Stephen Cartwright

The work of Stephen Cartwright, who has died aged 56, will be familiar to just about anyone who has had children since the 1970s. He illustrated more than 150 books, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Over the years, his artwork has been adapted for everything from stickers and flashcards to jigsaws and wrapping paper.

His work is instantly recognisable, usually depicting open-faced, innocent-looking children and, more often than not, animals; all cuddly and rounded without being cutesy. You would know a Cartwright pig or sheep at a hundred paces.

Cartwright will probably be best remembered for his illustrations in Farmyard Tales, written by Heather Amery, and for his tiny trademark duck, which can be found lurking somewhere in virtually all the pictures. The duck reached mythical status among his fans, and Cartwright himself delighted in regaling how, on one trip to America, he was greeted at a convention by booksellers brandishing woolly ducks on sticks. He described it as being like a candidate at some surreal political rally for the US presidency.

Born and educated in Bolton, Lancashire (he remained a lifelong Bolton Wanderers supporter), Cartwright went to Rochdale College of Art, before moving to London when he was 19 and training at St Martin's, and then the Royal College of Art. It was at St Martin's that he met Diana "Di" Maggs, a student in the year below him, and they married in 1976.

Throughout his 27 years of book illustrating, Cartwright's name was closely associated with Usborne Publishing, the firm set up by Peter Usborne, one of the founders of Private Eye. Cartwright's output was prodigious, and the innovative nature of children's books meant that he could turn his hand to everything from lift-the-flap and pop-up to touch-and-feel books. The end result always looked so simple that it was easy to forget the lengths to which he went to get it right.

The ethos at Usborne has always been one of teamwork, and Cartwright would work closely with editors, designers and authors, producing pre-pencil roughs and pencil roughs for discussion and comment before finally painting the actual artwork. For many years, he worked from his home in Goudhurst, Kent, in what he called his "shed at the bottom of his garden", which was, in truth, a rather smart converted barn. On one project, he decided to produce pre-pre-pencil roughs.

Cartwright enjoyed the good things in life, and he liked his visits to Usborne's London offices to include a good lunch with a glass or two of wine. He was happy, too, taking his Triumph motorbike out for a spin around the country roads near his home. For a brief period, he sported a bushy beard, but he is probably best remembered for having a slight look of Paul McCartney about him, and for looking good in a denim shirt.

His early books for Usborne were non-fiction, and it was the second, The First Thousand Words, that was not only his first international success - now available in 55 languages - but also introduced the style that readers have come to know and love.

Late in his career he began making appearances at sale conferences in the UK, US and Canada. He was nervous before such events, but was always a huge hit, particularly in America where, in addition to signing, anything and everything, he found himself drawn into karaoke and line-dancing.

Working with Cartwright filled one with a real sense of fun, typified by a telephone call in which he was discussing the type of watch strap Toad, the title character in Toad Makes A Road, should wear. Being a very practical and muscular toad, who drives a mechanical digger, Cartwright finally settled on a pink plastic strap for her "because," he reasoned, "she likes to keep in touch with her feminine side". At the end of the call, he laughed, saying, "Isn't it great that two grown men are being paid to have this conversation?"

Last year, and earlier this year, he suffered a series of strokes. He is survived by his wife, his children Emily and Daniel, and a body of work that will delight generations of children to come.

· Stephen Cartwright, children's illustrator, born December 28 1947; died February 12 2004

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