In Memoriam - Bill Wallace

One of my favorite Christmastime novels for young readers is The dog who thought he was Santa by Bill Wallace. It is a funny and touching story, and I love the way the dog is the only individual in the tale who really understands the big issues. My daughter has read another of Bill Wallace's books, A dog called Kitty, at least half a dozen times. I was therefore very saddened to hear that Bill Wallace has left the stage. He and his wonderful books will be greatly missed.

Bill Wallace:

Award-winning author Bill Wallace started writing after a tough year of teaching fourth graders. As he said, “Trying to read to a class of 25 kids who aren't listening is downright MISERABLE. Finally, students asked me to tell stories about when I was growing up. I soon ran out of these, so they decided I should make up new stories. I became a writer so I could survive my first year as a teacher. The class loved the stories I wrote for them and persuaded me to get somebody to make us a real book.” Shadow on the Snow, Trapped in Death Cave, and A Dog Called Kitty all started out as books for his students. However, it took ten long years for his first book (A Dog Called Kitty) to be accepted for publication. After this, the former elementary-school teacher went on to write over 25 books. Other favorites include: Red Dog, Buffalo Gal, Danger in Quicksand Swamp,Beauty, Aloha Summer, Watchdog and the Coyotes, and Coyote Autumn. Bill Wallace won nineteen children's state awards and was awarded the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for Children's Literature from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.

Wallace was born on August 1, 1947 in Chickasha, Oklahoma. He was married to Carol Ann Priddle (who also taught elementary school) and had three children, Laurie Beth, Amanda Nicole, and Justin Keith. He attended university and graduate school in Oklahoma.

In Memoriam - Wangari Maathai

Yesterday Wangari Muta Maathai passed away at the age of 71. Wangari is famous for being the woman who sought to find new ways to help her people and preserve the environment at the same time. In 2004 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” 
   Over the years I have reviewed several wonderful picture books about this resourceful and exceptional woman. You can read my reviews of these books here. You can find out more about Wangari on her Wikipedia page, and do check out the Green Belt Movement website. The Green Belt Movement is a non-profit NGO that Wangai founded 

In Memoriam - Brian Jacques

Soon after I started reviewing books I discovered the Redwall books, a series of stories about animals who have adventures, who battle evil doers, and who have the most marvelous feasts and celebrations. I fell in love with the wonderful characters, especially the moles (who have a delicious way of speaking) and the hares (who have bottomless stomachs). I was therefore very sad to hear that the man who created the Redwall Tales, Brian Jacques, passed away a few days ago. Here is a little information about this wonderful writer. He will be greatly missed.

Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England, on 15 June 1939 to James (a truck driver) and Ellen. He grew up in the area of the Liverpool docks. He is known by his middle name 'Brian' because both his father and one of his brothers are also called James. His father loved literature, and passed it to him, having him read stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Jacques showed a knack for writing at an early age. At age 10, he was given an assignment of writing a story about animals, and he wrote about a bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. His teacher could not believe that anyone could write that well when they were only 10 years old. He was called a liar for refusing to say he copied the story. He had always loved to write, but it was only then that he realized he had a talent for writing.

He attended St. John's private school until the age of 15 when he left school (as was the tradition at the time) and set out to find adventure as a sea merchant sailor. His book Redwall was written for the children of the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind, whom he refers to as his "special friends". He first met them when he delivered milk there as a truck driver. He began to spend time with the children, and eventually began to write stories for them. This accounts for the very descriptive style of the novel and the ones to follow.

His work gained acclaim when Alan Durband, a friend (who also taught Paul McCartney and George Harrison), showed it to his (Durband's) own publisher without telling Jacques. Durband told his publishers: "This is the finest children's tale I've ever read, and you'd be foolish not to publish it". Soon after, Jacques was summoned to London to meet with the publishers, who gave him a contract to write the next five books in the series.

Jacques has said that the characters in his stories are based on people he has encountered. He based Gonff, the self-proclaimed "Prince of Mousethieves", on himself when he was a young boy hanging around the docks of Liverpool. Mariel is based on his granddaughter. Constance the Badgermum is based on his grandmother. Other characters are a combination of many of the people he has met in his travels.

His novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and have been published in twenty-eight languages.

Until recently, Jacques hosted a radio show called Jakestown on BBC Radio Merseyside. In June 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by theUniversity of Liverpool.

Brian lived with his wife, Maureen, in Liverpool. The couple had two adult sons, David and Mark, and one granddaughter named Hannah. Marc is a builder, a carpenter, and a bricklayer. David is a professor of art and a muralist, who has painted in Children's hospitals, soccer stadiums, and trade union offices as far away as Germany, Mexico, and Chile.

Brian Jacques died on 5 February 2011, of a heart attack.

In Memoriam - Dick King-Smith

Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), better known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was a prolific English children's author, best known for writing The Sheep-Pig, retitled in the United States as Babe the Gallant Pig, on which the movie Babe was based. He was awarded an Honorary Master of Education degree by the University of the West of England in 1999 and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.

King-Smith was a soldier in World War II and a farmer for 20 years before he became a teacher and author. King-Smith's first book was The Fox Busters, published in 1978. He was one of Britain's most prolific authors and wrote over a hundred books, which have been translated into twelve languages. In later life he lived in Queen Charlton, a small farming village near Bristol, contributing to the maintenance and conservation of the local area as the vice-president of the Avon Wildlife Trust. He married his first wife, Myrle, in 1943. They had 3 children and 14 grandchildren. Myrle died in 2000, and King-Smith subsequently married Zona Bedding, a family friend.

He had many pets including rats, mice, ornamental pheasants, dachshunds, geese and guinea fowl, and bred guinea pigs and English rabbits.

He presented a feature on animals on TV-AM's children's programme Rub a Dub Dub.

King-Smith died on 4 January 2011 at the age of 88. You can find out more about Dick King-Smith and his books by visiting the the Dick King-Smith page on the Puffin Books website.