Alex Brychta

Alex Brychta MBE (born 13 January 1956 in Prague, then Czechoslovakia) is a British children’s book illustrator renowned for his work on the Oxford Reading Tree series — one of the most widely used early‑reading programmes in the world. He collaborated with writer Roderick Hunt MBE to illustrate the Biff, Chip and Kipper stories and The Magic Key books, which have helped countless young learners develop literacy skills; Oxford Reading Tree titles are used in more than 80 % of British primary schools and in over 120 other countries.

Brychta grew up in a family of artists, showing early talent in drawing — at age 10 his work was exhibited to the Lord Mayor of Hamburg — and his first book was published in 1972 after his family moved to England. In addition to the Oxford Reading Tree, he has illustrated series such as Read with Biff, Chip and Kipper, Wolf Hill and Time Chronicles, and has also written and illustrated several children’s books for publishers including Oxford University Press. For his contributions to children’s literature and literacy, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours.