Tributes have been paid to beloved children's author Judith Kerr after she died at the age of 95 following a short illness.
The celebrated writer, who died at home yesterday, wrote several enduring childhood classics including The Tiger Who Came To Tea and the Mog the Cat series.
She lived an extraordinary life, fleeing Germany and the rise of Nazism in 1933 and settling in England, where she forged a successful writing career spanning 50 years.
Among those to pay their respects today was children's writer David Walliams, who said 'Judith is gone but her books will live on forever', while fellow author Tony Parsons simply added: 'Some books light up the world'.
Kerr spoke openly about drawing inspiration from her own eventful childhood and felt compelled not to 'waste her life' having escaped the horrors of the Holocaust.
Julia, her mother, was so scared of the Nazi threat that loomed over her family that she carried suicide pills in case of a German invasion of British shores, and at one point even planned killing herself and both her children.
Meanwhile, her father Alfred killed himself shortly after the end of the war in 1948 aged 80 by taking pills procured by his wife after suffering a debilitating stroke.
Kerr herself helped wounded soldiers during the war before careers as a textile designer, art teacher and a BBC scriptwriter before taking up writing in the 1960s.
In 1954 she married Nigel Keane, with the couple staying together for more than 50 years and having two children, Tracey and Matthew, before his death in 2006.
The author was so proud of her adopted country that after the Brexit vote in 2016 she refused dual German nationality as it would 'dilute' her Britishness and she 'owed the country too much'.
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Beloved children's author Judith Kerr (pictured in June this year) has died at the age of 95 following a short illness, her publisher has announced
The celebrated writer (pictured as a young girl in 1929, left, and 1931, right) fled Germany in 1933 to escape the rise of the Nazis and came to England with her family
David Walliams tweeted his tribute to his fellow children's author today, while the BBC presenter Emily Maitlis shared a chat she had with the author
David Walliams tweeted: 'She was a legendary author and illustrator, whose stories and illustrations gave pleasure to millions around the world, not least me and my son.'
Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis shared her own memory of Kerr, tweeting: 'I remember asking Judith Kerr if the tiger symbolised the 1960s sexual revolution where norms and suburban life became upended by this wild and exotic creature. She told me no, it was about a tiger coming to tea.'
Author Tony Parsons added: 'Some books light up the world. Thank you for The Tiger Who Came to Tea and rest well, Judith Kerr.'
The acclaimed writer's first book was The Tiger Who Came to Tea, which has sold over five million copies and never been out of print.
Kerr's next book introduced Mog the cat, who went on to star in over fifteen titles until Goodbye Mog in 2002.
Her third book, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, was an autobiographical retelling of her family's escape from Germany in the 1930s, the first part of her acclaimed Out of the Hitler Time trilogy.
In 2015, her famous feline creation Mog returned in Sainsburys' Christmas advert, which raising over £1million for Save the Children's literacy campaign.
The Tiger Who Came To Tea author Judith Kerr (pictured left with the book and right, at London Zoo where she received a lifetime achievement award in 2016) has died at the age of 95
Judith Kerr proudly holds her OBE medal after it was presented to her by the Prince of Wales during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2012
Kerr's first book was The Tiger Who Came to Tea (left), which has sold over five million copies and never been out of print
The campaign saw her famous book top the charts for four weeks, making Kerr the oldest author to have a number one title.
Her family's struggle to get by as impoverished refugees in Paris and then wartime London formed the subject of Kerr's autobiographical trilogy published in 1971.
The book has been translated into many languages and taught to school children as an introduction to a dark chapter of history.
It won the prestigious Youth Book Prize in Germany, and in 1993 a school was named after Kerr in her native Berlin.
Kerr was born in Berlin in 1923, fleeing Germany after a policeman tipped off her father Alfred, a prominent Jewish writer, that the family was in danger.
He took the first train to Switzerland and his wife and two children soon joined him. A day after their escape, the Nazis took power.
The family moved on to Paris where they lived as penniless refugees before settling in London in 1936.
In later life, Kerr would discover a letter from her father during the family's time in Paris that described his wife talking of killing both herself and the children.
Among those to pay tribute to Kerr was Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp and author Tony Parsons
The celebrated writer and illustrator pictured in Berlin in 2016, the city of her birth before she fled with her family to France and then England
In an interview in 2015, Kerr said that as she had got older she had thought more often about the Jewish children from her generation who perished in the Holocaust.
'If you've got a life that so many people didn't have, you can't waste it,' she said.
As a young woman, Kerr worked as a textile designer, art teacher and a BBC scriptwriter, before taking time out from work to raise her two children.
It was while looking after her toddler daughter Tacy that Kerr made up the story of a little girl and her mother who are having tea at home when a friendly tiger.
Ann-Janine Murtagh, executive publisher at HarperCollins Children's Books, said: 'It has been the greatest honour and privilege to know and publish Judith Kerr for over a decade, though of course her history with HarperCollins goes back over 50 years.
