Miranda Maxwell-Hyslop (1968-) Biography

Born 1968, in Hong Kong. Ethnicity: "English." Education: Attended Downe House School.

Addresses

Office—c/o Author Mail, Hodder Children's Books, 339 Euston Rd., London NW1 3BH, England.

Career

Writer, portrait painter, and illustrator; private art teacher.

Writings

Fish Go Woof, Hodder Children's Books (London, England), 2003.

Work in Progress

A second children's picture storybook, Princess Lola's Wobbly Week, due March, 2005.

Sidelights

British artist Miranda Maxwell-Hyslop's picture book Fish Go Woof was inspired during a wet afternoon. To a sketch of a writer bicycling through the storm, Maxwell-Hyslop added a fish swimming down with the raindrops; a fish that, barking mad, went "WOOF." If fish could go "Woof," perhaps dogs could go "Moo," and so the idea for the book was born.

London Observer contributor Stephanie Merritt dubbed Fish Go Woof "a book that can be endlessly fiddled with." Each "page" is actually three separately hinged panels that when aligned depict three sections of an animal. Each tail panel bears the animal's name, each middle panel bears the word "go," each head panel notes the sound the animal makes. When the panels are mis-arranged, not only do new animal creations appear, but, as per the book's title, nonsensical texts are also created. According to Merritt, literal-minded youngsters will "meticulously match up the right bits," while those who consistently color outside the lines will enjoy the more "bizarre" creatures that can be conjured up in Maxwell-Hyslop's work.