Oliver Jeffers was born and brought up in Belfast and now lives and works in Brooklyn, NY where he has a studio. He makes art, from oil paintings, commercial illustrations and collage, but he is probably best known for making picture books for children. He got into picture books by mistake (watch the video) but has always been influenced by tales and storytelling, a passion derived from his Northern Ireland upbringing. He first started working with words and pictures in an experimental way, to demonstrate how one defines the other, it was then that he relaised he was essentially making picture books.
The following video gives a great overview of the man and his work:
One of his most popular picture books is Lost and Found which was made into a film narrated by the Jim Broadbent and also features a beautiful score by composer Max Richter.
Even if you haven’t read one of Oliver Jeffers books there is a strong chance that you have seen his work in the likes of The Guardian, United Airlines, Lavazza Coffee, Newsweek International or the Irish Times for which he received the Gold Icad Award for Illustration. The children application ‘The heart and the bottle’, got selected as Apple iPad app of the week. One of his strengths, like most succesful illustrator is a natural ability to capture the hearts and minds of not just the children, but the grown up children as well!
Buy Links
Lost and Found (DVD) 
Oliver Jeffers Books
The heart and the bottle (Ipad App)
Link:
Related: Read our interview with illustrator Jeannie Paske