17th December Jacqueline Wilson (1945) Bel Mooney (1946)

Woke up to the news this morning, to hear that Australian author, Ruth Park had died. She is the author of The Muddle-Headed Wombat books and When the Wind Changed. She was 93, but it will still be hard for the Niland family at Christmas.

On a more celebratory note it is the birthday of two British authors who write contemporary realism that girls love. They relate to Jacqueline Wilson's characters and Bel Mooney's Kitty. The problem in my library with Jacqueline's books is that they read something like Lizzie Zipmouth or The Cat Mummy and then go and buy Cookie or Bad Girls because they aren't in the library. They just cannot wait to read more, even if it is not suitable to their age. I've had to deal with a couple of not so receptive mothers, but this shouldn't stop my under eights from reading the Jacqueline Wilson that she has written for them.

Bel Mooney also writes for a large age range but she has two series that are just perfect for my clientele. She writes about Kitty and her friends (there are more than ten titles) and another series about Bonnie, a small dog and her owner, Harry. This series now has at least 6 titles. Both series are popular.

8th October Mike Thaler (1936) Bel Mooney (1946)

"The most powerful nation in the world is the imagi-nation", says American children's writer Mike Thaler. He started his career drawing cartoons for adults, but a children's book editor who had seen his cartoons suggested that he write for children and now he has produced hundreds of children's books including all the Black Lagoon titles. I want one of those Librarian from the Black Lagoon dolls. I'm sure Mrs Beamster would be a hit in my library! She would certainly make me look good.There is an interview with Thaler by Scholastic here where Thaler answers questions about the Black Lagoon picture and chapter books.

Bel Mooney is an English author who writes lots of things including novels, newspaper columns, articles, but in my library she is known as the author of two popular series of novels for younger readers. One is the series of books about Kitty, her brother Daniel and neighbour William. The other is a series of books about Bonnie, a small Maltese terrier. Both of these series had their origins in Bel Mooney's own life. She has a daughter Kitty and a son Daniel and the Kitty and Friends books are family stories. She also has a dog called Bonnie who she has used as the impetus for her Bonnie books. There are presently about fourteen books about Kitty and six about Bonnie.