Cannonball Simp by John Burningham

John Burningham works on an ancient boardroom table that originated from The Monkey Club, a school for debutantes in Kensington, and is filled with pens, pencils, paints, papers, and rough drawings in the basement of his London home. He enjoys collecting furniture, statues, stairwells, and old drapes while he isn't working on a novel. He goes around England and France in search of strange items to display in his home or sell to others. John begins the day with a huge mug of strong coffee, followed by lunch with his wife, children's book author and artist Helen Oxenbury, and a drink of fine red wine, preferably French (wine is another of his passions). He's always been fascinated by the third dimension, and many of his books are built layer by layer because he enjoys painting on various materials such as paper, cardboard, and wood to create a range of textures on the printed page.