# Emily Sutton

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**Emily Sutton** (born 1983) is an English illustrator. She is known for her illustrations in children's picture books inspired by vintage artwork and old objects.

## Early life and education

Sutton was born in [North Yorkshire](/source/North_Yorkshire) in 1983.[1] She spent the first four years of her childhood living on her family farm in the [Yorkshire Wolds](/source/Yorkshire_Wolds).[2] As a child, she loved picture books, especially those filled with detail like those by [Maurice Sendak](/source/Maurice_Sendak) and [Richard Scarry](/source/Richard_Scarry).[3] She went to [Bootham School](/source/Bootham_School).[4] She studied at the [Edinburgh College of Art](/source/Edinburgh_College_of_Art), graduating in 2008. She also attended [York College](/source/York_College_(York)) and the [Rhode Island School of Design](/source/Rhode_Island_School_of_Design).[1][5]

## Career

After graduating from university in 2008, Sutton started working professionally as an illustrator, specializing in the illustration of children's books. She takes inspiration from the work of [Eric Ravilious](/source/Eric_Ravilious), [Edward Bawden](/source/Edward_Bawden), and lithographed children's books from the United States. She often features objects she has found in museums and antique shops.[5] She has designed packaging for a number of brands including [Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate](/source/Bettys_and_Taylors_of_Harrogate), [Charlie Bigham's](/source/Charlie_Bigham's), and [Fortnum & Mason](/source/Fortnum_%26_Mason).[6]

In 2014, Sutton had a solo exhibition titled Emily Sutton Town and Country, at [Yorkshire Sculpture Park](/source/Yorkshire_Sculpture_Park). The exhibition featured paintings, screen prints, and handmade birds.[4][7] For Christmas 2023, she designed the Neverland-themed artwork for the annual Christmas show at [Castle Howard](/source/Castle_Howard).[2][8] As of 2023, she has illustrated over twenty children's picture books, collaborating with a number of authors including [Anne Twist](/source/Harry_Styles#Early_life), [Nicola Davies](/source/Nicola_Davies_(author)), [Michael Bond](/source/Michael_Bond), and [Katherine Rundell](/source/Katherine_Rundell).[2]

In 2024, Sutton illustrated *Shakespeare's First Folio: All The Plays: A Children's Edition*, an abridged edition of William Shakespeare's First Folio for children. The book was sponsored by the [Shakespeare Birthplace Trust](/source/Shakespeare_Birthplace_Trust) and edited by Anjna Chouhan, a teacher and scholar at the charity. Journalist Meghan Cox Gurdon, writing in the *[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)*, noted that Sutton had "lavishly illustrated" each play's cast, including images of "red-cheeked gentlemen, sword-wielding warriors and ladies in striking attire."[9]

## Awards and honours

In 2011, Sutton was awarded the Elle Decoration [British Design Award](/source/British_Design_Award) for her Curiosity Shop fabric.[7] In 2015, the book *Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes* which Sutton illustrated won an AAAS award for best picture book.[10] That year, the book also was nominated for a CILIP [Kate Greenaway Medal](/source/Kate_Greenaway_Medal).[11] In 2017, *The Times* and *The Guardian* named *One Christmas Wish* by Katherine Rundell and illustrated by Sutton as one of the best children's books of the year. The book tells the story of a boy who is left home alone on Christmas with a babysitter by his parents. After making a wish on a shooting star to be "un-alone", four Christmas decorations come to life.[12][13][14] In 2021, the [National Science Teaching Association](/source/National_Science_Teaching_Association) named *Grow: Secrets of Our DNA* one of the Outstanding Science Trade Books of the year.[15]

## Personal life

Sutton lives in a Victorian terraced house in Yorkshire with her [schnoodle](/source/Schnoodle) Mouse.[6]

## Books

### Illustrator

- *Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day* (2011)[16]
- *Clara Button and the Wedding Day Surprise* (2013)
- *Tiny: The Invisible World of Microbes* (2014)[17]
- *The Christmas Eve Tree* (2015)[18]
- *The Tale of the Castle Mice* (2016)[19]
- *Lots: The Diversity of Life on Earth*, published as *Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth* in the United States (2017)[20]
- *One Christmas Wish* (2017)[21][12]
- *A First Book of the Sea* (2018)[22]
- *The Ups and Downs of the Castle Mice* (2019)[19]
- *Ernestine's Milky Way* (2019)[23]
- *Grow: Secrets of Our DNA* (2020)[24]
- *Jumbo: The Most Famous Elephant Who Ever Lived* (2020)
- *The Season of Giraffes* (2022)[25]
- *Courage Like Kate: The True Story of a Girl Lighthouse Keeper* (2022)[26]
- *Betty and the Mysterious Visitor* (2023)[27]
- *Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet* (2024)[28]
- *The World to Come* (2024)[29]
- *King Winter's Birthday* (2025)[30]

### Author

- *Penny and the Little Lost Puppy* (2021)[31]
- *Emily Sutton's Toy Shop* (2024)

## References

1. ["Emily Sutton"](https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/artists/emily-sutton/). The Scottish Gallery.

