This Way to Christmas

I'm Anita Bijsterbosch. I was born in 1961 in The Netherlands. My entire life, I have loved reading. As a child, I could spend hours thumbing through books, looking at the pictures and hoping I could one day make such beautiful illustrations myself. I studied the images down to the smallest detail and made up my own little stories to go along with them.

After high school, I took drawing and painting lessons in small galleries in my neighborhood. And I learned a lot from drawing and painting books. But I also mastered many techniques simply by experimenting with them on my own.

When my children were still young, I read them a bedtime story every night. I rediscovered that some picture books are real pieces of art. That's when I got the ambition to make my very own picture books.

I was remarked by the jury of the Key Colours International Illustrators Award 2012. The book Whose Hat is That? was published by Clavis Publishing and every book I have made since has been even more successful.