Kes Gray Explained

Kes Gray
Birth Place:Chelmsford, England
Nationality:British
Known For:Children's Literature
Notable Works:Oi Frog!

Kes Gray (born 1960) is a British author of children's books.

Life and work

Gray attended Great Baddow Comprehensive, then graduated from the University of Kent with an honours degree in English and American literature.[1]

He is one of the UK's bestselling writers for children, with over two million copies of his stories sold.[2] He is known for the award-winning Daisy picture books, illustrated by Nick Sharratt, the chart-topping Oi! series illustrated by Jim Field and a collaboration with the athlete Mo Farah.[3] The Oi! series books were narrated as audiobooks by comedian and actor David Mitchell, [4] who also narrated Gray's books, How Many Legs? and Quick Quack Quentin.

Awards

Gray was listed as one of the top ten children's authors in the UK in 2003.[5] As well as the awards listed below, he has been shortlisted for the British Book Awards.[6]

Stage adaptation

In 2019, Hughes and Pins & Needles Productions adapted Gray and Field's children's book series Oi Frog and Friends for the stage.[12] The script was developed and written by Richy Hughes, Emma Earle, Zoe Squire and Luke Bateman, with lyrics by Hughes. The production premiered at Frensham Heights School in October 2019,[13] before going on to a critically acclaimed run at the Lyric Theatre in London's West End.[14] In 2020, the show was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Family Show.[15]

List of works

Nelly The Monster Sitter series

Daisy series

Get Well Friends series

Jack Beechwhistle series

Go Mo series

Picture Books

Chapter Books

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kes Gray. Fantastic Fiction.
  2. Web site: Kes Gray. Penguin Books. 20 February 2025 .
  3. News: Ooooh... The bike accident that changed Kes Gray's life . 14 October 2024 . East Anglian Daily Times . 7 August 2016 . en.
  4. Web site: Oi Frog and Friends Collection .
  5. Web site: Gray, Kes . BookTrust.
  6. Web site: Kes Gray. May 14, 2019. Hachette.
  7. Web site: Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2020 . www.booktrust.org.uk . 14 October 2024.
  8. Web site: The Laugh Out Loud Book Awards 2023 - Past winners . Scholastic Shop . 14 October 2024 . en.
  9. Web site: The Children's Book Award 2001 Awards and Honors LibraryThing . LibraryThing.com . 14 October 2024 . en.
  10. Web site: Children's Book Award Past Winners 1981 - 2017 . 14 October 2024.
  11. News: 'Harry Potter' is pipped for award . 14 October 2024 . The Independent . 9 June 2001 . en.
  12. Web site: Oi Frog & Friends!. Nimax Theatres. en-GB. 2023-08-30.
  13. Web site: Oi Frog & Friends! Comes to Frensham. www.facebook.com. en. 2023-08-30.
  14. News: Oi Frog and Friends! review – a wild time for fans of rhyme. Chris. Wiegand. December 9, 2019. The Guardian.
  15. Web site: Olivier Awards 2020: the nominations in full. Masso. Giverny. 2020-03-03. The Stage. en-US. subscription.

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