Andy Elkerton Books in Order

Andy Elkerton is a children's book illustrator and author who lives in Oban, on the west coast of Scotland. His books are full of bounce, bright color, and the kind of visual jokes kids spot before adults do.

Before children's publishing became his day job, he studied illustration and then spent about fifteen years in the computer games world. He worked as a graphic designer and later a lead artist, then, in the early 2000s, decided to circle back to what he had always wanted to do, draw books for children.

That change stuck.

Since then, Elkerton has built a career across picture books, educational readers, advertising, television work, toy design, and character design. If his name feels familiar, there is a good chance you have seen his art on shelves more than once. He illustrated the bestselling How to Catch a Leprechaun, and readers also know his work from books like Do Not Bring Your Dragon to the Library, The Candies Save Christmas, and When You're Feeling Sick.

What people usually respond to first is the energy. His pages are busy in a good way. There is color everywhere, characters are always in motion, and the joke often lives in the background as much as the foreground. Even when the text is simple, the art gives young readers more to notice on a second or third pass.

He clearly enjoys drawing creatures that can make a little trouble.

Dragons turn up a lot, and so do monsters, oddball animals, and outsized personalities. That makes him a natural fit for funny read-alouds, but he also brings that same sense of movement to calmer books. Even gentle titles tend to feel lively in his hands, which is part of why parents and teachers keep returning to them.

Elkerton has not only illustrated other writers' stories, he has also stepped into writing himself. His Viking Adventures books, including Oolaf the Hero, Oolaf and the Golden Book, and The World to the West, show another side of his work. They still have the humor and speed you would expect from his illustration career, but they also lean into quick quests, danger, and a light mix of history and fantasy for newer independent readers.

He also seems comfortable moving between very different kinds of projects. One season it is a silly school story, the next it is a bedtime science book, an early reader, or a holiday board book. That range makes sense when you look at his background. Someone who has worked in games, publishing, character design, and commercial art learns how to tell a story fast and keep a page readable.

Today he still lives in Oban with his wife and three children. That feels like the right home base for his work, quiet enough for drawing, close enough to the everyday chaos of family life to remember what makes kids laugh. His books are playful, clear, and made to be picked up again.