Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr OBE, known as Judith Kerr, was a German-born British author and illustrator of children’s books. Since the late 1960’s her works have captured the imagination of millions of children worldwide, and continue to charm readers with tales of feline misadventure.
Judith Kerr was born on 14 June 1923 in Berlin, Germany. Her father was a writer and theatre critic and her mother was a composer. She had an older brother, Michael. Both of her parents were from German-Jewish families, though Judith and Michael were not raised in a religious household.
She attributed her initial inspiration for writing to her father. In the years leading up to the Second World War he was an open critic of the Nazi Party, and Judith recalled the impact of his books being burned in Germany.
In 1933 the family fled Berlin to Switzerland and then France. They arrived in London as refugees in 1936, and Judith worked as a nurse for the Red Cross during the war. From 1945 she won a scholarship to study at the Central School of Arts & Crafts. She exhibited an architectural drawing titled ‘The Scullery’ at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1948, as well as showing landscape paintings there in the two following years. She taught art for a short period before being hired by the BBC as a script writer and editor. It was here that she met her husband Nigel ‘Tom’ Kneale, and they were married in 1954.
In 1958 they had their first child, Tacy, and two years later a son, Matthew. The children were pivotal to Judith’s career, as she began to write books when they were beginning to read. Her first book The Tiger who Came to Tea was written following a trip to the zoo with her young daughter. It was retold many times before Nigel encouraged Judith to write it down. This, along with the illustrations for the book, took just over a year. It was published in 1968 and to this day remains one of the most popular and best-selling children’s books of all time.
This was followed by Mog the Forgetful Cat in 1970, the first book in what was to prove an iconic series. There are a total of 20 books in the 'Mog' series, published between 1970-2019. The beloved tabby was based on Judith’s own cats that would often sit on her lap while she worked; and the names of the characters in the book are indirectly based on her family.
Throughout the 1970’s Judith published the 'Out of Hitler Time' trilogy, consisting of When Hitler Stole the Pink Rabbit (1971), Bombs on Aunt Dainty (1975) and A Small Person Far Away (1978). These works are semi-autobiographical and reflect on her own experiences as a child during the Second World War, as well as acting to educate future generations of children about the Holocaust.
Judith’s husband died in 2006, and she continued to work as hard as ever from her home and studio in Barnes, London. She embarked on book tours and signings, and regularly gave talks at literary festivals.
In 2012 she was appointed OBE for services to children’s literature and Holocaust education, and in 2016 the Book Trust gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Judith Kerr lived in Barnes until her death in May 2019. Just a week before, she had been named Illustrator of the Year by the British Book Awards. She is survived by her two children Tacy and Matthew, and her grandchildren.
In 2023, the year she would have turned 100, there were many events held in tribute to Judith Kerr. A play based on the 'Mog; series was produced at The Rep theatre, Birmingham, and toured the UK. In May HarperCollins published Judith Kerr’s Creatures: A Celebration of Her Life and Work. On Christmas Eve, a television adaptation of Mog’s Christmas premiered in the UK. In 2024 it won the British Animation Award for Best Long Form animated film.
The archive of Judith Kerr’s original illustrations is held by Seven Stories in Newcastle upon Tyne. The recent exhibitions of her work there include ‘Judith Kerr’s Kitchen’ and ‘Mog, the Forgetful Cat’ (2024).
