Biography:

Jeremy Tankard was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but moved to Canada with his family. After a childhood of drawing and writing, he attended the Alberta College of Art and Design where he studied drawing and printmaking.

He worked as a graphic designer and typesetter before embarking on a career in illustration. After a few years of commercial illustration, he went back to storytelling and began writing and illustrating his own books.

Major works include:

Grumpy Bird (2007)
Me Hungry! (2008)
Boo Hoo Bird (2009)
Piggy Bunny (2012)
It’s a Tiger! (2012)
Here Comes Destructosaurus! (2014)
Melvis and Elvis (2015)
Hungry Bird (2016)
Sleepy Bird (2018)
Yorick and Bones (2020)
Yorick and Bones: Friends by Any Other Name (2021)

Notable awards

2008 Blue Spruce Award for Grumpy Bird
2008 Shining Willow Selection for Grumpy Bird
Shortlisted for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, 2008
Shortlisted for the CBA Libris Award for Illustrator of the Year 2008
Shortlisted for The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award, 2008
Shortlisted for the Debbie Zimmerman Early Years Niagara Literary Award, 2007
Shortlisted for a Founder’s Award 2007, Society of Illustrators, New York
Selected for the Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets of 2007
Toronto Public Library “First & Best” booklist, 2007
CBC Sounds Like Canada children’s book panel selection, December 2007
Named a Borders Original Voices Author, March 2007
Selected for the L.A. Times Best of the Year List, December 2007
Parents Magazine’s “5 books to promote good behavior”, March 2009 issue
Selected for the L.A. Times Best of the Year List, December 2008, for Me Hungry!