Trish Cooke

As a child

Trish Cooke was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Her parents are from Dominica in the West Indies, so she’s “a Yorkshire lass who can speak Dominican patois”. She comes from a large family, with six sisters, three brothers, eight nephews, six nieces, three great-nieces and one great-nephew, all of whom provide her with the inspiration for her picture books: “there’s always some conversation or other going on somewhere that I can eavesdrop on – language is very important to me. I love music and rhythms and when people talk, it is as if sometimes they are actually singing. I remember Sunday mornings, the smell of saltfish and johnny cakes wafting up the stairs, Mum singing and Dad telling stories that were always ‘true’.”

As an adult

Trish attended Leeds Polytechnic and Ilkley College in 1980, where she gained a degree in performing arts. After moving to London, Trish began to write for television, contributing to the BBC’s children’s programme Playdays, which she presented for nine years. More recently, she has written scripts for the popular Tweenies show. She has written plays and scripts for the theatre, radio and television, including Eastenders. In 2001/2002 she was a BBC Writer in Residence. Trish now lives in Bradford with her partner and their two children.

As an artist

When she was pregnant with her first child, Trish decided to turn her hobby, writing, into a full-time career. “You need to have a sense of humour and imagination to write children’s stories. Adults tend to lose themselves in the seriousness of life, whereas children have a simplistic approach. My five-year-old son reads all my stories and reviews them for me. He’s my best critic.” Trish has won many awards for her children’s books. So Much won the 0–5 category of the Smarties Book Prize, the She/WH Smith’s Under-Fives Book Prize and the Kurt Maschler Award. It was also Highly Commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal and was shortlisted for both the Sheffield Children’s Book Award and the Nottinghamshire Children’s Book Award.

Things you didn't know about Trish Cooke

1. When she was about four or five, she sprayed what she thought was hairspray on her hair, except it was perfume and her hair dropped out! It took ages for it to grow back.
2. She has always like performing, and she and her sisters used to do shows for their friends and neighbours.
3. She first discovered how much fun writing could be when she started writing in her diary. She enjoyed exaggerating the truth!
4. Her first pet was a green budgie called Joey. Her big brother, Joe, fed it one of her sister Mary’s johnny cakes, and the next day it was found dead at the foot of its perch. Trish cried for days
5. She can play the recorder really well.
6. She loves singing and used to be the singer in two ska bands.
7. Her book, So Much, is featured in a portrait of former Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, and his wife, which is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery – go and see if you can spot it!
8. Her favourite meal is rice and peas and curried chicken, with lots of fried plantain. Her favourite pudding is banoffee pie.
9. Her favourite place to holiday is St Lucia. She loves the white sands, the blue sea, and the peace and tranquillity.
10. Her favourite place to write is in front of a beautiful landscape – on a verandah in the West Indies, or looking out on hills from her office window in Yorkshire.