Top South Shields animator who worked on Paddington Bear branches out into books

Sheila Graber is best known for her talents in animation - including the Paddington Bear TV series - but now her name appears as the illustrator of new book - Luna Moon Pig.

The children’s story, featuring Luna - a pig with a moon face and chocolate drop-eyes - written by author Suzy Davies is about the magic of self-belief.

It is the first book which has been illustrated by Sheila, who has won a number of awards for her creative talents in animation.

Sheila said: “I was approached by Suzy to see if I would be interested in illustrating her new book.

“I read it and found it fascinating and it was something I had never done before.

“But when I started, I got so invested in it.

“In theory I wanted to get it done before Christmas, but I didn’t think I would.

“It has taken me a couple of months but here it is.”

Sheila based the family within the tale on a real family who acted as models to help her create the cartoon-style drawings.

Once completed, the animator read the book to a six-year-old who enjoyed the book so much that both Sheila and Suzy felt it should be shared.

The book is aavailable from Amazon, priced £9.50, but has now been made available for sale at The Word in South Shields.

A percentage of the profits will go to Compassion in Farming and the Willows Cat Adoption Centre in Wantage Street, South Shields.

Sheila, who was a teacher at King George Comprehensive School, South Shields, when her creative talents were spotted, has created a number of animations - including characters Mr and Mrs Brown from the Paddington Bear children’s TV series.

Her accolades include an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Sunderland for Outstanding services to Education and Art; Best Digital Image Designer Category” at the North East and Border regional ceremony of the Royal Television Society and a Lifetime Achievement Award for her work.