18th August Paula Danziger (1944 - 2004) Nicola Bayley (1949)

Paula Danziger is known in my library for her Amber Brown series of books. These are probably not what she is remembered for firstly, as she wrote mostly for teens. I remember loving The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, so when I saw the Amber Brown novels for younger readers with Paula as the author I was keen to read them. This series began with Amber Brown is Not a Crayon and the story complete with Tony Ross illustrations attracted girls from about 7 to 10 years old. Paula must have known who was reading these because she then brought out a new series of easier reads, A is for Amber in which Amber was younger, seven in fact and they were prequels to the longer novels. They still included her friend Justin and similar school and family dramas. The Penguin website is a good place to learn more about Amber Brown and get a complete list of titles.

Nicola Bayley is an English illustrator of exquisitely detailed beautiful artworks. Her stippled watercolours make books look like 'instant classics'. She is especially fond of cats and many of her books feature them. She won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2001 for her illustrations in Katje, the Windmill Cat. She has also illustrated a beautiful edition of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.