The Painted Ponies

Alison Lester is one of Australia's most popular and bestselling creators of children's books.

She has won many awards, including the 2005 Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Picture Book of the Year Award for Are We There Yet? and the 2012 CBCA Eve Pownall Book of the Year Award for One Small Island.

Her picture books include Running With the Horses, a story based on the evacuation of the world-famous Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during World War Two; One Small Island, about the possibility of hope and environmental preservation for a World Heritage listed island and for the world itself; Sophie Scott Goes South about a little girl's voyage to Antarctica and the sense of wonder that it brings; and Kissed by the Moon, a lyrical celebration of the natural world and all that it has to offer a child.

Meet Alison Lester

Alison Lester was born in Victoria in 1952, and spent her childhood growing up on a farm that overlooked the sea. She went to boarding school at St Margaret’s School in Victoria, and earned a higher diploma in teaching from the Melbourne Teacher’s College. Here, she trained as a secondary arts and crafts teacher.

While she loved teaching, she hated the routine of school. When she had her first child, she wanted to be able to work from home, so she called the Oxford University Press and asked for a job. She landed an interview, showed them her folio, and got a job as an illustrator.

She spent five years illustrating other people’s works before she tried writing one of her own. That’s why she wrote and illustrated Clive Eats Alligators, and how she started her career as both an author and illustrator.

Today, Alison lives on a farm in the Victorian countryside. She spends part of each year travelling to schools around Australia, helping students and teachers develop their own stories.