Ellie Sandall

Ellie loved creating pictures from a very young age and has a passion for children’s books (she keeps all her books in a huge wardrobe in her bedroom!). As a student she was highly commended in the Macmillan Prize 2006 for her illustrated story Massivia McStodge and the Ghastly Ghouls.

After completing a foundation course in Art and Design, and a degree in Graphic Design at Bath Spa University, she went on to achieve a Master’s in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. Ellie got the idea for Birdsong after listening to the very noisy birds in the aviary in Victoria Park, Bath, whilst at University. There were many different kinds of birds and they each made a distinctive noise. They seemed to be greeting each other and talking amongst themselves, and so she began sketching them and trying to write down the noises they made. Ellie currently lives and works in Lincolnshire.