Kes Gray

Kes Gray is a 42 year old dad of 3.

Sparky comics, football stickers, birds eggs, fishing rods, Timpo cowboys and indians and a Johnny Seven ‘One Man Army’ toy gun were the major influences in his early life.

After realising that all the Captain Scarlett and Thunderbirds jobs were taken, Kes opted for a career in advertising.

In a career spanning twenty years he has written many television advertising campaigns, most notably for Carling Black Label, Prudential and NSPCC.

Kes loves to write and in 1997 a one month sabbatical produced his first and most acclaimed picture book to date, EAT YOUR PEAS. Published in 2000 it became the first picture book in ten years to win the coveted overall prize at the 2001 Federation of Childrens Book Awards. The same year it won the overall prize at Sheffield, was picture book category winner at Stockport and the Experian Big 3 Awards. In 2002 EAT YOUR PEAS was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award.

Following the success of EAT YOUR PEAS Kes has developed a series of Daisy books with Nick Sharratt (REALLY REALLY, YOU DO! and YUK!). Recent additions to his picture book list are BILLY'S BUCKET, BABY ON BOARD, VESUVIUS POOVIUS and MUM AND DAD GLUE. In 2009, DAISY AND THE TROUBLE WITH ZOOS won a Red House Children's Book Award, widely regarded as the most important children’s prize for literature because it is the only award voted for solely by young readers.

Kes also writes young fiction, including five books in the NELLY THE MONSTER SITTER series for Hodder.

Kes is keen to challenge. Challenge publishers with unconventional texts, challenge parents with surprising content and challenge children with whatever it takes.

Blame Captain Scarlett.

Nelly's monster sitting adventures are always full of surprises. Things just seem to get stickier and stickier when she monster sits for the Ultravores but it doesn't compare to how lost for words she is at the Rimes.

And with even more fighting with Asti to add to the mix, her time with the Wattwatts is shocking to say the least!