Alison Lester is one of Australia's most beloved and bestselling authors and illustrators of children's books. Her stories mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special.
Alison Lester was born in November, 1952 in Foster in Victoria, Australia. She grew up on a farm overlooking the sea and first rode a horse as a baby in her father’s arms. She still lives in the country and rides her horse whenever she can.
After training as an art teacher and teaching for one year, Alison began illustrating books in 1979 and five years later, wrote her first book. Her picture books mix imaginary worlds with everyday life, encouraging children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special.
Family and nature are the most important themes in her work – loving and caring for the world and its people. She is involved in many community art projects and spends part of every year travelling to remote indigenous communities, using her books to help children and adults write and draw about their own lives.
In 2011 Alison, along with Boori Prior, was appointed Australia’s first Children’s Laureate, a position they shared for two years.
She was also an ambassador for the 2012 National Year of Reading.
She is currently an ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital’s Education Institute, the Clean Ocean Foundation and Buk Bilong Pikinini.
To date Alison has written and illustrated over fifty books.
