I is for Iran

Shirin Adl

Shirin Adl is an Iranian illustrator with a passion for bright colours and interesting textures. When she was little and could only read Farsi, pictures made books in other languages accessible, as she looked at them to work out the story. After she learned English, she sometimes came across a picture book she'd decoded as a child and realised the tale was very different to the one she'd thought of!

For Shirin, book illustrations complement the text, but can also tell their own story. She especially enjoys creating busy scenes where she depicts different characters, giving each one an imaginary life; so it makes her very happy when children or parents tell her that they've enjoyed coming up with their own ideas about her pictures. Shirin studied illustration at Loughborough University and lives in Oxford.