'Opening the door of imagination': the work of Astrid Lindgren award winner Kitty Crowther

Belgian author and illustrator Kitty Crowther at the Bologna children's book fair yesterday. Crowther had just heard the news that she had won the Astrid Lindgren memorial award, at SEK5m (£460,000), the world's richest children's books prize. The author, 39, beat British contenders including Quentin Blake, Michael Morpurgo and David Almond
Photograph: PR

Judges called Crowther "the master of line but also of atmosphere". In Annie du lac (2009), three islands in a lake turn out to be three giants, who help Annie (pictured) find a way out of loneliness
Photograph: Pastel L'école des loisirs

Here, in another image from Annie du lac, the giants rescue Annie. "In [Crowther's] world, the door between imagination and reality is wide open. She addresses the reader gently and personally, but with profound effect," said the prize's jury. The award was established in 2002 by the Swedish government following the death of Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren, and is given to a body of work "in [her] spirit ... with a focus on a profound respect for democratic values and human rights"
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Pastel, l'École des loisirs

In Crowther's L'enfant racine (2003), Leslie, a woman who lives all alone by a forest (pictured) meets a strange creature which makes its home under a tree
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Pastel, l'École des loisirs

Leslie and the root child slowly get to know one another, but his fellows want to take him back underground
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Pastel, l'École des loisirs

Another image from L'enfant racine. "In [Crowther's] deeply felt empathy with people in difficulty, she shows ways in which weakness can be turned into strength. Humanism and sympathy permeate and unify her artistry," said the Astrid Lindgren jury. Crowther, author of some 35 books, beat 168 candidates to take the prize
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Pastel, l'École des loisirs

An image from Crowther's Le grand désordre (2005), in which disorder — in the shape of small creatures — takes over the life of protagonist Émilienne
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Seuil jeunesse

The story is driven by the tension between Émilienne and her friend Sylvania, a neatness freak. "If I had to choose one word to describe myself, it would be ‘storyteller’. I’ve been steeped in stories from as far back as I can remember," said Crowther, who was born in Brussels to an English father and a Swedish mother. "Books were my refuge, my bubble"
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/Seuil jeunesse

In Crowther's Scritch scratch dip clapote! (2002), one of her books for younger readers, Jérôme the frog is scared of going to sleep. What's that noise — "scritch scratch dip clapote" — he can hear coming from under his bed?
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/L'École des loisirs

Jérôme's father attempts to persuade him that there's nothing to be frightened of. 'In her world, the door between imagination and reality is wide open,' said the Astrid Lindgren jury. Previous winners of the prize include Philip Pullman, Maurice Sendak and Sonya Hartnett
Photograph: Kitty Crowther/L'École des loisirs