Children's author and illustrator Penny Ives is a colourful woman - rather like some of the characters she creates. To reach her studio, I climbed to the top of her house in Oldfield Park up a wrought-iron spiral staircase and entered her enchanted kingdom.

Penny has written some books for children to read to themselves, but most of her work has beautifully coloured illustrations for sharing with pre-school children. These are the classic bed-time stories of magical make-believe.

Although she illustrated her first book jacket as a student, Penny didn't plan to become a children's illustrator or to write books. However, her tutor was Raymond Briggs, creator of the renowned Snowman.

"I was very lucky to meet someone who was sympathetic to my style of lots of careful colouring with very sharp pencils," she says.

Penny's first real break as an artist came with greetings card company Gallery Five. She produced several series of cards, favouring animal subjects that appealed to children. Penny was then commissioned to illustrate various children's publications. Success grew gradually after she began both writing and illustrating the stories.

"I got into writing children's books after getting an idea for a story about Mrs Christmas," Penny explains. "I approached the publishers Puffin, who pretty much agreed on the spot." It has since sold over 100,000 copies and been translated into ten languages.

Other books followed and Penny describes getting her ideas like day-dreaming on a grander scale.

"A thought pops into your mind and as you get more experienced, you are more able to re-create on paper the picture in your mind." Penny believes that the key to success is practice, and says she still works as hard as she did 25 years ago.

A new edition of Mrs Christmas will be published towards the end of 2005 with a bigger, bolder and brighter cover. In early 2006, a new book, Rabbit Pie will be published both here and in the United States, and Penny is now working on another book about a naughty duck with a big personality.

"We live in a multi-cultural society and no section can feel left out if a story is about a rabbit, a cat or a duck."

Somehow Penny reminds me of Mrs Christmas - industrious, imaginative and inventive, creating lovely gifts for children.

© Judith Cameron