Gwyneth Rees
Encyclopedia
Gwyneth Rees is a British author of children's books. Her novel The Mum Hunt won the Red House Children's Book Award
for Younger Readers in 2004, and another, My Mum's from Planet Pluto, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal
in the same year. Her other popular books for younger children include the Fairy Dust series, the first of which was an Ottakar's Book of the Month choice, and the Mermaid Magic trilogy.
in 1968. She is half Welsh and half English, and grew up in Scotland after her family moved to Glasgow when she was six. She studied medicine at Glasgow University and now works in London as a consultant child psychiatrist, when she is not writing.
She wrote her first book when she was ten, inspired by Enid Blyton
, but the first to be published was Something Secret in 2001.
In My Mum's from Planet Pluto Daniel faces social disaster when his mother becomes his headteacher, but worse is to come when she starts acting strangely. It is a perceptive tale of the effects of bipolar disorder
on a family. In the Esmie series, Esmie tries to find a suitable wife for her widowed policeman father – and then persuade him to get married – as well as solving some mysteries along the way. The Making of May revolves around a garden and another mystery, this time for a girl who lives with her grown-up brother.
The Fairy Dust series has different human characters each time, and the stories are set at different places in the British countryside. The children often have some problem which is helped when they help the fairies – small, winged fairies all, but different in type, tooth fairies in Fairy Gold, dream fairies in Fairy Dreams, book fairies in Fairy Treasure, for example. Fairy dust provides the magic, and believers – both child and adult – can visit fairyland. Rani the mermaid in Mermaid Magic discovers the reason why she is different from the other mermaids and finds her other family. Cosmo, who has always longed to be a witch's cat, discovers that witches can be very bad indeed in Cosmo and the Magic Sneeze.
Red House Children's Book Award
The Red House Children's Book Award is a series of literary prizes for works of children's literature published during the previous year. The prize was known as the Children's Book Award from its inauguration in 1981...
for Younger Readers in 2004, and another, My Mum's from Planet Pluto, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
in the same year. Her other popular books for younger children include the Fairy Dust series, the first of which was an Ottakar's Book of the Month choice, and the Mermaid Magic trilogy.
Biography
Gwyneth Rees was born in LeicesterLeicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1968. She is half Welsh and half English, and grew up in Scotland after her family moved to Glasgow when she was six. She studied medicine at Glasgow University and now works in London as a consultant child psychiatrist, when she is not writing.
She wrote her first book when she was ten, inspired by Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
, but the first to be published was Something Secret in 2001.
Books
Gwyneth Rees writes both books of everyday life and fantasies for younger children, both kinds written with humour and insight.In My Mum's from Planet Pluto Daniel faces social disaster when his mother becomes his headteacher, but worse is to come when she starts acting strangely. It is a perceptive tale of the effects of bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
on a family. In the Esmie series, Esmie tries to find a suitable wife for her widowed policeman father – and then persuade him to get married – as well as solving some mysteries along the way. The Making of May revolves around a garden and another mystery, this time for a girl who lives with her grown-up brother.
The Fairy Dust series has different human characters each time, and the stories are set at different places in the British countryside. The children often have some problem which is helped when they help the fairies – small, winged fairies all, but different in type, tooth fairies in Fairy Gold, dream fairies in Fairy Dreams, book fairies in Fairy Treasure, for example. Fairy dust provides the magic, and believers – both child and adult – can visit fairyland. Rani the mermaid in Mermaid Magic discovers the reason why she is different from the other mermaids and finds her other family. Cosmo, who has always longed to be a witch's cat, discovers that witches can be very bad indeed in Cosmo and the Magic Sneeze.