Kes Gray

Last updated
Kes Gray
Born1960 (age 6364)
Chelmsford, England
NationalityBritish
Known forChildren's Literature
Notable workOi Frog!

Kes Gray (born 1960) is a British author of children's books.

Contents

Life and work

Gray attended Great Baddow Comprehensive, then graduated from the University of Kent with an honours degree in English and American literature. [1]

He is one of the UK's bestselling writers for children, with over two million copies of his stories sold. [2] He is known for the award-winning Daisy picture books, illustrated by Nick Sharratt, the chart-topping Oi! series illustrated by Jim Field and a collaboration with the athlete Mo Farah. [3] The Oi! series books were narrated as audiobooks by comedian and actor David Mitchell, [4] who also narrated Gray's books, How Many Legs? and Quick Quack Quentin.

Awards

Gray was listed as one of the top ten children's authors in the UK in 2003. [5] As well as the awards listed below, he has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards. [6]

Stage adaptation

In 2019, Hughes and Pins & Needles Productions adapted Gray and Field's children's book series Oi Frog and Friends for the stage. [12] The script was developed and written by Richy Hughes, Emma Earle, Zoe Squire and Luke Bateman, with lyrics by Hughes. The production premiered at Frensham Heights School in October 2019, [13] before going on to a critically acclaimed run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End. [14] In 2020, the show was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Family Show. [15]

List of works

Nelly The Monster Sitter series

Daisy series

Get Well Friends series

Jack Beechwhistle series

Go Mo series

Picture Books

Chapter Books

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References

  1. "Kes Gray". Fantastic Fiction.
  2. "Kes Gray". Penguin Books. 20 February 2025.
  3. "Ooooh... The bike accident that changed Kes Gray's life". East Anglian Daily Times. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  4. "Oi Frog and Friends Collection".
  5. "Gray, Kes". BookTrust.
  6. "Kes Gray". Hachette. May 14, 2019.
  7. "Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2020". www.booktrust.org.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  8. "The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2023 - Past winners". Scholastic Shop. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  9. "The Children's Book Award | 2001 | Awards and Honors | LibraryThing". LibraryThing.com. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  10. "Children's Book Award | Past Winners 1981 - 2017" (PDF). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  11. "'Harry Potter' is pipped for award". The Independent. 9 June 2001. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  12. "Oi Frog & Friends!". Nimax Theatres. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  13. "Oi Frog & Friends! Comes to Frensham". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  14. Wiegand, Chris (December 9, 2019). "Oi Frog and Friends! review – a wild time for fans of rhyme". The Guardian.
  15. Masso, Giverny (2020-03-03). "Olivier Awards 2020: the nominations in full" . The Stage.