Aleksei Bitskoff is a British illustrator of children's books, including the best-selling Louis Sachar Wayside School book series, Little Badman by Humza Arshad and Henry White and Enid Blyton Family book series.
Aleksei was born and brought up in Narva, Estonia, and attended the Ivangorod School of Arts and then Narva School of Arts. In 2001 Aleksei Bitskoff received a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Narva College of the University of Tartu and worked as a newspaper cartoonist. His caricatures were first published in Pikker, a famous Estonian magazine of satire and humour established in 1943.
For many years Aleksei Bitskoff was practising Buddhist meditation, travelled around Europe and Asia and didn’t create any art at all. After an inspirational trip to Nepal, his life made a U-turn and he decided to start his drawing career again.
Aleksei Bitskoff studied illustration at London College of Communication and received a Masters degree in Camberwell College of Arts in 2010.
In 2012 together with Ickypen studio, he created an interactive story for iPad “Icky Mr Fox”, which was listed in the 50 best children’s apps for smartphones and tablets according to the Guardian newspaper.
In may 2017 Aleksei Bitskoff talked about similarities between the creative process and meditation at the TEDx event in Tallinn, Estonia.
In 2019 he has created concept designs for an interactive play space at Discover Children’s Story Centre in London.
Bitskoff’s illustrations are detailed, humorous and quirky.
Describing the technical details of his work he says: "I love drawing in my sketchbook with a black ballpoint pen and also use a Wacom Cintiq to create artwork digitally and speed up the process to meet the deadlines.”
Aleksei Bitskoff currently lives with his wife and two kids in Surrey, England.
Illustrated works
33 Shades of Green (1999) by Mihhail Stalnuhhin (Publisher: Elmi)
Pillywiggins and the Tree Witch (2011) by Julia Jarman (Publisher: Andersen Press)
The Monstrous Book of Monsters (2012) by Libby Hamilton; illustrated together with Jonny Duddle (Templar Publishing)
The Practical Princess Guide (2012) by Libby Hamilton and Faye Simms (Templar Publishing)
Aleksei Bitskoff’s Monster Party (2013)
What if A Dinosaur: There’s a Stegosaurus on the Stairs (2014) by Ruth Symons (QED Publishing)
What if A Dinosaur: There’s a T-Rex in Town (2014) by Ruth Symons
What if A Dinosaur: There’s a Diplodocus at the Door (2014) by Ruth Symons
What if A Dinosaur: There’s a Triceratops in the Tree House (2014) by Ruth Symons
Could a Penguin Ride a Bike? (2014) by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Could an Octopus Climb A Sky Scraper? (2014) by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Could a Whale Swim to the Moon? (2015) by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Could a Shark do Gymnastics? (2015) by Camilla de la Bedoyere
What if a… Could a Tiger Walk a Tightrope? (2015) - illustrator: text by Camilla de la Bedoyere
The Adventures of Long Arm (2015) by Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes
Long Arm vs the Evil Supply Teacher (2016) - by Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes (Templar)
What if: Could a Monkey Waterski? (2017) by Camilla de la Bedoyere
Who Will Marry Prince Harry? (2016) by Tony Bradman
Franklin’s Emporium: The White Lace Gloves (2016) by Gill Vickery (Bloomsbury Education)
Franklin’s Emporium: The Pet Shop Mystery (2016) by Gill Vickery (Bloomsbury Education)
Teeny Tiny Aliens and the Great Big Pet Disaster (2017) by Debbie White (Oxford University Press)
Simon Barbecue (2018) by Ciaran Murtagh (Publisher: Oxford)
The Caravan Family (2017) by Enid Blyton (Publisher: Egmont)
The Seaside Family (2017) by Enid Blyton (Publisher: Egmont)
The Buttercup Family (2018) by Enid Blyton (Publisher: Egmont)
The Queen Elizabeth Family (2018) by Enid Blyton (Publisher: Egmont)
The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee (2018) by Deborah Abela (Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers)
The Most Marvelous International Spelling Bee (2019) by Deborah Abela (Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers)
My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Alladin (2018) by Jerry Mahoney (Publisher: Stone Arch Books)
My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Snow White (2018) by Jerry Mahoney (Publisher: Stone Arch Books)
My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Beauty and the Beast (2018) by Jerry Mahoney (Publisher: Stone Arch Books)
My Rotten Stepbrother Ruined Cinderella (2018) by Jerry Mahoney (Publisher: Stone Arch Books)
Adventure Duck vs Power Pug (2019) by Steve Cole (Orchard books)
Adventure Duck vs the Armadillo Army (2019) by Steve Cole (Orchard books)
Adventure Duck vs The Wicked Walrus (2020) by Steve Cole (Hachette Orchard Books)
Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties (2019) by Humza Arshad and Henry White. (Publisher: Puffin)
Little Badman and the Time-travelling Teacher of Doom (2020) by Humza Arshad and Henry White. (Publisher: Puffin)
Little Badman and the Radioactive Samosa: World Book Day (2021) by Humza Arshad and Henry White. (Publisher: Puffin)
The Puffin Book of Big Dreams (2020) by Puffin
Bright Bursts of Colour (2020) by Matt Goodfellow (Bloomsbury Education)
Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (2020) by Louis Sachar (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Wayside School is Falling Down (2021) by Louis Sachar (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian: The Fuzzy Apocalypse (2020) by Jonathan Messinger (Harper Collins)
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian: The Accidental Volcano (2020) by Jonathan Messinger (Harper Collins)
The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian: The Uncommon Cold (2021) by Jonathan Messinger (Harper Collins)
Life of Riley: Beginner’s Luck (2020) by Simon James Green (Scholastic)
Me vs the Multiverse (2020) by S.G. Wilson (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Me vs the Multiverse: Enough about Me (2021) by S.G. Wilson (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (2021) by Louis Sachar (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Sideways Stories from Wayside School (2021) by Louis Sachar (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Awards and honours
2010 Featured in Images 34: Best of British Illustration
2012 Finalist of The Children’s Choice Book Award for The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton and Jonny Duddle
2015 Shortlist for the Doncaster Book Award for The Adventures of Long Arm by Sam Nixon and Mark Rhodes
2020 Shortlist for the Branford Boase Award for the Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties
2021 Shortlist for the Blue Peter Award for Life of Riley: Beginner’s Luck by Simon James Green
2021 Shortlist for the CLPE Poetry Award for the Bright Bursts of Colour by Matt Goodfellow
2022 Shortlist for the Laugh Out Loud Book Award for the Little Badman and the Invasion of the Killer Aunties