ragnhild Scamell, Three Bags Full, Orchard Books (London, England), 1993.

Chicken Little, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1994.

Vivian French, The Little Red Hen and the Sly Fox, All Books for Children, 1995, published as Red Hen and Sly Fox, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1995.

Ragnhild Scamell, The Big Prints, ABC (London, England), 1996.

Ian Whybrow, Parcel for Stanley, Levinson (London, England), 1997.

Tony Bonning, Another Fine Mess, Little Tiger Press (Waukesha, WI), 1998.

Tony Bonning, The Great Goat Chase, Little Tiger Press (London, England), 1999.

Tony Bonning, Stone Soup, David & Charles Children's (London, England), 2001.

Tony Bonning, Fox Tale Soup, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Claire Freedman, Don't Worry Mouse, Gullane Press, 2005.

Books illustrated by Hobson have been translated into Welsh.

Sidelights

Scottish artist Sally Hobson has illustrated the pages of numerous children's books, including brightly colored board books and lift-the-flap books. Storybooks for older readers, such as husband Tony Bonning's Fox Tale Soup and Another Fine Mess, have also been enhanced by her art, as have picture-book texts by Ian Whybrow, Vivian French, and Claire Freedman. Reviewing Hobson's illustrations for a version of the childhood classic Chicken Little, Booklist contributor Annie Ayres wrote that the artist "imbues the characters with great personality and animation," citing in particular Hobson's "dynamic composition" and cartoon drawings. Her work for Fox Tale Soup was praised as "delightfully eccentric" by a Kirkus Reviews writer, the critic predicting that "young readers will eat … up" Bonning's adaptation of the classic tale of a wily fox who outwits his more simpleminded friends and produces a delicious feast for all.

Gaining an interest in art at a young age, the London-born Hobson was inspired by the creativity modeled by her father, an amateur artist. As Hobson once told SATA: "On completion of my secondary education I attended Esher College near London, which has an outstanding art department. That is where I gained my artistic confidence. This was followed by a foundation course at the nearby Kingston University, another great influence.

"My next step was a B.A. degree at Falmouth School of Art, one of Britain's top art schools. Cornwall has an extraordinary landscape and atmosphere—a place of legend. I was as influenced by the countryside as by the course and spent a lot of time away from the school drawing and painting the hills, the land, and the sea. It was this experience that developed in me the desire to do book illustration.

"I think art is about observation. There is nothing in Three Bags Full, or the books I have done since, that cannot be seen outside my window, everything being based on real people, scenes, animals and objects."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 1994, Annie Ayres, review of Chicken Little, p. 435; May 1, 1995, Lauren Peterson, review of Red Hen and Sly Fox, p. 1579; November 15, 1998, Lauren Peterson, review of Another Fine Mess, p. 594.

Horn Book, September-October, 1993, Mary M. Burns, review of Three Bags Full, p. 590; March-April, 1995, Maeve Visser Knoth, review of Chicken Little, p. 206; July-August, 1995, Mary M. Burns, review of Red Hen and Sly Fox, p. 469.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of Fox Tale Soup, p. 1754.

Publishers Weekly, April 12, 1993, review of Three Bags Full, p. 60; October 10, 1994, review of Chicken Little, p. 69; May 8, 1995, review of Red Hen and Sly Fox, p. 295; December 7, 1998, review of Parcel for Stanley, p. 59; January 10, 2000, review of Chicken Little, p. 70; December 17, 2001, review of Fox Tale Soup, p. 90.

School Library Journal, March, 2002, Lisa Gangemi Krapp, review of Fox Tale Soup, p. 172.