Robin Klein

Robin Klein
Born	28 February 1936 (1936-02-28) (age 75) Kempsey, NSW, Australia
Occupation	author, novels
Genres	Children and Young Adult Fiction
Notable work(s)	Hating Alison Ashley

Robin McMaugh Klein is an Australian author of books for children. She was born 28 February 1936, in Kempsey, New South Wales and now resides near Melbourne.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Awards 4 Bibliography 4.1 Adaptations 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

Early life

Robin Klein was one of nine children.^[1] She had her first short story published at the age of sixteen. She worked in number of jobs before becoming an established writer, such as tea lady at a warehouse, as a bookshop assistant, a nurse, copper enamelist, and program aide at a school for disadvantaged children.^[2] In 1981 she was awarded a Literature Board grant for writing and since then she has had more than twenty books published

Career

Several of her books have been short-listed for the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award, including Hating Alison Ashley (also a film starring Delta Goodrem) and Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left (filmed as a television series for the Seven Network in 1992). Klein's novel Came Back to Show You I Could Fly won a Human Rights Award for Literature in 1989 and also won the 1990 Australian Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers. It was filmed as Say a Little Prayer in 1993. She wrote her first short story at the age of 16.

Several of her other books have received awards in Australia, including the South Australian Festival Award for Literature, which she won in 1998 with The Listmaker. Many others including Boss of the Pool have also won or been short listed.

Robin Klein suffered an aneurysm rupture, and, while she survived, as of 2005^[update] she lives in a nursing home and is no longer able to write or do significant publicity work for her books.

Awards

• 1978 - Special mention, Critici in Erba Prize at Bologna for The Giraffe in Pepperell Street^[3]
• 1989 - Human Rights Literature and Awards^[4]
• 1991 - Canberra’s Own Outstanding List (COOL), Fiction for Older Readers Award for People Might Hear You
• 1992 - Canberra’s Own Outstanding List (COOL), Fiction for Older Readers Award for Came Back to Show You I Could Fly

Bibliography

• The giraffe in Pepperell Street (Hodder and Stoughton, 1978) illustrated by Gill Tomblin
• Thing (Oxford University Press, 1982) illustrated by Alison Lester
• People Might Hear You (Puffin Books, 1983)
• Junk Castle (Oxford University Press, 1983) illustrated by Rolf Heimann
• Penny Pollard's Diary (Oxford University Press, 1983) illustrated by Ann James
• Oodoolay (Era Publications, c1983) illustrated by Vivienne Goodman
• Brock and the dragon (Hodder & Stoughton, 1984) pictures beGCSZXy Rodney McRae
• Ratbags and rascals : funny stories (J.M. Dent, 1984) illustrated by Alison Lester
• Thingnapped! (Oxford University Press, 1984)
• Hating Alison Ashley (Puffin Books, 1984)
• Penny Pollard's Letters (Oxford University Press, 1984) illustrated by Ann James
• Thalia, the failure (Ashton Scholastic, 1984) illustrated by Rhyll Plant
• The Enemies (Angus & Robertson, 1985) illustrated by Noela Young
• Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left (Viking Kestrel, 1985)
• Serve him right! (Edward Arnold (Australia), 1985) drawings by john Burge
• You're on your own! (Edward Arnold, 1985)
• Good for something (Edward Arnold Australia, 1985)
• Separate places (Roo Books, 1985) illustrated by Astra Lacis
• Snakes and Ladders : poems about the ups and downs of life (J.M. Dent, 1985) illustrated by Ann James
• Games (Viking Kestrel, 1986) illustrations by Melissa Webb
• Penny Pollard in Print (Oxford University Press, 1986) illustrated by Ann James
• Boss of the Pool (Omnibus in association with Penguin, 1986)
• The princess who hated it (Omnibus Books, 1986) illustrated by Maire Smith
• Robin Klein's crookbook (Methuen Australia, 1987) illustrated by Kristen Hilliard
• Don't tell Lucy (Methuen Australia, 1987)
• Birk, the Berserker (Omnibus Books, 1987) illustrated by Alison Lester
• The lonely hearts club (Oxford University Press, 1987) with Max Dann
• I shot an arrow (Viking Kestrel, 1987) illustrated by Geoff Hocking]
• Christmas (Methuen, c1987) illustrated by Kristen Hilliard
• Penny Pollard's Passport (Oxford University Press, 1988) illustrated by Ann James
• Laurie Loved Me Best (Viking Kestrel, 1988)
• Jane's mansion (Shortland, 1988) illustrated by Melissa Webb
• The Kidnapping of Clarissa Montgomery (Shortland, 1988) illustrated by Jane Wallace-Mitchel
• Penny Pollard's Guide to Modern Manners (Oxford University Press, 1989)
• Against the odds (Puffin Books, 1989) illustrated by Bill Wood
• Honoured guest (Angus & Robertson, 1989)
• Came Back to Show You I Could Fly (Viking Penguin, 1989)
• The ghost in Abigail Terrace (Omnibus Books, 1989) illustrated by Margaret Power
• Tearaways (Puffin, 1991, c1990) (First published as Stories to make you think twice)
• Boris and Borsch (Allen & Unwin, 1990) illustrated by Cathy Wilcox
• Tearaways (Viking, 1990)
• All in the Blue Unclouded Weather (Viking, c1991)
• Dresses of Red and Gold (Viking, 1992)
• Amy's Bed (Omnibus Books, 1992) illustrated by Coral Tulloch
• Seeing Things (Penguin Books Australia, 1993)
• Turn Right for Zyrgon (Puffin, 1994)
• The Sky in Silver Lace (Penguin, 1995)
• Thing finds a job (Hodder Headline, 1996) with Alison Lester
• Thing's concert (Hodder Healine, 1996) with Alison Lester
• Thing's birthday (Hodder Headline, 1996) with Alison Lester
• Thingitis (Hodder Headline, 1996) with Alison Lester
• The Listmaker (Viking, 1997)
• Barney's Blues (Puffin, 1998) illustrated by David Cox
• The Goddess (Lothian, 1998) illustrated by Anne Spudvilas
• Gabby's fair (Omnibus Books, 1998) illustrated by Michael Johnson
• Penny Pollard's scrapbook (Hodder Children's Books Australia, 1999) illustrated by Ann James
• Anything happens

Adaptations

• Thing - Television
• Penny Pollard's Diary - Television
• Hating Alison Ashley - Play; adapted for the stage by Richard Tulloch
• Hating Alison Ashley - Film; adapted for the screen by Chris Anastassiades and Christine Madafferi, 2005.
• Boss of the pool - Play; adapted for the stage by Mary Morris
• Say a Little Prayer - Film; adapted for the screen and Directed by Richard Lowenstein, 1993.
• Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left - Television; adapted for the screen by Michael Harvey and John Reeves, 1994

Notes

References

• MS 9301- Papers of Robin Klein (1936 - ) National Library of Australia (Retrieved 11 August 2007)
• CYSS (NSW) Nancy Booker Honour Lecture 2000 by Margaret Hamilton (Retrieved 11 August 2007)
• Biography of Robin Klein (1936-) Answers.com
• 1989 Human Rights Medal and Awards

External links

• Penguin Books author profile
• Fan site for the Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left television series
• Sophie Masson describes Klein's illness
• Internet Movie Database entry for Robin Klein
• Say a Little Prayer (movie)

Persondata
Name	Klein, Robin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	28 February 1936
Place of birth	Kempsey, NSW, Australia
Date of death
Place of death