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The painter’s apprentice

When Cole discovered that John James Audubon had an apprentice, he knew he had to write a story about that. A mouse named Celeste became the perfect choice for that character.

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Henry Cole

Children’s Author

Reading Rocket’s exclusive interview with author and illustrator Henry Cole — creator of Celeste, The Worrywarts, Katy Duck, and many other beloved characters — talks about his early career as a science teacher (who always drew for his students!), why it takes patience to draw what you really see, how he gets those comical animal faces to look just right, and why he loved using a plain Number 2 pencil to create the evocative illustrations for his book A Nest for Celeste.

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