KORKY PAUL won the Children's Book Award in 1987 for Winnie The Witch which has been published in more than 10 languages. Korky, who lives in Oxford, has since illustrated successful books for Random House, Penguin and many other publishers

What books did you enjoy reading to your children?

What I enjoyed reading were The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling and The Richard Scarry Stories. Besides reading the numerous picture books published in the ’90s (when they where young), one picture book that stood out was Six Dinner Sid as we had a cat called Nutmeg with similar freeloading tendencies.

What was your favourite book when you were small?

Struwwel Peter (or Straw Peter/Shock Haired Peter) by Heinrich Hoffmann. First published in 1845, it is a collection of 10 cautionary, illustrated tales written in rhyme, which Hoffmann had done as a Christmas present for his son. As a fledging drawer I was more captivated by the illustrations. I loved the bold graphic pictures, with the strong line, flat colours and often using the comic strip device to tell these bizarre tales with an explicitness modern publishers would shy away from.

Why are you supporting the reading campaign?

To get children reading because, first and foremost, it improves and enhances their imagination. Second only to imagination I believe it enables children in this multicultural society we enjoy, to have better understanding and accepting of other cultures.