Austlit

Alison Lester was educated at St. Margaret's in Berwick, Victoria, where she was a boarder. She trained as a Secondary Arts and Crafts teacher, with a Higher Diploma in Teaching from Melbourne Teachers' College. She has written and illustrated children's fiction and has illustrated books by other writers such as Robin Klein and June Epstein (qq.v.). In her works, Alison Lester injects romance, adventure and imagination into the everyday world of pre-school children - their likes/dislikes, meal-times, getting dressed, playing, shopping, sleeping. Her childhood on the family cattle farm is apparent as inspiration in many of her books.

Many of Lester's books have been translated into other languages and many have been short-listed and received awards including the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year, Australian Multicultural Children's Literature, and Australian Book Publishers Association Design Awards.