WIN $150 GIFT VOUCHERS: ALADDIN'S GOLD
Anna McQuinn trained as a teacher, specialising in Children's Literature, and worked directly with children for a number of years before moving into publishing. Since then, she has been working in children's publishing for over 20 years - as an editor, publisher and writer, as well as running workshops and courses in schools and libraries. Currently she combines both these areas, working part time as a Community Librarian for Sure Start Acton, running Mother & Toddler Groups and Family Book Groups in Acton Library. Anna spends the rest of the time writing. She is author of over 25 children's books and is a voracious reader. Rosalind Beardshaw has been illustrating for over 10 years. I grew up in Sheffield, she says. Thanks to creative parents I was encouraged to draw (and use fuzzy felt!) and was taken to art galleries on rainy Saturday afternoons.My favourite subject at school was Art so it was an easy decision to become an artist. Rosalind gained a degree at Manchester Polytechnic and began work designing greetings cards and giftwrap, then slowly moved into book illustration. Her first book was Fran's Flower which was shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Prize 2000 and she has illustrated many more since then including a story she wrote herself called Grandma's Beach (shortlisted for the Sheffield Prize in 2002). This book was inspired byher childhood holidays spent playing in her grandparents' garden.
The paintings are charming, Lulu is a delight and the story in many ways quite straightforward... The addition is a real treasure - an audio CD which has an introduction followd by the story being read in English and then in 18 other languages. As a family sharing or as a teaching or library activity resource this is both delicious and full of wonderful possibilities. School Librarian
