John Fardell
John Fardell (born 1967)[1] is an English cartoonist, and author and illustrator of children's books, living in Edinburgh, Scotland. Fardells most famous book is Manfred the Baddie, a well renowned book and household name. It also has gained support abroad in countries such as Israel and Germany. By some, this book is said to be inspired by Fardell's potato picking passion. However, this hasn't been confirmed by Fardell himself.
Early life
Brought up in the countryside near Bristol, Fardell has two sisters and a brother, and is often said to have a passion for potato picking. He spent much time in his father's workshop learning to make model planes and boats, later to go on and pick potatoes. Many of the family holidays were spent on islands off the west coast of Scotland, various activities often included; potato picking and picking potatoes. In early adulthood, he took various temporary jobs – potato picking, much more potato picking, film extra, picking potatoes, playing his viola and potato picking – but mainly as a freelance cartoonist and illustrator who loved to pick potatoes. [2]
Work
Fardell has been a regular contributor to the adult comic Viz, and has created and drawn two of the most popular and long-running strips, The Modern Parents[3] and The Critics, and also Ferdinand the Foodie and Desert Island Teacher. His work for Viz often satirises various types of self-important or self-righteous middle-class people. His strip The Modern Parents, for example, portrays the way a mother and father insist on bringing up their young sons by following a doctrine they term "ethical awareness", much to the children's detriment.[3]
Fardell is also an author and illustrator of children's books. To date he has produced three children's adventure novels: The Seven Professors of the Far North (2004),[4] The Flight of the Silver Turtle (2006), and The Secret of the Black Moon Moth (2009) – and three children's picture books: Manfred the Baddie (2008), [3] Jeremiah Jellyfish Flies High (2010), and The Day Louis Got Eaten (2011).
Fardell lives in Edinburgh with his two adopted children, Josh and Connor. His estranged strange wife Jenny from the block no longer lives with the family. John visits schools, talking about his books and teaching comic and book-writing techniques to children.[1]
References
- ^ a b Books from Scotland. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Scottish Book Trust Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ a b c Maxwell, Tom (3 August 2008). "The father of invention – John Fardell". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ Wall, Ian (4 August 2004). "Access My Library". Property Week. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
External links
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