1. ["Illustrator Emily Sutton on her favourite things about Yorkshire"](https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/yorkshire/23855991.yorkshire-artist-illustrating-shakespeares-first-folio/). *Great British Life*. 31 October 2023.

1. ["Picture Alphabet Print by Emily Sutton"](https://sessionsandco.com/blogs/journal/anticipating-autumn-looking-forwards-looking-back). *Sessions & Co.*. 19 October 2018.

1. ["An artist at home"](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/an-artist-at-home-1830410). *Yorkshire Post*. 15 November 2014.

1. ["Pursuing a Strange Hat"](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1242419/pursuing-a-strange-hat-drawing-emily-sutton). Victoria & Albert Museum. 8 December 2011.

1. ["Meet the whimsical illustrator tapping into childhood nostaglia"](https://www.countryliving.com/uk/create/a64231850/emily-sutton-artist-illustrations/). *Country Living*. 21 March 2025.

1. ["Emily Sutton. Town and Country"](https://www.meer.com/en/10668-emily-sutton-town-and-country). *Meer*. 13 August 2014.

1. Ellis, Nathan (1 November 2023). ["Castle Howard's Epic Christmas Fairytale Experience Begins This Month"](https://the-yorkshireman.com/castle-howard-christmas-2023/). *The Yorkshireman*

1. Gurdon, Meghan Cox (17 April 2024). ["Children's Books: Shakespeare the Storyteller"](https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/childrens-books-shakespeare-the-storyteller-717102de). *The Wall Street Journal*

1. ["Tiny Creatures"](https://www.sbfprize.org/tiny-creatures). *AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books*

1. Wade, Francesca (10 February 2015). ["Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals: longlists announced"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11401661/Carnegie-and-Kate-Greenaway-Medals-longlists-announced.html). *The Telegraph*

1. ["One Christmas Wish"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781481491617). *Publishers Weekly*

1. Williams, Imogen Russell (2 December 2017). ["The best children's books of 2017"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/02/the-best-childrens-books-2017). *The Guardian*

1. O'Connell, Alex (2 December 2017). ["The best children's books of 2017"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/the-best-childrens-books-of-2017-mqkdkrtkz). *The Times*

1. ["OSTB 2021"](https://www.nsta.org/ostb-2021). *nsta.org*

1. ["CLARA BUTTON AND THE MAGICAL HAT DAY"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/amy-de-la-haye/clara-button-and-magical-hat-day/). *kirkusreviews.com*

1. ["The Whole Wide World (Published 2014)"](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/books/tiny-creatures-and-if.html). *The New York Times*. 13 August 2014.

1. ["How to draw... a Christmas Eve tree - in pictures"](https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/dec/22/how-to-draw-a-christmas-eve-tree-in-pictures). *The Guardian*. 22 December 2015.

1. ["Michael Bond Castle Mice sequel to be published posthumously"](https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45801903). *bbc.com*. 9 October 2018.

1. Stevenson, Deborah (7 December 2017). ["Many: The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies (review)"](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/674133). *Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books*. **71** (3): 113. [doi:10.1353/bcc.2017.0769](https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2017.0769). – via Project MUSE.

1. ["ONE CHRISTMAS WISH"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katherine-rundell/one-christmas-wish/). *kirkusreviews.com*

1. ["A FIRST BOOK OF THE SEA"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/nicola-davies/a-first-book-of-the-sea/). *kirkusreviews.com*

1. ["Ernestine's Milky Way"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781524714840). *Publishers Weekly*

1. ["Grow: Secrets of Our DNA"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781536212723). *Publishers Weekly*

1. [https://www.proquest.com/openview/21193c43589ace605b2821b7d5eb3c43/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=296199](https://www.proquest.com/openview/21193c43589ace605b2821b7d5eb3c43/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=296199)

1. ["Light Hearted ep 188 – Anna Crowley Redding, 'Courage Like Kate'"](https://news.uslhs.org/2022/08/27/light-hearted-ep-188-anna-crowley-redding-courage-like-kate/). *U.S. Lighthouse Society News*. 27 August 2022.

1. ["BETTY AND THE MYSTERIOUS VISITOR"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anne-twist/betty-and-the-mysterious-visitor/). *kirkusreviews.com*

1. Quealy-Gainer, Kate (7 December 2024). ["Green: The Story of Plant Life on Our Planet by Nicola Davies (review)"](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/915130). *Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books*. **77** (5): 173. [doi:10.1353/bcc.2024.a915130](https://doi.org/10.1353/bcc.2024.a915130). – via Project MUSE.

1. ["The World to Come"](http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781917044257). *Publishers Weekly*

1. ["KING WINTER'S BIRTHDAY"](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jonathan-freedland/king-winters-birthday/). *kirkusreviews.com*

1. O'Connell, Alex (10 April 2021). ["Penny and the Little Lost Puppy by Emily Sutton review — a charming debut that unpacks the pain of moving home"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/penny-and-the-little-lost-puppy-by-emily-sutton-review-skcbp0fkf). *The Times*

## External links

- [Official website](https://emilysutton.co/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Emily Sutton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Sutton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Sutton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.