DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Alexandra Strick Author

Alexandra Strick has a lifelong passion for ensuring children and young people have their views, experiences and voices really listened to. She is co-author of Max the Champion (with Sean Stockdale, illustrated by Ros Asquith) and has consulted on many other inclusive and accessible books. She is a founder of Outside In World, which promotes books from around the world (particularly children’s books in translation) and consultant to BookTrust, managing their Bookmark website. As co-founder of Inclusive Minds, she is particularly proud to have set up a network of Inclusion Ambassadors. Alexandra lives in Surrey.

Steve Antony was born in the UK and raised in New Mexico, USA. After returning to the UK he studied art and gained a first class degree in Children’s Book Illustration from Anglia Ruskin University. His award winning picture books, including The Queen’s Hat, Please Mr Panda and Amazing! have sold over a million copies worldwide and been translated into 19 languages. He has recently illustrated the new Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (adapted by Peter Bently). He is Patron to Swindon Libraries Children’s Reading Services and works regularly with National Literacy Trust. As an LBGTQ+ illustrator he is dedicated to including diverse and inclusive characters in his books. Steve lives in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Inclusive Minds' Inclusion Ambassadors are a network of young people (and some parents, teachers and youth workers) who share a real interest in seeing better representation of one or more facets of diversity. These are individuals (generally aged between 8 and 30) with important first-hand knowledge of particular facets of diversity and a genuine interest in sharing their expertise and experience to the benefit of children’s books.