Lucy Cousins was born in 1964, attending a school in Kent. After doing a foundation course at Canterbury College, Lucy did a BA Honours in Graphic Design, followed by a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Art.

Maisy, the famous mouse, “drew herself” one day, when Lucy was doodling various animals on a piece of paper, looking for inspiration, and the first Maisy book was published soon after Lucy left college. Maisy, who also stars in her own television show, has become one of the best-loved characters in children’s books, and is recognized the world over. Lucy won the Bologna Ragazzi Non-fiction Prize 1997 for Maisy’s House and has been Highly Commended for the National Art Illustration Award 1997 for Za Za’s Baby Brother, images from which were also used in a publicity campaign by Tommy’s, the baby’s charity. Jazzy in the Jungle won the Smarties Book Prize in 2002. Hooray for Fish!, published in 2005, is a celebration of life under the sea. Lucy lives in Hampshire with her husband and has four children.