Ruth Paul

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul, Ruth (1964-) is a Wellington-raised writer and illustrator. She completed a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University of Wellington, and a Diploma of Visual Communication Design at Wellington Polytechnic (now Massey University Wellington).

In 1991, she became a freelance illustrator. In 2002 she began to write her own books, with her first publication as an author/illustrator being The Animal Undie Ball (Scholastic, 2004). She has since written and illustrated 19 books, including The King’s Bubbles (Scholastic, 2007), Two Little Pirates (Scholastic, 2010), Stomp! (Scholastic, 2011), Hedgehog's Magic Tricks (Walker Books 2012), My Dinosaur Dad (Scholastic, 2013), Bad Dog Flash (Scholastic 2013), Bye-Bye Grumpy Fly (Scholastic 2016), I Am Jellyfish (Pengin Random House 2018), the Little Hector series (Penguin Random House 2018). She is currently illustrating the Mini Whinny series written by Stacy Gregg (Scholastic 2018).

Ruth Paul's books have been translated into different media forms. The Animal Undie Ball was produced by Capital E as a stage performance with the Java Dance Company in their 2007 Children’s Arts Festival. The Animal Undie Ball, Superpotamus and Two Little Pirates have all featured on Wurrawhy, Channel 10 Australia's preschool television series, and Stomp! has appeared on the ABC network's children's show Playschool. Bad Dog Flash has also been published as an ebook via its US publisher (Sourcebooks, 2014).

Paul's poem 'Sparkle' is included in A Treasury of NZ Poems, edited by Paula Green (Random House NZ, 2014), and a number of her stories have been read on Radio New Zealand's Storytime programme. Her books have been translated into Māori, Korean, Chinese, French and Spanish. Her books have been published in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, China and Korea.

I Am Jellyfish won Picture book of the Year at the 2018 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and was shortlisted for the PANZ Book Design Award in the children's category in 2019. Mini Whinny: Happy Birthday to Me was shortlisted for the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Bad Dog Flash was selected for the Kids Indie Next List (Autumn, 2014) by the American Booksellers Association after is publication in the United States. Stomp! was shortlisted for the PANZ Book Design Award in the children's category in 2012, and was also a finalist in the Best Picture Book category of the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The King’s Bubbles won the Children's Choice Award at the 2008 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and also won the 2008 PANZ Book Design Award in the children's category. Many of her books have been included in the Storylines Notable Books list.

In September 2019, Paul was awarded the Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Laureate Award by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.

MEDIA LINKS AND CLIPS

• Ruth Paul's website
• Ruth Paul's blog: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
• The Ruth Paul Picture Books Facebook page
• Ruth's profile on Storylines