English writer and illustrator, David McKee also known by the pseudonym Violet Easton, was born in 1935 in Devon and died in France in 2022. He studied at the University of Plymouth majoring in art, and there he began to draw and work for the national press.

When he finished his studies he worked for The Times newspaper and Reader's Digest magazine. At the same time he managed to become a freelance cartoonist and published his first book entitled The History of Toucan in 1964.

His illustrated children's books have been published in more than twenty countries and he is famous for being the creator of Elmer the elephant, a character inspired by the work of the German painter Paul Klee.

McKee has also worked as an animator on various film projects for the BBC and has been awarded several prizes including the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis, the Children's Choice Selections, the International Reading Association / Children's Book Council or the Hans Christian Andersen.