R. W. Alley

My parents saved everything, so I know that I began drawing sometime around age two.  I haven't paused since.  In fact, my drawings now and my drawings then bear a rather strong resemblance.  I have gotten slightly better at hands, but horses remain a problem.  For an only child, growing up in New York, Texas, South Carolina and finally for most of the time in Annapolis, Maryland, drawing was fine self-entertainment.  Then, as now, I have always enjoyed most making pictures that illustrate a story rather than hang on a wall.
 
Today I live in Barrington, Rhode Island with the lovely Zoë B. Alley, author, wife and mother of our two clever children, Cassandra and Max.

I make my pictures in a studio that has a rolling ladder, more books than I can count and many tubes of half-used, rock-hard paint.  For the last ten years one of my big projects has been to illustrate new and old stories of Paddington Bear.  I have also made pictures for over one hundred other books since I started doing all this right out of college in 1979.  I didn't go to art school, but received a BA in Art History from Haverford College and then spent four years as a staff artist at several greeting card companies.  Since then, I have spent my working time in my slippers trying to avoid illustrating stories with horses.
 


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by the author

Being Teddy Roosevelt
Being Teddy Roosevelt

Claudia Mills; Pictures by R. W. Alley
Square Fish

Riley O’Rourke is writing his report on President Teddy Roosevelt in preparation for the fourth-grade biography tea, but he has a far more important goal: to...


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The Treasure of Dead Man's Lane and Other Case Files
The Treasure of Dead Man's Lane and Other Case Files
Saxby Smart, Private Detective
Simon Cheshire; Illustrated by R. W. Alley
Square Fish

Saxby Smart is tackling three more seemingly unsolvable cases in his second adventure.


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The Pirate's Blood and Other Case Files
The Pirate's Blood and Other Case Files
Saxby Smart, Private Detective
Simon Cheshire, illustrated by R.W. Alley
Roaring Brook Press

In this third volume of the Saxby Smart: Private Detective series, Saxby solves three more daunting cases: The Pirate's Blood, The Mystery of Mary Rogers,...


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The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files
The Curse of the Ancient Mask and Other Case Files
Saxby Smart, Private Detective
Simon Cheshire, Illustrated by R.W. Alley
Square Fish

Saxby Smart, boy detective extraordinaire, tackles three mysterious cases in this exciting series where the reader solves the cases, too.


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There's a Wolf at the Door
There's a Wolf at the Door

by Zoe Alley, illustrations by R.W. Alley
A Neal Porter Book

FIVE CLASSIC TALES ALL STARRING ONE PUT-UPON WOLF in an oversized gift-ready package Wolf, a rather fine dresser and intelligent creature, just can’t catch a...


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Ziggy's Blue-Ribbon Day
Ziggy's Blue-Ribbon Day

Claudia Mills; Pictures by R. W. Alley
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Every kid’s a winner! Ziggy dreads track-and-field day. He isn’t good at running races or at high or long jumping. He isn’t good at throwing balls, either....


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This Is the House That Was Tidy and Neat
This Is the House That Was Tidy and Neat

Teri Sloat; illustrated by R. W. Alley
Henry Holt and Co.

This is the house At the end of the street That was tidy and neat When Mom left . . . A delicious romp that starts with a mouse, and ends with a . . ....


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Cat Skidoo
Cat Skidoo

Bethany Roberts, Illustrated by R.W. Alley
Henry Holt and Co.

Kittens in the window- one cat, two, jumping down for Cat Skidoo! Join the mischievous romp and fun of Cat Skidoo! Join a pair of precocious kittens...


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The Real, True Dulcie Campbell
The Real, True Dulcie Campbell

Cynthia DeFelice; Pictures by R. W. Alley
Farrar, Straus and Giroux

"DeFelice hits the mark with this tale of wishful identity, amiably chronicled in Alley's warm portrait of a hardworking family. Dulcie lives on a farm but is...


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Little Flower
Little Flower

Gloria Rand; Illustrated by R. W. Alley
Henry Holt and Co.

The heartwarming story of a brave little pig who becomes a hero. Little Flower is a very smart pig. She has learned lots of tricks, but one of them is...


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