Bernard Ashley (author)
| Bernard Ashley | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1935 |
| Occupation | teacher and author of children's books |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | trained as a teacher at Trent Park College of Education |
| Genre | children's fiction |
| Notable awards | "The Other Award" for The Trouble with Donovan Croft |
Bernard Ashley (born 1935) is a British author of children's books. His debut novel, The Trouble with Donovan Croft, published in 1974, won "The Other Award", an alternative to the Carnegie Medal.[1] A Kind of Wild Justice (1978), Running Scared (1986), and Little Soldier (1999) were commended runners up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book.[2][lower-alpha 1] The first two have been reissued by OUP in their Children's Modern Classics series, the third re-issued in a 15th anniversary edition. Ashley's TV drama "Dodgem" (based on his own novel) won the Royal Television Society award for Best Entertainment programme (BBC) in 1993.
Biography
Ashley was born in Woolwich, south London[3] and trained as a teacher at Trent Park College of Education after his National Service in the RAF.[4] His teaching career included thirty years as headmaster,[4] his most recent schools being in south and east London, experience which gave the setting for many of his stories.[3] He has recently been awarded an honorary Doctorate in Education by the University of Greenwich and an honorary Doctorate in Letters by the University of Leicester.[4]
In the early sixties, Ashley completed an account of the lifeboat service for children, The Men and the Boats, first in the "Serving our society" series published by Allman & Son.[5]
He is now working full-time as a writer. His children's books present a gritty realism that children identify with, which provides a context for empathy and compassion for the underdog, and a desire for decency, justice and morality.[4] 2014 saw the publication of his 24th full-length novel for young people "Shadow of the Zeppelin" (Orchard Books) and 2015 his 25th - Dead End Kids.
Selected works
- The Men and the Boats: Britain's Lifeboat Service (London: Allman, 1968) ISBN 0-204-79372-6[5]
- No Way to Go – ISBN 978-1-4083-0239-2
- Ten Days to Zero – ISBN 978-1-84362-649-7
- Down to the Wire – ISBN 978-1-84616-965-6
- Angel Boy – ISBN 978-1-84507-814-0
- The Trouble with Donovan Croft – ISBN 978-0-19-275556-8 or ISBN 0-19-271888-6
- Solitaire – ISBN 978-0-7460-8137-2
- Flashpoint (The third 'Ben Maddox' adventure) – ISBN 978-1-84616-060-8
- Down to the Wire (The second 'Ben Maddox' adventure)
- Ten Days to Zero (The first of the 'Ben Maddox' adventures) – ISBN 1-84362-649-7
- The Play Version of Little Soldier – ISBN 0-435-12581-8
- Smoke Screen – ISBN 0-7460-6791-7
- Justin and the Demon Drop Kick – ISBN 1-903285-98-4
- Justin and the Grandad War – ISBN 978-1-85714-403-1
- Justin and the Big Fight – ISBN 978-1-85714-404-8
- I'm Trying to Tell You – ISBN 1-903285-99-2
- Little Soldier – ISBN 1-86039-879-0 (ISBN 0-439-28502-X US & Canada)
- Tiger without Teeth – ISBN 1-84299-196-5
- Torrent – ISBN 1-84299-196-5
- The Bush – ISBN 1-870516-60-5
- Johnnie's Blitz – ISBN 1-903015-28-6
- Freedom Flight – ISBN 1-84121-306-3
- Revenge House – ISBN 1-84121-814-6
- A Kind of Wild Justice – ISBN 0-19-271889-4[1]
- Double the Love – ISBN 1-84121-625-9 (hardback) or ISBN 1-84121-278-4
- Respect – ISBN 0-7136-4946-1
- Your Guess Is As Good As Mine – ISBN 1-903015-04-9
- Playing Against the Odds – ISBN 1-902260-69-4
- Cleversticks – ISBN 0-00-663855-4
- A Present for Paul – ISBN 0-00-664160-1
- Dinner Ladies Don't Count – ISBN 0-14-031593-4
- Justin and the Big Fight – ISBN 0-14-038386-7
- Growing Good – ISBN 0-7475-4149-3
- Rapid
- Roller Madonnas
- Who Loves you Billy?
- Bad Blood
- Break in the Sun
- Terry on the Fence
- Dodgem
- High Pavement Blues
- Janey
- Running Scared
- Seeing Off Uncle Jack
- Dockside School Stories and More Dockside School Stories
- City Limits – Stitch-Up, The Scam, Framed, Mean Street
- Clipper Street – Calling for Sam, Taller Than Before, Down and Out, The Royal Visit, Sally Cinderella, All I Ever Ask
- A Bit of Give and Take
- Flash
- King Rat
- Your Guess is as Good as Mine – ISBN 978-1-903015-04-9
- Angel Boy (2008)
- No Way to Go (2009)
- Ronnie's War (2010)
- Aftershock (2011)
- Dive Bombing (2012)
- Hero Girls (2012)
- Jack and the German Spy (2013)
- Shadow of the Zeppelin (2014)
- Nadine Dreams of Home (2014)
- Torrent (2015)
- The Way It Is (2015)
- Dead End Kids (2015)
See also
Notes
- ↑ Today there are usually eight books on the Carnegie shortlist. According to CCSU some runners up through 2002 were Commended (from 1954) or Highly Commended (from 1966). There were about 160 commendations of both kinds in 49 years including three for 1978 and four for 1986 (one highly commended).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bernard Ashley (June 2002). A Kind of Wild Justice. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-19-271889-1. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ "Carnegie Medal Award". 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bernard Ashley (3 March 2011). Little Soldier. Hachette Children's Books. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-4083-1526-2. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Bernard Ashley". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The men and the boats; Britain's life-boat service". Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
External links
|