ROBIN KLEIN

1. ROBIN KLEIN (Robin McMaugh Klein)

2. One of Australia's most beloved and awarded writers for young people, Robin Klein's works range from picture books such as Thing and The Giraffe in Pepperell to the middle-grade stories featuring of ten-year-old Penny Pollard, to young-adult novels such as People Might Hear You, Games, and Came Back to Show You I Could Fly. As Stephanie Nettell observed in Books for Keeps, Klein "is a marvelously gutsy writer who relishes the drama of everyday life." Many of Klein's best-known books, have been published in the United States.

3. Born in Kempsey, New South Wales, in 1936, Klein was part of a farming family, although she spent much of her childhood living in the suburbs. Before becoming a writer, she had several different jobs, including working as a nurse, at a bookstore, and as an aide teaching at a school for the disadvantaged. Writing proved to be most in line with her personality; as she explained to Nettell: "I was hopeless as a teacher because I never kept order: they'd come and put an arm round my shoulder and we'd end up with a chat session." Although she made her home in the more rural Australian countryside—"the bush"—for much of her adult life, Klein sets many of her books in urban or suburban neighborhoods and she often features young protagonists who rebel against their structured environment. As the author once commented, "most of my books seem to have a strong female character, capable of dealing with any problem that arises."

4. Klein's first published book, The Giraffe in Pepperell Street, appeared in 1978, while she was still working as a school aide. Written in verse, the picture book was described as "humorous" and "sophisticated" by Junior Bookshelf contributor J. Russell, and also received a special mention at the annual Children's Book Fair in Bologna, Italy. Three years later, after publishing two more books, Honoured Guest and Sprung!, Klein decided to make writing a full-time job, and she produced one of her best-known picture books, Thing, the following year. Thing introduces readers to Emily, a young girl who brings home what she thinks is a rock, only to watch the "rock" crack and a tiny stegosaurus dinosaur hatch from it. Although the family's landlady does not allow pets of any kind, when Thing saves the woman's possessions from a group of thieves the landlady reconsiders. E. Colwell, reviewing Thing in Junior Bookshelf, declared that Klein and illustrator Alison Lester "have created an appealing creature, both in words and pictures." Writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Zena Sutherland noted that "what makes the story particularly enjoyable is the blandness with which others accept the stegosaurus; the police who come to get the burglars, for example, say "But would you kindly ask your dinosaur to step out of the way?'" Thing proved so popular with readers that Klein published a sequel, Thingnapped!, in 1984.

5. Writing for older readers, Klein introduced her popular heroine Penny Pollard in 1983, in Penny Pollard's Diary. A unique feature of Klein's "Penny Pollard" books—which include Penny Pollard's Letters, Penny Pollard in Print, Penny Pollard's Passport, Penny Pollard's Guide to Modern Manners, and Penny Pollard's Scrapbook: is their use of diary entries, letters, newspaper articles, and other print materials to tell Penny's stories. Describing her "Penny Pollard" books, Klein told Nettell that she views Penny as "a sturdy, delightful character, with a message for girls in particular that 'you don't always need Daddy or big brother to solve your problems'—she can solve her own problems, though she's not tough all the way through." In Penny Pollard's Diary the ten-year-old tomboy and horse-lover is faced with the unpleasant task of visiting the old people's home as a class project, then finds the tables turned when she meets an elderly woman who is just as high-spirited as she is. Penny Pollard's Guide to Modern Manners finds Penny chastised for over-the-top behavior and assigned the position of classroom "Etiquette Trouble Shooter": dealing with everything from bed-wetting traumas to table manners. In Penny Pollard's Scrapbook the girl deals with the unwelcome announcement that her family is moving by turning to Saint Jude for help so that she doesn't have to leave her beloved Koringa Primary School. "All the little boys in Australia are in love with" Penny Pollard, Klein explained to Nettell, "and write to her as if she exists."

6. AWARDS, HONORS Special mention, Critici in Erba Awards at Bologna Children's Book Fair, 1979, for The Giraffe in Pepperell Street; Australian Junior Book of the Year Award, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), 1983, for Thing; Book of the Year Award Highly Commended citation, CBCA, 1984, for Penny Pollard's Diary; senior fellowship grant, Arts Council of Australia Literature Board, 1985; CBCA Book of the Year designation, Australian Children's Book of the Year shortlist, for People Might Hear You and Seeing Things, both 1984, Hating Alison Ashley, 1985, and Halfway across the

7. Galaxy and Turn Left, 1986; Young Australian Best Book Award, 1986, and Kids Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA), 1997, and South Australia Kanga Award list, 2004, all for Hating Alison Ashley; Human Rights Award for Literature, 1989, and Australian Children's Book of the Year Award for Older Readers, Victorian Premier's Literary Award shortlist, Bologna Children's Book Fair White Raven Book designation, New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, all 1990, and COOL Award, 1992, all for Came Back to Show You I Could Fly;Dromkeen Medal, 1991, for contributions to children's literature in Australia; KOALA award, 1992, for People Might Hear You; New South Wales State Literary Award, 1992, for All in the Blue Unclouded Weather; South Australian Festival Award for Literature, 1998, and Books I Love Best Yearly honor (Queensland), 1999, both for The Listmaker; honorary doctor of letters, University of Newcastle, 2004.

8. WRITINGS For Children • The Giraffe in Pepperell Street, illustrated by Gill Tomblin, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Astralia), 1978. • Honoured Guest, illustrated by Margaret Power, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1979. • Thing (also see below), illustrated by Alison Lester, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1982. • Sprung!, illustrated by Margaret Power, Rigby, 1982. • People Might Hear You (also see below), Penguin (Ringwood, Victoria, Australia), 1983, Viking (New York, NY), 1984. • Junk Castle, illustrated by Rolf Heimann, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1983, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1984.

9. BIOGRAPHICAL AND SOURCES BOOK • Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1992. • Children's Literature Review, Volume 21, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1991, pp. 156-165. • Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1994.

10. PERIODICALS • Booklist, March 15, 1992, Chris Sherman, review of All in the Blue Unclouded Weather, p. 1349; February 15, 1996, Susan Dove Lempke, review of The Sky in Silver Lace, p. 1021. • Books for Keeps, September, 1985, Stephanie Nettell, "Stephanie Nettell Introduces Robin Klein," p. 26. • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November, 1983, p. 52; November, 1990, Roger Sutton, review of Came Back to Show You I Could Fly, p. 64; April, 1992, Roger Sutton, review of All in the Blue Unclouded Weather, p. 211; May, 1993, Roger Sutton, review of Dresses of Red and Gold, p. 286; April, 1994, Roger Sutton, review of Seeing Things, p. 263; February, 1996, Roger Sutton, review of The Sky in Silver Lace, p. 194. • Growing Point, March, 1984, Margery Fisher, review of People Might Hear You, p. 4208. • Horn Book, May-June, 1992, p. 341; July-August, 1993, Ann Flowers, review of Dresses of Red and Gold, p. 467; May-June, 1996, Ann Flowers, review of The Sky in Silver Lace, p. 340. • Junior Bookshelf, August, 1979, p. 196; October, 1982, p. 182. • Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 1988, review of Laurie Loved Me Best, p. 1740; June 1, 1993, review of Dresses of Red and Gold, p. 723; February 1, 1994, review of Seeing Things, p. 145. • Learning, November-December, 1986, review of Penny Pollard's Letters, p. 56.