The young Helme (Christian name: Helmut) Heine studied history of art, along with marketing and management. Afterwards in the early 1960s, although planned, he did not take over the parental hotel in the moated castle "Wasserburg Düssel", in Wülfrath-Düssel, an old, small village at the town boundary to Wuppertal. Instead he went on tour and travelled through Europe, Asia and finally South Africa, where he settled down and worked in Johannesburg till 1977. Among other things he starred in Cabaret there, brought a satirical magazine out and took over the management of a theatre chain.

He began to paint at the beginning of the seventies; 1975 saw him develop his first children's book, the Elefanteneinmaleins (Elephant multiplication table). He initialized his breakthrough in the same year with the Frankfurt Book Fair, where he got to know the publisher, Gertraud Middelhauve. And already in 1976 appeared his first and second book. From now he experienced his stellar ascent to a highly successful artist.Soon afterwards, in 1977, he pulled up stakes in South-Africa and returned to Germany.Here he started himself an intensive and highly successful period of works, by writing and illustrating a number of children's books.

As an author and illustrator, Heine ranks today among the artists most renowned internationally; he has had work translated into 35 languages and received numerous honours worldwide. Among his most popular works ranks the little Dragon, Tabaluga.

Helme Heine also writes for adults, draws cartoons and animations and designs sculptures and furniture.

His summer home is in Bavaria.

In Böblingen from February 2005, a two-month special exhibition with 136 examples of Helme Heine's work ran, featuring watercolor art, drawings in India ink and pencil sketches, right up to sculptures and a designer game of chess.

• 1983 Oldenburg Child & Youth Book Prize - Illustrations for Gudrun Mäcker Anna and the Tatzelwurm
• 1991 Grand Prize of the German Child & Youth Literature Academy, e. V.
• European Children's Book Prize

Children's books

• Samstag im Paradies (Saturday in Paradise)
• Elefanteneinmaleins ISBN 3-407-77068-5 (Elephant Multiplication Tables)
• Prinz Bär (Prince Bear)
• Freunde (Friends) ISBN 978-0689710834
• König Hupf der I. (King Hop the First)
• Das schönste Ei der Welt ISBN 3-407-77061-8 (Most beautiful egg in the world)
• Na warte, sagte Schwarte (Just wait, said Schwarte)
• Mullewapp (Mollywoop) ISBN 978-0374350017
• Tabaluga
• Der Hase mit der roten Nase ISBN 3-407-77006-5 (The hare with the red nose)
• Der Club ISBN 3-407-77023-5 (The club)
• Foxtrott ISBN 3-446-20306-0 (Foxtrot)
• "Friends Go Adventuring" ISBN 978-0689818509