Charles won both the Macmillan Prize and the Mother Goose Award for his first book, Bush Vark's Day Out. He has had numerous books published since, including Yip! Snap! Yap!, I Know a Rhino, Blot and Og's Monster Party, Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball ('Highly Commended' for the Kate Greenaway Medal, 2001), Found You, Little Wombat!, Where To, Little Wombat?, and Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! for Gullane. He lives in Burton Bradstock, Dorset, with his partner and their son, Oliver.