Phyllis May Flowerdew (9 January 1913 – 10 May 1994[2]) was one of the most successful writers of children's educational books in the UK and British Commonwealth; it is estimated that she sold over seven million copies since her first publication in 1948.[according to whom?]
Phyllis May Flowerdew | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 January 1913[1] Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
| Died | 1994 (aged 80–81) |
Biography
editShe was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Flowerdew trained as a primary school teacher at Southlands College in south London, and spent the Second World War years teaching in South Africa; her experiences there provided plentiful material for her storytelling and writing career. On her return to Britain, she taught in schools in Oxfordshire until the late 1950s when she became a full-time author. Soon after her return, she was asked by the Edinburgh publisher Oliver and Boyd (now part of the Longman Publishing Group itself part of Pearson Education) to work with the Australian educationalist Fred Schonell. Schonell, in collaboration with his wife Eleanor, had recently published two series of elementary reading books for children: 'The Happy Venture' and 'Wide Range' series, using the highly controlled accumulated vocabulary for which he became famous. Oliver and Boyd saw the need to put Schonell together with a skilled storyteller; the resulting partnership with Flowerdew proved successful, with the publication in 1948 of the first 'Wide Range Readers' and then from 1954 onwards, the 'Happy Venture Library Books'.
The 'Wide Range Reader' series were remarkably successful, running through several editions, and still in print in 2017. Oliver and Boyd, and their successor publishers, then commissioned Flowerdew to write for them until the 1970s, and sought her active involvement in a third edition of the Readers in the early 1980s.
Flowerdew also collaborated with Sam Stewart, an editor at Oliver and Boyd in the 1958 publication of 'Reading On' and with another very prolific children's writer Ronald Ridout on the 'Reading to Some Purpose' series, 1961 onwards. Flowerdew also wrote many books on her own, e.g. the 'Flamingo' series, and the 'New Interest' series, 1972 onwards.
Flowerdew's success can be attributed to the very strict grading of language, which enables young readers to steadily and cumulatively build confidence, her storytelling ability and an eye for interesting material. Her writing included the purely fictional, the retelling of traditional stories, and non-fictional, the latter generally being historical, with a focus on the stories of individuals with courage and vision. In some cases, for example, the story of Mary Seacole in the New Interest Reader, helping rescue notable people from obscurity.[3][4][5][6][7]
References
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- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 Vol 9a Page 696
- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007,Name: Phyllis May Kingsbury Death Age:81 Birth Date:9 Jan 1913 Registration Date:May 1994 Registration district:Cheltenham Inferred County:Gloucestershire Register Number:B44D District and Subdistrict:4791B Entry Number:226
- ^ Kingsbury, N., Jarvie, G., Obituary: Readers of the wide range, 17.May.1994, The Guardian, London.
- ^ staff writer, 'Some Readers', 9.September.1949. The Times Educational Supplement, London.
- ^ Wildin, Leonard, 'Language for Children', 21.July.1972, The Teacher, London.
- ^ Whiteley, Jack, 'Arousing and Satisfying Curiosity', 23, February, 1973, Times Educational Supplement, London.
- ^ Corrin, Stephen, 'Telling Phrases',7.March.1975, Times Educational Supplement, London.