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Ian Whybrow (born 24 February 1942) is a British writer of children's books, first published in 1989. He has written over 100 books for children, has been translated into 27 languages and is published in 28 countries. His books are humorous and range from picture books to novels, short stories and poetry.
Whybrow was born on 24 February 1942 in Gillingham, Kent, and grew up in Margate and Hong Kong.
Whybrow began his professional career as a teacher, becoming head of English and head of sixth form at The John Lyon School in Harrow on the Hill in north-west London. Whybrow subsequently was able to give up teaching to write full-time.
Whybrow's first book was The Sniff Stories in 1989, which was followed by other books about the character. He is best known for his series of books about Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, illustrated by Adrian Reynolds. Other characters that have featured in series of books include Little Wolf, Miss Wire and Sissy Buttons, but it is Harry who has spawned the most books by far.
Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series has been adapted into a 104 episode animated television series with a slightly different name, Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs, which premiered on Cartoon Network's Tickle-U block in the United States on 22 August 2005.
Little Wolf's book of Badness has been made into an award-winning film for television in 2003, directed by Karsten Kiilerich. Most recently, it was made into a play, which ran at the Hampstead Theatre, London from December 2007 to January 2008, adapted by the director, Anthony Clark, with Llan Goodman as Little Wolf.
Whybrow and his wife Ann have two daughters. He lives in Cambridge, England.
