If you’re thinking of picking up a new book to read, why not try one by an author with ties to Canterbury. From surreal ape-filled picture books to gripping suspenseful novels based on true stories and events. Read second-year English language and communication student Nina Wilson’s blog post to find out more.
Anthony Browne
A children’s picture book illustrator and author, Anthony Browne currently lives in Canterbury. His works often depict sensitive and lonely child protagonists finding adventure while others feature gorillas in surreal and heart-warming, dreamlike scenes. These titles include: Hide and Seek (2018), The Shape Game (2004), Willy the wimp (2014) and his most well-known book, Gorilla (1983). Gorillas have frequently featured in his work due to his view on the nature of Gorillas: “the contrast that they represent- their huge strength and gentleness. They’re thought of as being very fierce creatures and they’re not.”1
As well as being the first British illustrator to receive the Hans Christian Anderson Medal, his books have been translated into 26 languages and his illustrations have been exhibited in countries such as Mexico, the USA, Colombia, France, Korea, Italy, Japan, Venezuela, Germany, Holland and Taiwan.
Geraldine Mccaughrean
Born in 1951 and an alumna of Canterbury Christ Church University, Geraldine Mccaughrean is regarded as one of today’s most successful and popular children’s book authors. She worked in a publishing house in London for 10 years before leaving to become a writer full-time in 1988. She has written over 150 books, 50 short plays for schools and a radio play.
While her adult novels include The Maypole (1990) and The Ideal Wife (1997), she has received far more acclaim for her collection of children’s stories. Her most well-known work is Peter Pan in Scarlet (2006)- the official sequel to Peter Pan. Her recent books The Supreme lie (2021) and Where the world ends (2017) both feature gripping, terror-filled plots, which have received several awards for writing.
The newest title, The Supreme Lie (2021) tells a thrilling and comedic story of adventure, with an underlying social and political commentary on corruption, manipulation, lies and global warming. Her books have been translated into over 45 languages worldwide.
Stewart Ross
As a writer, journalist, broadcaster and lecturer at CCCU, Steward Ross is regarded as one of Britain’s most popular and versatile authors with over 175 published titles. He has taught at a number of institutions in the UK, USA, the Middle East and Sri Lanka before becoming a full-time writer in 1989. He has written numerous award-winning books in fiction and non-fiction for children, many of which are based on real historical stories and events.
Based on the tragic real-world events, the ‘Survivor’ series tells the stories of young people living through dangerous times and facing daily hardships. These titles include, The Beat of a drum: A story of African slavery (2002), The Star Houses: A story from the Holocaust (2002) and Everything to live for: A story from Northern Ireland (2002). For YA readers his dystopian trilogy, made up of The Soterion Mission (2013), Revenge of the Zeds (2014) and The Salvation Project (2017) present a post-apocalyptic world in which no one lives past the age of nineteen.
For a lighter and less heart-wrenching reading experience, one of Ross’s more puzzling titles, ‘Solve it like Sherlock’(2018) presents you with a collection of new Sherlock Holmes cases and challenges you to use your powers of deduction to solve them as the Great Detective has done. His collection of books, some of which include his own photographs, have been translated into dozens of languages and won several awards.
Find out more
Many of these titles are available in the Curriculum Resources, a special collection of teaching resources, found in the East Wing of Floor 2 in Augustine House. CR appears before the classmark on these books. It contains children’s fiction and non-fiction books and other materials to help with lesson planning in schools. If you need help finding a book, try using LibrarySearch or ask for help at the Library Point.
Alternatively, you can purchase copies from the CCCU Bookshop
This blog post was written by Nina Wilson, a second-year English Language student working on a 120-hour placement as part of the English Language and Communication in the Workplace module. This module provides students with the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and aptitude of English language and communication in a professional setting, which helps prepare them for work and training in the future.
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