I was listening to a programme about Roald Dahl the other day and he was saying there has to be a bit of you, as a children's author, that remembers much more clearly than anyone else what it is like to be a child, and reacts to things in a child-like way," she said at the time. Beloved children's author and illustrator Jill Murphy dies peacefully following a long struggle with cancer". I didn’t like the way the Gran referred to her grandson as an ‘idiot’, some children may find this upsetting, that’s why I have given this book four stars. If you're giving a present to a child over the next few weeks, I cannot think of a better one than a book that - in story form, please, no Chicken Soup for the Soul self-help numbers, I beg you! She enjoyed reading boarding-school stories, which provided material and inspiration for Miss Cackle's Academy in the Worst Witch series, as did the Ursuline High School, Wimbledon, which she attended.

If you are under 16, please obtain your parent/guardian’s permission before submitting or ask your parent/guardian to submit on your behalf. The Worst Witch stories have become some of the most successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and had sold more than three million copies by 2008, [17] and more than five million worldwide as of 2016. Murphy came up with the idea for the first Worst Witch novel, which followed the exploits of Mildred Hubble at witch school, at the age of 14 and based it on her own experiences at a strict convent school.Marlon announces to his Mum and Granny that he has given up his noo-noo, and tells them about his noo-noo tree in the garden. Imagine doing such a thing to a grown-up, taking away the thing you love," Ayala blurts out a bit later. She wrote and illustrated her first book, the bestselling The Worst Witch, while still only eighteen, and went on to create the award-winning Large family series, which has sold over five million copies worldwide and been adapted for television.

This is likely to engage children in the class as it gives a very good context to open discussion about some of the things children did or the habits they had when they were young/babies. Jill Murphy was born in London and attended the Ursuline Convent in Wimbledon which, together with the boarding school stories she enjoyed reading, provided much of the material and inspiration Miss Cackle's Academy in the The Worst Witch, which she started when she was 15. Neuware - Marlon is determined not to give up his dummy in this new edition of the picture book favourite.Bridgewater, Daisy (6 March 2014), "Children's notebook: the enduring charms of Mildred Hubble", The Telegraph. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy , external and privacy policy , external before accepting.