Rob Biddulph


Rob Biddulph is a British children's author and illustrator.

Early life

Biddulph was born on 12 October 1972 in Barnet, London. He attended Dame Alice Owen's School. He graduated with a BA degree in Visual Communication and Design from Middlesex University in 1994.

Career

Before becoming an author and illustrator, he worked as an art director for The Observer Magazine, NME, Uncut, SKY Magazine and Just Seventeen.
In 2014, he published his first picture book, Blown Away, about an intrepid blue penguin. In 2015, he won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Blown Away, which was the second picture book to win the prize.
Several of his picture books have featured on the BBC television series CBeebies Bedtime Stories. Odd Dog Out was read by Tom Hardy in 2017, Blown Away was read by Mark Bonnar in 2017, GRRRRR! was read by Chris Kamara in 2019, Show and Tell was read by Rick Astley in 2019, An Odd Dog Christmas was read by Hardy in 2021, and Gigantic was read by Cody Rhodes in 2025.
In 2021, he published his first middle-grade book, Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City.
Biddulph was the official World Book Day illustrator between 2019 and 2021 and was named Illustrator of the Year at the British Book Awards in May 2025.

Draw with Rob

In March 2020, Biddulph began uploading twice-weekly draw-along videos to help children looking for things to keep them occupied whilst stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The videos received millions of views worldwide, and on 20 May 2020 Biddulph broke the Guinness World Record for the largest ever online art class when 45,611 households joined him in drawing a blue whale via his YouTube channel. In the process, over £50,000 was raised for charity. Biddulph was named as a UK Point of Light by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, who said "As our country observed the toughest restrictions in living memory, you inspired the creative spirit of the nation with millions of families tuning in to your #DrawWithRob series and spending special time together honing their artistic skills."

Publications

  • Blown Away, 2014
  • GRRRRR!, 2015
  • Odd Dog Out, 2016
  • Sunk!, 2017
  • Kevin, 2017
  • Dinosaur Juniors: Happy Hatchday, 2018
  • Dinosaur Juniors: Give Peas a Chance, 2018
  • Dinosaur Juniors: Wide Awake, 2019
  • Show and Tell, 2019
  • Dog Gone, 2020
  • An Odd Dog Christmas, 2021
  • The Blue-footed Booby, 2022
  • Gigantic, 2023
  • Charlie McGrew & the Horse That He Drew, 2024
  • I Follow the Fox, 2024
  • When I Grow Up I'd Like to Be..., 2025
  • Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City, 2021
  • Peanut Jones and the Twelve Portals, 2022
  • Peanut Jones and the End of the Rainbow, 2023
  • The Draw with Rob series, 2020–
  • The My First Draw with Rob series, 2023–

    Collaborations

  • The Flat Stanley series, 2017-2018, written by Jeff Brown
  • The Radio Boy series, 2017-2018, written by Christian O'Connell
  • The Adventures of Parsley the Lion, 2020, written by Michael Bond
  • The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates, 2020, written by Jenny Pearson
  • The Furry Purry Beancat series, 2020, written by Philip Ardagh

    Awards and recognitions

  • 2015: Waterstones Children's Book Prize, winner
  • 2015: Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Best Illustrated Book, winner
  • 2015: Kate Greenaway Medal, nominated
  • 2015: Independent Booksellers Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2016: Kate Greenaway Medal, nominated
  • 2016: Independent Booksellers Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2017: UKLA Student Shadower's Book Award, winner
  • 2017: BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award, winner
  • 2017: Oscar's Book Prize, shortlisted
  • 2017: Independent Booksellers Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2017: Sheffield Children's Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2018: Kate Greenaway Medal, nominated
  • 2018: Oscar's Book Prize, shortlisted
  • 2018: The People's Book Prize, shortlisted
  • 2018: Kate Greenaway Medal, nominated
  • 2018: BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2018: Independent Booksellers Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2018: Junior Magazine Design Awards, Gold, winner
  • 2019: Kate Greenaway Medal, nominated
  • 2019: BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2020: UK Point of Light, winner
  • 2020: Sainsbury's Children's Book Award, winner
  • 2020: Sheffield Children's Book Award, winner
  • 2021: British Book Awards, shortlisted
  • 2021: BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2022: Yoto Carnegie Illustration Medal, nominated
  • 2023: Fantastic Book Award, Lancashire School Library Service, winner
  • 2023: FCBG Children's Book Award, nominated
  • 2023: BSC Festival of Literature Picture Book Award, shortlisted
  • 2023: Cover of the Year, The Week Junior Book Awards, winner
  • 2024: Books For Topics Early Readers Book of the Year, winner
  • 2024: Oscar's Book Prize, shortlisted
  • 2024: Sheffield Children's Book Award, winner, picture book category
  • 2024: FCBG Children's Book Award, winner
  • 2024: Laugh-Out-Loud Award, shortlisted
  • 2024: Picture Book of the Year, The Week Junior Book Awards, highly commended
  • 2025: Illustrator of the Year, The British Book Awards, winner
  • 2025: Brilliant Book Award, Lancashire School Library Service, winner

    Personal life

Biddulph is married with three daughters, and lives in London. He has a cocker spaniel called Ringo. He is a fan of Arsenal FC.