'She came to visit our offices frequently - always bringing her books in person; often arriving on the number nine bus and leaving us all full of laughter and in awe of her astonishing zest for life and absolute commitment to delivering the very best books for children.
'Her incisive wit and dry humour made her both excellent company and a joy to publish. She embraced life as one great big adventure and lived every day to the full.
Kerr presents her book Mister Cleghorn's Seal at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in 2016
'She was absolutely thrilled when I gave her the news that she had been named Illustrator of the Year earlier this month.
'Her characters and books have delighted generations of children and provided some of the first and fondest reading memories of childhood.
'My thoughts at this time are with her children, Matthew and Tacy, and her grandchildren.'
Charlie Redmayne, HarperCollins chief executive, said: 'Judith Kerr was a wonderful and inspiring person who was much loved by everyone at HarperCollins.
'She was a brilliantly talented artist and storyteller who has left us an extraordinary body of work.
'Always understated and very, very funny, Judith loved life and loved people - and particularly she loved a party.
'Beautifully dressed and with a smile on her face she would light up the room and would always be one of the last to leave.
'Time spent in her company was one of life's great privileges and I am so grateful to have known her.'
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: The first book about the Holocaust I ever read was Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.
'It left a lasting impression on me as a young child. I have never forgotten the story or the sensitive and insightful way she described the trauma she and her family experienced.
'Her writings will continue to inspire new generations. Her family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers.'
In an interview in 2015, Kerr said that as she had got older she had thought more often about the Jewish children from her generation who perished in the Holocaust
How beloved author fled the Nazis before joining BBC and later penning The Tiger Who Came to Tea following pleas from her 'bossy' daughter
Judith Kerr in a portrait photo taken in 1976
Judith Kerr put pen to paper on her first book - The Tiger Who Came To Tea - following pleas from her 'bossy' daughter.
The story of a tea-guzzling tiger, who turns up unannounced and eats and drinks Sophie and her mother out of the house, was published in 1968.
It became a picture book classic - children are still turning its pages and it has never been out of print.
And the story - the tiger does not return - has sparked debate about its true, hidden meaning.
The author and illustrator, also famous for her Mog the cat books, was born in Berlin in 1923.
She has said she could not 'remember a time when I didn't want to draw'.
Her family left Germany in 1933 to escape the rise of the Nazis and Kerr, as a child, came to England.
Her father, Alfred Kerr, a German-Jewish writer and theatre critic, had openly criticised the Nazis and the regime would go on to publicly burn his books.
Kerr studied at the Central School of Art and she later worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC.
The writer and illustrator, who was made an OBE, wrote about her childhood experiences fleeing Nazi Germany.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was an autobiographical retelling of her family's escape from Germany in the 1930s, the first part of her Out Of The Hitler Time trilogy.
Kerr peers around a door as she recreates a scene from her bestselling picture book The Tiger Who Came To Tea
'I did write about dark things because dark things happened to my family,' she told the Press Association.
Kerr married the celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale in 1954.
She left the BBC to look after their two children, Matthew and Tacy, who inspired her first picture book, The Tiger Who Came To Tea.
Kerr recently told an audience, at an awards ceremony, how the book about the greedy tiger came to fruition.
'The Tiger Who Came To Tea is a story I made up for my two-year-old daughter, who was very bossy,' she said.
'I used to tell her all sorts of other stories as well, which I thought were perfectly good, which she dismissed with the words 'Talk the tiger'.
'So, when she and her brother were both at school, I thought I'd try to make it into a picture book,' she said.
Kerr pictured in 1990, at a time when she was writing the Mog the Cat series
The much-loved children's book has since sold more than five million copies and is being adapted for the small screen.
Channel 4 will air a special animated adaptation of the story this Christmas.
Kerr never stopped doing what she loved - claiming just months ago she was working 'most days'.
Recent books included Katinka's Tail, announced when Kerr was 94 and inspired by the author's ninth cat.
It hit the shelves 47 years after her first Mog book, Mog The Forgetful Cat, was published.
Mog had featured in more than 15 titles, until Goodbye Mog in 2002.
Katinka's Tail told the story of a 'perfectly ordinary cat with a not-so-ordinary tail', and featured a 'wondrous journey into a forest and on to the moon'.
Kerr's most recent book was Mummy Time, published last year, about a parent distracted by her phone.
But Kerr said: 'I didn't want to knock mothers. It can be very boring.'
She added: 'I don't do any of the screen stuff myself. I love to see the world. I'm the only person who sees the world!'
Asked if other people are missing out, she said: 'I think they probably are ... I am an illustrator. I look at things. I think people who draw all do. I love looking at things. Anything is interesting.'
HarperCollins Children's Books said Kerr's new book, The Curse Of The School Rabbit, would be published by June this year.
Kerr was awarded the Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. Just last week, she was named Illustrator Of The Year at the British Book Awards.
Kerr died aged 95, following a short illness.
Children's writer and illustrator Judith Kerr chats as she sits by her desk at her home in west London in 2015
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News Photo The Tiger Who Came to Tea author Judith Kerr dies aged 95
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