Beverly Cleary (1916 to 2021) was an American children’s author whose characters include Ramona Quimby and her sister Beezus, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse. Her books have sold 91 million copies since the first was published in 1950. She was born Beverly Bunn in McMinnville, Oregon, and spent her early … Read more
E. B. White (1899 to 1985) was an American writer and essayist who contributed to The New Yorker for nearly six decades and wrote three children’s novels: “Stuart Little”, “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Trumpet of the Swan”. He was also co-author of the style guide “The Elements of Style”. Elwyn Brooks White was born in … Read more
L. Frank Baum (1856 to 1919) was an American author best known for “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900) and the thirteen Oz novels that followed it. Alongside the Oz series he wrote dozens of other novels, many of them under pseudonyms, as well as short stories, poems and stage scripts. Lyman Frank Baum was … Read more
R. L. Stine (born 1943) is an American novelist and the author of “Goosebumps”, a horror series for children that has sold over 400 million copies in 35 languages. He also wrote the teen horror series “Fear Street”, which has sold more than 80 million copies. Robert Lawrence Stine was born in Columbus, Ohio, and … Read more
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867 to 1957) was an American writer, teacher and journalist. She is best known for the Little House series of children’s novels, published between 1932 and 1943 and based on her childhood in a settler and pioneer family in the American Midwest. She was born on 7 February 1867 near Pepin, Wisconsin, … Read more
Eoin Colfer is an Irish author of children’s books, best known for the “Artemis Fowl” series of fantasy novels about a young criminal mastermind who takes on a hidden world of fairies. The series has sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages, and Colfer served as Laureate na nÓg, Ireland’s Children’s Laureate, from … Read more
Cressida Cowell is a British children’s author and illustrator, best known for the “How to Train Your Dragon” series, which became a DreamWorks Animation film franchise. She also wrote “The Wizards of Once” and “Which Way to Anywhere” series and the Emily Brown picture books, and was the Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2019 to 2022. … Read more
A. A. Milne (Alan Alexander Milne, 1882 to 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for his children’s poetry. Before “Winnie-the-Pooh” (1926) and “The House at Pooh Corner” (1928) he was known mainly as a playwright and as a humorist for the magazine Punch. Milne was … Read more
Terry Deary is a British author best known for “Horrible Histories”, the children’s history series he began in 1993 with the illustrator Martin Brown. Born in Sunderland in 1946, he says on his own website that he has written 362 books, which have sold more than 38 million copies in 45 languages. Deary’s father was … Read more
Sir Michael Morpurgo (born 5 October 1943) is an English author, poet and playwright best known for children’s novels such as “War Horse”, “Private Peaceful” and “Kensuke’s Kingdom”. He was the third Children’s Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, and is President of the reading charity BookTrust. He was born Michael Bridge in St Albans, the … Read more
