Anthony Browne is the author-illustrator of numerous books for children, including the ever-popular Willy books. He has received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW Best Illustrated Book Award, the Kurt Maschler Award three times, and the Kate Greenaway Medal twice. Anthony Browne says that he wrote and illustrated GORILLA "while my wife was expecting our first child, and I suppose I must have been thinking about what it means to be a father."