Hello, My name is Babette Cole and I write and illustrate children's picture books.<BR><BR>I was born on a little island called Jersey in 1950. I went to school in a convent where I spent most of my time drawing pictures and writing stories.<BR><BR>I got fed up with school so I left and went to Art School at Canterbury in England. I left there in 1973 with a first class honours degree.<BR><BR>I made friends with Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate who were making Children?s TV programmes for the BBC. They gave me my first proper job drawing for Jackanory and TV comics.<BR><BR>Then, since I had some work published by the BBC. I could go to other publishers with my own books and finally got one published in 1976.<BR><BR>It did very well so it wasn't difficult to get books published after that because publishers knew I could make money for them.<BR>Mummy Laid An Egg!<BR><BR>Since then I have written over 70 books!<BR>The most famous one is called "Mummy Laid An Egg". It sold a million copies!<BR><BR>I have lived in different parts of the world like Africa and the West Indies. I now live in Dorset in England and stay with family if I return to the West Indies.<BR><BR>I have a stud farm in England and I breed Show Hunters which I ride myself. I have been riding show ponies and horses since I was seven years old. I do a lot of side saddle riding - My little horse, Hot Tip, (Scrappit) and I have been the National Champions for the past three years.