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Chris Kennett
Author, Illustrator, Online - Virtual Visits
Chris Kennett is a Bendigo based digital illustrator with over 20 years of experience.
Working his way from animation through to children’s books, Chris has managed to work on some truly “out of this world” projects including the beloved Star Wars series of Little Golden Books.
His most recent projects include the hugely popular first reader series School of Monsters with Sally Rippin, Mr Luke’s Magic Library and Brunocorn with Roy H. Mather.
His books include:
- School of Monsters Series
- Mr Luke’s Magic Library
- Brunocorn
- The Nerd Herd
- Family Disasters
- CrossBones
- My Mum
- Dad-a-Saurus!
- Star Wars – Little Golden Books
Where were you born?
I was born in medieval city of Canterbury, England. Although not during medieval times. I’m not THAT old!
What other jobs have you had?
My first job out of school was as a Reprographics Officer for Canterbury City Council (That’s a glorified photocopier in case you were wondering). And yes it was as boring as it sounds.
After moving to Australia in 1998 I started out drawing caricature commissions, before moving into the world on online animated greeting cards. This lead to career in the animation industry, where I’ve worked on a number of productions as both animator and, more recently, character designer.
What themes are recurring in your work?
A lot of my work involves high energy posing , big expressive characters and bold vibrant colours. I also like to include as much humour in my work, even when there seemingly is none.
What have been the highlights of your career?
Definitely my creative partnership with the incredible and legendary Sally Rippin. Watching the success of The School of Monsters and seeing it grow into a 30 book series and animated series is a dream come true!
Also having the great privilege to work on a series of Star Wars books and to have my name forever linked to my all time favourite franchise, is AMAZING!
Where have your works been published?
Outside of Australia and New Zealand my books have enjoyed great success in the US and Canada. As well as China, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Slovenia, Iran and Ukraine.
And possibly more on the way!
What are you passionate about?
My family, collecting records and drawing of course!
I love using illustration and characters to tell stories. And now I’m able to work on the kinds of books that I would have loved to read myself growing up.
Haven’t I seen you before?
Maybe? You might have seen me online, or heard my voice on a variety of book related podcasts.
You might have seen me take part in the 2023 Australian Reading Hour event “The Magic of Storytelling” with a host of Australian Kid Lit superstars! In fact, you can watch it right here!
Or you might have caught me and Mr Luke launch the national Family Reading Challenge in May 2025
And if you live in Bendigo, you might have seen me buying groceries.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I love listening to music, building Lego and collecting old comic annuals from the 1980s.
Click below to watch a trailer of Chris’ Virtual Visits
Testimonials
Our P-6 students were treated to a special Book Week experience – an interactive workshop with the incredibly talented Chris Kennett.
Chris spoke to the students about his creative practice as well as giving them the opportunity to draw their own unique character – space cats & flying monkeys! His sincerity, patience & interest in the children’s illustrations & questions was boundless & he certainly inspired our students in their future adventures! We look forward to working with Chris again!
Our staff were super impressed with all Chris’s sessions – they were engaging, perfectly pitched to the age ranges, full of humour and lots of fun. We appreciated Chris’s organisation, flexibility and friendliness. We’ve received great feedback from the schools too – the students loved the sessions and are still talking about him! Thank you for travelling to visit us, it was so appreciated.
Loved it ….Chris was a great genuine person – who the students really responded to.
Chris made an extra effort to follow up this week – which we really appreciate! Signs of a really genuine person who cares about students, drawing and books!