Jane Simmons is one of the foremost illustrators of today. Ebb and Flo are two very loveable characters who get up to all sorts of mischief and disaster but it all ends well in the end.
Ebb, Flo, Mum and Bird go for a picnic by the shore, but soon some greedy gulls swoop down and eat all the food and Ebb is blamed. Ebb goes off to her favourite place and sulks, but when a storm blows in and it's time to go home Ebb is nowhere to be seen.
Jane has tried her hand at landscape gardening, futon making, teaching basket weaving and soft toy making but claims the only thing that has held her interest was the idea of writing and illustrating children's books.
As a mature student, Jane studied illustration under Martin Salisbury at Anglia University, Cambridge. During her course, her talent was recognised with several awards including the Association of Illustrators Images 20 Student Prize in 1995.
Having travelled extensively with her family and living in a whole range of unusual homes, it is no surprise that her current home is hardly conventional. Jane, and her menagerie of rescued pets, live on an ex-fishing boat, aptly named 'Prosperity'. Along with her husband, Neil, she is currently travelling the waterways of France and heading for the sunnier climes of the Mediterranean.
The view from the wheelhouse of 'Prosperity' is the inspiration for Jane's books and while Daisy, gets into all sorts of trouble on the river, Ebb and Flo live on a boat very similar to Jane's and have their adventures by the sea.
Jane and Neil share 'Prosperity' with Gertie and Bertie the lovebirds, dogs called Daisy and Pip and Doris the cat.
