James Mayhew's first book for children was Katie's Pictures Show, (Orchard Books 1989) establishing the long running series about a child's adventures in an art gallery. Many of his books have a cultural agenda and James is passionate about introducing children to art, music, opera, ballet and traditional tales.He has published over 60 books, and illustrated and written for many other colleagues including Philippa Pearce, Martin Waddell and Jackie Morris.As a storyteller he has devised and performed a series of sell-out concerts for children with the de Havilland Philharmonic Orchestra, and has participated in prom performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.He has also created designs and illustrations for the Kirov Mariinsky Opera of St Petersburg and in 1994 won the New York Times award for one of the ten best illustrated books on the year (The Boy and The Cloth of Dreams).He has made regular appearances at the National Galleries in Edinburgh and London and visits many schools, and arts and literary festivals.James is a member of the Art Worker's Guild and the Society of Authors.
