Beverley Randell is a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 children's author, whose work has been published by 16 publishers in several languages. Born in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, she studied English and History at Victoria University College before becoming a teacher. In 1955 her first story, John the Mouse who Learned to Read, was published, and has sold around 267,000 copies. Over the years she wrote hundreds of stories, many aimed at children with limited reading skills, but also books aimed at adults. She married Hugh Price, a publisher, in 1955 and they collaborated on many books. In 2004 she received a New Zealand Order of Merit

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

, for services to children's literature and education, and to date over two million copies of her books have been sold.