Patrick Benson was born in 1956 and was educated at Eton. He studied classical drawing in Florence, and continued studying Art at Chelsea Art School and St Martin's School of Art. In 1984 he won the Mother Goose Award, given annually to the most promising newcomer in children's book illustration for William Mayne's 'Hob Storie's. He gained further acclaim for illustrating 'Owl Babies', written by Martin Waddell, 'The MinPins' by Roald Dahl and since has illustrated many other titles, including 'The Little Boat' by Kathy Henderson and 'The Sea-Thing Child' by Russel Hoban, both shortlisted for a Kate Greenaway Medal. 'The Little Boat' also won the 1995 Kurt Maschler Award.