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K.G. Campbell

Agent: Lori Nowicki

Keith G. Campbell was born in Kenya, but raised and educated in Scotland. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Art History from the University of Edinburgh. After trying on several careers, Keith eventually returned to his early passion of writing and illustrating stories. K.G. is the author-illustrator of numerous picture books, including Dylan the Villain, The Mermaid and the Shoe, and Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters, which earned him an Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor and a Golden Kite Award for Best Picture Book Illustration. He won a second Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor the following year for the book, Tea Party Rules. K.G. is also the illustrator of Newberry Medal-winner, Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo. He lives in California and is now a full-time author and illustrator.

Client List

Knopf
Schwartz & Wade
Candlewick Press
Farrar Strauss Giroux
Viking Children’s Books
Kids Can Press
Six Red Marbles/Brown Publishing

Awards / Honors

  • 2017 Bank Street’s Best Children Books of the Year – Who Wants a Tortoise?
  • 2016 Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters adapted into children’s musical
  • 2016 The Children’s Book Review’s March Best Kids Books – Dylan the Villain
  • Spring 2016 Kids’ Indie Next List pick – Dylan the Villain
  • 2016 Amazon’s Best Books of March Ages 3-5 – Dylan the Villain
  • 2016 MyBookBox March Picture Book Selection – Dylan the Villain
  • 2016 The Horn Book’s Review of the Week – Dylan the Villain
  • 2014 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor
  • 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Honor
  • 2013 Golden Kite Award for Best Picture Book Illustration
  • 2014 NYPL 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
  • 2013 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year – Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters
  • 2013 Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Annual Exhibition

Reviews

Praise for Wee Sister Strange

“K.G. Campbell's illustrations are both gorgeous and mysterious...he saves his best for first: the book's initial spreads...are masterpieces of waning yellow-orange light and lengthening purple-grey shadows.”

New York Times Book Review
Praise for Wee Sister Strange

“Artist K.G. Campbell’s marvelous illustrations transport the reader to an intriguing otherworld. This fantastical tale has all the makings of a classic.”

BookPage
Praise for Wee Sister Strange

“Campbell’s illustrations give Sister’s nighttime world shape and depth with emphatic splashes of light...An enchanting bedtime tale to be read over and over again.”

Kirkus Starred Review
Praise for Dylan the Villain

“Young fans of Disney TV’s The Descendants and kids who adore the cinematic Minions will find the villainous Dylan particularly appealing.”

BCCB
Praise for Dylan the Villain

“Campbell’s depictions of Dylan’s antics are filled with humorous details: hand-wringing while plotting and a range of facial expressions as he revels in villainy. Soft watercolor and colored pencil illustrations counterbalance the story’s nefarious undercurrents for a playful take on first experiences with competition.”

Booklist
Praise for Dylan the Villain

“Campbell’s soft-focus illustrations—rendered in watercolor and colored pencil on tea-stained paper—give all the characters personality...The classroom of small villains is a hoot, and there are lots of dastardly details in the not-at-all-villainous art. The well-paced narrative’s comedic timing reinforces the absurdity of the premise. ”

The Horn Book
Praise for Dylan the Villain

“Campbell paints great Rube Goldberg–style devices...and the book is sprinkled with terrific jokes.”

Kirkus
Praise for Dylan the Villain

“Readers will easily pick up on the satiric notes in Campbell’s comedy, and his jaunty, vivid characters will remind some of them of a Pixar film.”

Publisher's Weekly
Praise for The Mermaid and the Shoe

“With its can-do mermaid who seeks answers in spite of her age and size, its beautiful watercolor and pencil crayon imagery, and writing that makes the reader feel like they’re indulging in a contemporary classic, there is no question in my mind that The Mermaid and the Shoe is the best little mermaid related picture book of all time...Beguiling and bewitching, there’s only one true word to describe this book. Beautiful. ”

Elizabeth Bird, School Library Journal, "Fuse 8"
Praise for The Mermaid and the Shoe

“Delicate, ethereal watercolor-and-colored pencil illustrations rely on muted blue-gray washes accented with splashes of color to convey Neptune's underwater kingdom, with its flora and fauna...Although this luminous tale of self-discovery hs echoes of 'The Litte Mermaid,' like Minnow, it sings its own strong song.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for The Mermaid and the Shoe

“Campbell's story takes some of the classic elements of fairy tales and uses them in clever, unexpected ways...Campbell's illustrations, of shadowy blue undersea scenes lightened by pale drifting hair and waving strands of kelp, have an attractive, old-fashioned style that harks back to classic picture books of the early 20th century...Yet Campbell's sense of visual humor and Minnow's prince-free happy ending suit 2014 beautifully.”

The New York Times
Praise for The Mermaid and the Shoe

“Using watercolor and pencil crayon, Campbell paints Minnow and her 50 sisters as identical waifs... Luckily, the art is also full of subtle humor...The story solidly delivers its message about the value of inquisitiveness, adventurousness, and storytelling.”

Publishers Weekly
Praise for Flora & Ulysses

“Mr. Campbell is a true find. It's a risk to begin any DiCamillo novel with such heavy concentration on a book's art. Yet Campbell is up to the challenge... Altogether, his contributions make the book more accessible and adorable than it has any right to be.”

School Library Journal, A Fuse 8 Production
Praise for Flora & Ulysses

“The very witty text and droll, comic-book-style-black-and-white illustrations perfectly relay the all-too-hilarious adventures of Flora, Ulysses, and a cast of eccentric characters.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Tea Party Rules

“Dyckman's and Campbell's story is like a pretty petit four with an unexpected zingy filling...Campbell's marker and colored pencil drawings strike an ideal balance between girliness and wiliness, with just enough nudges and winks to make readers sympathize.”

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Praise for Tea Party Rules

“Campbell's soft sepia-marker-and-colored-pencil illustrations appear on creamy backgrounds, alternating humorous spots and detailed full-page spreads; the depictions of an unhappy bear ensure little ones are in on the joke.”

Starred Review, Booklist
Praise for Tea Party Rules

“Amusing illustratons by Campbell in sepia marker and colored pencil reveal the emotions of both the disgruntled Cub and the girl..Strong storytelling, pacing, emotive illustrations that match the deceptive plot and an exuberant sense of fun make this little gem a winner.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

“Each detailed spread is filled with creepy shadowing and fabulous eye contact among the many characters. Lively writing is peppered with clever alliteration and wordplay.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

“Campbell's...illustrations extend the story's darkish humor...Kids are gonna chuckle at this one, even as they swear they don't know what happened to Grandma's last birthday gift.”

Booklist
Praise for Lester's Dreadful Sweaters

“Campbell's artwork calls to mind that of Sophie Blackall, with...figures who appear polite yet diabolical (there are several scenes of sweater murder)...older readers will thoroughly enjoy Campbell's canny blend of irony and sweet-heartedness.”

Publishers Weekly

Featured Portfolio

Authored Books

A Small Zombie Problem (Knopf)
Dylan the Villain (Viking)
The Mermaid and the Shoe (Kids Can Press)
Lester's Dreadful Sweaters (Kids Can Press)

Illustrated Books

Wee Sister Strange (Schwartz and Wade)
Flora & Ulysses (Candlewick Press)
Who Wants a Tortoise? (Knopf)
Tea Party Rules (Viking)
The Ghosts of Gribblesea Pier (FSG)

Videos

Flora & Ulysses
The Mermaid and the Shoe
Lester's Dreadful Sweaters