Jackie French
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Jackie French (born 1953) is an award-winning Australian author of children's fiction, and books on gardening.
Jackie French was born in Sydney and grew up in Brisbane, but moved to the bush in her early twenties. She is a keen gardener and appeared on the TV series Burke's Backyard. She has written well over a hundred books. Jackie lives in New South Wales, near the small town of Braidwood. She began writing when she was 30, in a desperate attempt to get enough money together to register her car. At the time, she was living in a tin shed with a black snake named Gladys and a wombat named Smudge. A hundred and thirty plus books later, she is still writing. She can rightly be called Australia's most popular childrens writer.[citation needed] Jackie also appears regularly on radio and television.
[edit] Selective bibliography
'Picture Books with Bruce Whatley
- Diary of a Wombat
- Pete the Sheep
- Josephine Wants to Dance (2006)
- The Shaggy Gully Times (2007)
Junior fiction
- Macbeth and Son (2006)
- Pharaoh (2007)
- Walking the Boundaries (1993)
- Beyond the Boundaries (1996)
- Hitler's Daughter (1999)
- Cafe on Callisto series (2002)
- They Came on Viking Ships (2005) (published as Slave Girl in the UK and Rover in the USA )
- Children of the Valley series
- Phredde the Phaery series
- Tom Appleby Convict Boy
- Wacky Family series
- A Wombat Named Bosco
- Rainstones
- Soldier on the Hill
- Somewhere Around the Corner
Junior non-fiction The Goat Who sailed the World- the story of the goat who sailed with C ook on the endeavour
- How to Guzzle Your Garden
- The Fascinating History of Your Lunch
- Stamp, Stomp, Whomp and Other Interesting Ways to Get Rid of Pests
- The Secret Life of Wombats
The Dinkum History series- an eight volume history of Australia, illustrated by Peter Sheehan
Adult non-fiction
- Rocket Your Child into Reading (2004)
Adult Books A War for Gentlemen Seasons of Content
[edit] Awards
2006 NSW Premier's Literary Awards Shortlisted The Secret World of Wombats
2006 NSW Premier's History Awards Young People's History Prize Shortlisted They Came on Viking Ships
Children's Book Council Awards 2005 Younger Readers Shortlisted My Dad the Dragon Tom Appleby, Convict Boy
Picture Book of the Year Shortlisted Pete the Sheep - Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
CBC 2005 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Winner To the Moon and Back - Jackie French and Bryan Sullivan
2005 KOALA (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) Shortlisted Pete the Sheep - Jackie French and Bruce Whatley Hitler's Daughter
2004 Aurealis Awards for Fantasy and Science Fiction Best Young Adult Novel Shortlisted Flesh and Blood
Diary of a Wombat 2004 USA Benjamin Franklin Award USA Lemmee Award 2003 Notable Children's Book by the American Library Association (ALA) Voted Favourite Picture Book of the Year in the Cuffie Awards in the USA 2003 Tied with Diary of a Worm for Funniest Book in the Cuffie Awards in the USA 2003 Number two on the 'Best 20 picture books for 2003' in the USA Cool Award, for Best Picture Book, voted by the kids of the ACT Winner Young Australian Readers' Award 2003 Winner KOALA Award for Best Picture Book 2003 ABA/A A Neilson Book of the Year 2003 Honour Book for the CBC Picture Book of the Year 2003 Shortlisted for the KOALA, COOL and YABBA awards 2003 Shortlisted for a Bilby Award 2004 KIND Award USA 2004 Shortlisted for the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards for Picture Book of the Year Shortlisted in the Australian Publisher's Association Book Design Awards for Best Designed Children's Picture Book, and also for a Galley Club Award! Shortlisted in the Picture Book category of the Children's Choice Book Awards
Valley of Gold 2004 CBC Notable Book
Ride the Wild Wind 2003 Shortlisted too for the Patricia Wrightson Award in the NSW Premier's Awards 2003 CBC Notable Book
In the Blood 2002 ACT Book of the Year for 2002
Blood Will Tell Shortlisted 2004 Aurealis Award
CafĂ on Callisto Winner 2000 Aurealis Award
Lady Dance 2001 Notable Book: CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Book of the Year
Stamp, Stomp, Whomp 2001 Notable Book: CBCA Book of the Year
Missing You, Love Sara 2002 Shortlisted for the KOALAs (Kids' Own Australian Literature Award) Shortlisted in the Older Readers' category of the Young Australian's Best Book Award (YABBA) 2001 Notable Book: CBCA Book of the Year Shortlisted for the West Australian Young Readers' Book Award (WAYRBA) in the Older Readers' category
Too Many Pears 2004 CBC Notable book Shortlisted COOl and KOALA Awards
Hitler's Daughter 2004 Shortlisted COOl and Yabba Awards 2003 Named a "Blue Ribbon" book by the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books in the USA. Shortlisted for the KOALA, COOL and YABBA awards 2002 Shortlisted in the Older Readers' category of the Children's Choice Book Awards 2002 2002 Shortlisted for the KOALAs Shortlisted in the Older Readers' category of the YABBAs UK National Literacy Association WOW! Award 2001 Shortlisted in the Older Readers' category of the Bilby (Books I Love Best Yearly) Awards Shortlisted in the Older Readers' category of the YABBAs Shortlisted in the Younger Reader's category of the WAYRBAs 2000 Shortlisted for the Sanderson Young Adult Audio Book of the Year Awards: Vision Australia Library Winner, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers
How to Guzzle Your Garden 2000 Shortlisted, Eve Pownall Award for Information, CBCA Book of the Year
Daughter of the Regiment 1999 Shortlisted, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers
Somewhere Around the Corner 1995 Honour Book, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers Highly Commended in the NSW Family Therapy Association & Victorian Association of Family Therapists, The Family Award for Children's Books
Walking the Boundaries 1994 Notable Book, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers Shortlisted in the Junior Section of the Australian Multicultural Children's Literature Awards
Rain Stones 1993 Shortlisted in the Primary Age Group of the WAYRBAs 1992 Shortlisted, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers 1991 Shortlisted, Children's Book Award in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards
The Roo that Won the Melbourne Cup 1992 Notable Book, CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers
And let's not forget the Half a Mars Bar Award! This was awarded to Jackie by two boys, who thought her books were the best in the universe and saved up to buy her a Mars Bar. But they ate half of it on the bus as they thought she wouldn't mind sharing[citation needed]
