by Lucy E. Zahnle

Created on: January 20, 2012   Last Updated: January 23, 2012

A highly successful author and illustrator of children’s books, Scoular Anderson has always approached his art and his life with a sense of humor. Born in 1946 in Sunderland, Scotland, Anderson grew up in the seaside town of Dunoon, Argyll. He showed a deep interest and aptitude for art from a young age. According to Anderson’s official website, by the age of seven, he was filling piles of sketchbooks with drawings. By the age of nine, he was also writing poems, plays, and comic strips, confounding the adults around him with complex tales featuring casts of hundreds of characters.

Anderson’s given name, Scoular, is actually his middle name. Although his first name is Tom, he uses his middle name because his mother took a dislike to his first name when he was an infant and began to call him Scoular instead. “Scoular” is a surname passed down through generations in his family.

At the age of twelve, Anderson attended a boarding school where, in addition to his regular studies, he continued to pursue his dual interests in art and writing. He notes on his official website that “at school, I loved art and music,” but “hated sport.” In addition to working at his art and writing, he played the clarinet.

Upon graduation, Anderson was accepted into the Glasgow School of Art, where he studied graphic design. While attending school in Glasgow, Anderson decided to build a career as an illustrator and began to work at breaking into the field. While he shopped his work around to publishers, he took menial jobs, such as attendant at a newspaper stall in London’s Euston Railway Station.

Two years after leaving the Glasgow School of Art, Anderson earned his first publishing credit. His story, “Cosmic George” appeared in the magazine, "Puffin Post," complete with Anderson’s own illustrations.

Finally, Anderson got his first job as an illustrator. He worked for London University, drawing charts and graphs. He also landed commissions to write and illustrate books for a number of children’s book publishers.  

Anderson left London in 1976 for a teaching job at Cumbernauld High School in Glasgow, where he spent the next ten years. He moved back to his hometown of Dunoon in 1986, where he resumed his career as a freelance author and illustrator. He and his wife live in a house overlooking the Firth of Clyde, sharing their abode with a cantankerous cat and an exuberant dog.

Anderson has published

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