Leila Berg

Leila Berg

Leila Berg (born 1917) is a British children's author, known also as a journalist and writer on education and children's rights. She began writing in a more realistic and gritty style, for younger children, in the 1960s, in the "Nippers" series of readers in an influential move designed to bring children's books closer to ordinary, real, urban life, and away from the Janet and John reader style. (And, probably, the comforts of Enid Blyton's world, a ubiquitous influence of the period.) She was awarded the Eleanor Farjeon Medal in 1973 for her work.

She was brought up in Salford, Lancashire in a Jewish doctor's family; she wrote vividly about this part of her life in "Flickerbook" (1997). There she describes also later meetings in Cambridge through her older brother, particularly with Margot Heinemann, and J. B. S. Haldane whom she would reference obliquely in the early "Chunky" books. She associated with Young Communist League members at the time of the Spanish Civil War (in which she lost two lovers) and eventually joined it. Her first job as a journalist was with the British communist daily paper The Daily Worker (later renamed "The Morning Star").

She was influenced in her thinking by psychologist Susan Isaacs. After working as a journalist in World War II, during which she married and started a family, she started to write children's fiction. She also took an interest in the progressive education movement of A. S. Neill, Michael Duane, head of Risinghill school, and John Holt. She became children's editor for the publisher Methuen. As she said, " All my life I have sought to empower children" (speech at honorary degree ceremony [ [http://www.essex.ac.uk/vc/orate1999/LeilaBergRESPONSE.rtf Available as an RTF file] ] , University of Essex).

Works

*"Fourteen What-Do-You-Know Stories" (1948)
*"The Adventures of Chunky" (1950)
*"The Nightingale and other stories" (1951)
*"The Tired Train and Other Listen With Mother and Let's Join In Stories" (1952)
*"Trust Chunky" (1954)
*"Fire Engine by Mistake" (1955)
*"Lollipops: Stories and Poems" (1957)
*"Andy's Pit Pony" (1958)
*"A Box for Benny" (1958)
*"The Hidden Road" (1958)
*"Little Pete Stories" (1959)
*"Four Feet & Two and Some with None, an Anthology of Verse" (1960) editor
*"Three Men Went to Work" (1966)
*"Folk Tales for Reading & Telling" (1966)
*"My Dog Sunday" (1968)
*"Finding a Key" (1968) Nippers series
*"Jimmy's Story" (1968) Nippers series
*"The Jumble Sale" (1968) Nippers series
*"Risinghill: Death of a Comprehensive School" (1968)
*"Raising Hell" Play, commissioned by Salisbury Playhouse, based on the Risinghill book (1969) [ [http://www.unschooling.com/gws/?p=66 Letter to John Holt] ]
*"Neill Summerhill: A Man and His Work. A Pictorial Study" (1969) with John Walmsley
*"Bouncing" (1971) Nippers series
*"Children's Rights: Toward the Liberation of the Child" (1971) with Paul Adams, Nan Berger, Michael Duane, A.S. Neill, Robert Ollendorff
*"The Train Back: A Search for Parents" (1972) with Pat Chapman
*"Look at Kids" (1972)
*"The Little Car" (1974)
*"The Little Car Has a Day Out" (1974)
*"Tracy's Story" (1974) Nippers series
*"Reading and Loving" (1976)
*"Tales for Telling" (1983)
*"Vacuum Cleaners" (1985)
*"Blood and Bandages" (1986)
*"Time for One More" (1992)
*"Flickerbook" (1997) autobiography 1917-1939
*"God Stories: A Celebration of Legends" (1999)
*"Julie's Story" Nippers Series
*"Backwards and Forwards: Children Talking, Older People Remembering and Writing, editor

References

Also see

* Susan Sutherland Isaacs
* A. S. Neill
* Michael Duane (head teacher)

External links

* [http://www.aspects.net/~leilaberg/biofromtgs.htm Biography]
* [http://www.risinghill.co.uk/ Risinghill School website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leila Hyams — Infobox actor name = Leila Hyams imagesize = 220px caption = Leila Hyams birthname = birthdate = birth date|1905|5|1|mf=y location = New York, New York, United States deathdate = death date and age|1977|12|4|1905|5|1|mf=y deathplace = Bel Air,… …   Wikipedia

  • Natanael Berg — Carl Natanael Rexroth Berg (9 February 1879, Stockholm – 14 October 1957, Stockholm) was a Swedish composer. Berg trained in veterinary medicine and began learning music by teaching himself. He later studied at the Stockholm Conservatory as the… …   Wikipedia

  • Natanael Berg — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Berg. Natanael Berg Nom de naissance Carl Natanael Rexroth Berg …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Natanael Berg — Carl Natanael Berg (* 9. Februar 1879 in Stockholm; † 14. Oktober 1957 ebd.) war ein schwedischer Komponist. Berg studierte Tiermedizin und bildete sich zunächst musikalisch als Autodidakt. Er studierte dann am Konservatorium von Stockholm wo er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Michael Duane (head teacher) — Infobox Person name = (William) Michael Duane image size = caption = birth date = 1915 birth place = Ireland death date = 1997 education = Dominican School, Archway, London; Jesuits School, Stamford Hill; Institute of Education; University of… …   Wikipedia

  • Michael Duane — (William) Michael Duane Born 1915 Ireland Died 1997 Education Dominican School, Archway, London; Jesuits School, Stamford Hill; Institute of Education; University of Nottingham Occupation head teac …   Wikipedia

  • children's literature — Body of written works produced to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature, picture books and easy to read stories, and fairy tales, lullabies, fables,… …   Universalium

  • Communist Party of Great Britain — Not to be confused with Communist Party of Britain. Communist Party of Great Britain Founded 1920 Dissolved 1991 Preceded by British Socialist Party Communist Unity Group South Wales Socialist Society …   Wikipedia

  • Wivenhoe — This article is about the town in England. For other uses, see Wivenhoe (disambiguation). Coordinates: 51°51′30″N 0°57′55″E / 51.8582°N 0.9653°E / …   Wikipedia

  • A. S. Neill — Alexander Sutherland Neill Neill on his birthday Born 17 October 1883 (1883 10 17) Forfar, Scotland …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”