Ursula Jones: children's author & actress
sister of Diana Wynne Jones
- reader of some DWJ books on tape
- co-writer of children's novel "completed by Ursula Jones"
- Illustrators
- Rebecca Elgar (debut 1991) basics
Done - Mike Perkins (graphic 2001) basics Done
- i172291, three interiors
- Russell Ayto (Witch's Children 2001–2008?) basics Done
- Sarah Gibb (Princess 2010–2014) basics + ISFDB Done
Ursula Jones
editUrsula Jones is a British actress and a children's writer best known for The Witch's Children series of picture books (2001–2008). During the spring of 2013 she completed a children's fantasy novel begun by her sister Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011): The Islands of Chaldea, published by HarperCollins a year later.[1]
Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England, and then worked in a weekly rep theatre company. Some time later she joined the Unicorn Theatre for Children (established 1947)[1] where she wrote many of the plays.[2] One of her street shows, "Monkey Puzzle, was commissioned as the British contribution to a European Festival of Theatre for Young People."[2] As an actress she has worked with "my favourite genius, Alan Ayckbourn", and for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre.[2]
Jones was scriptwriter for the BBC TV series Greenclaws (1988/89), and some of her picture book stories "grew out of" that.[2][3]
The Catchpole Agency is her literary agent.[2]
1998 film Ever After, as Isabella, 1:40 clip at TV Guide http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/ursula-jones/275979
Books
edit- Key
- (Publisher, Year) --UK edition
- link without publ --only US data found
- Dear Clare: My Ex Best Friend, Rebecca Elgar (Knight Books, 1991) 172pp http://worldcat.org/oclc/24751563 "the first of my books for 9-13 year-olds", she says; (set at her shop?) in the Cotswolds
- The Kidnappers, Mike Perkins (A & C Black, 2001) – graphic, 70pp http://worldcat.org/oclc/45439129
"My picture books grew out of two T.V. series for younger viewers, Greenclaws, which the BBC asked me to script." http://ursulajones.co.uk/about.html
- The Witch's Children, Russell Ayto (Orchard Books, 2001) unpaged http://worldcat.org/oclc/59521609 – illustrator Ayto made the Greenaway Medal shortlist[4] – ages 6–8 Kirkus says (positive)
- The Witch's Children and the Queen, Ayto (Orchard, 2003) unpaged http://worldcat.org/oclc/59468345 – Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, ages 0–5 years
- The Witch's Children Go to School, Ayto (Orchard, 2008) unpaged http://worldcat.org/oclc/271841137 – Roald Dahl Funny Prize, ages 0–6 years[5]
- The Princess Who Had No Kingdom, Sarah Gibb (Orchard, 2010)[6] unpaged (US ed. fc 2014-09[3])
- Beauty and the Beast, Gibb (Orchard, 2011) unpaged (US ed. fc 2014-03[4]) – retelling of the traditional fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" http://worldcat.org/oclc/818014727 – ages 5–8, "rich in color and design but less than satisfying in the telling" Kirkus says (and pans text)
- The Princess Who Had No Fortune, Gibb (Orchard, 2014)
- The Lost King (Cheltenham: Inside Pocket, 2012) 349pp http://worldcat.org/oclc/778327623 – first of a trilogy – ages 11–14 Kirkus says (in a STARRED review, 2012-11-15)
- The Youngstars (Inside Pocket, 2012) 367pp http://worldcat.org/oclc/769471688 ages 10+ she says – historical novel set in 1936, featuring a teenage troupe on tour in northern England, she says
- US edition, Star Turn (Inside Pocket, 2012) 367pp http://worldcat.org/oclc/779261394 [clarification needed] ages 12–14 Kirkus says (and pans)
- The Islands of the Chaldea, Diana Wynne Jones and Ursula Jones (HarperCollins Children's Books, February 2014) 352pp
References
edit- ^ a b Flood, Alison (24 June 2013). "Diana Wynne Jones's final book completed by sister". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-04-25. The headline is a poor match for the content which closes, 'Jones said there were also "other things were coming to light" among her sister's papers. "She left behind a mass of stuff", she said.'
- ^ a b c d e "About me". Ursula Jones. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ Greenclaws at IMDb. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ "Shortlists for the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awarded in 2002". Press release 2002. CILIP. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ "Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2008". Booktrust (booktrust.org.uk). Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ^ "The Princess Who Had No Kingdom". Ursula Jones (ursulajones.co.uk). Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- Citations – websites
- Ursula Jones: children's author & actress. Ursula Jones (ursulajones.co.uk). Retrieved 2014-04-25.
External links
edit- Official website, "Ursula Jones: children's author & actress"
- Ursula Jones at IMDb
- IMDb lists one 2003 TV movie; two feature films 1998 and 1999; TV 1985 to 1995
- "She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to music." music?
- Ursula Jones at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Kirkus search: Jones, Ursula (four, as of 2014-10-19)
- 2003-04-01 The Witch's Children (Holt, 2003-04-01) picture book 6-8 (good) [5]
- 2012-11-15 The Lost King [first in a trilogy she says] (Inside Pocket, 2012-12-01) fantasy 11-14 (STARRED) [6]
- 2013-01-01 Star Turn (Inside Pocket, 2013-02-01) historical fiction 12-14, 1936 (poor) [7] --US ed. of Youngstars?
- 2014-01-01 Beauty and the Beast (Whitman, 2014-03-01) picture book/fairy tale 5-8 (mediocre) [8]
- 2014-02-15 Islands of Chaldea (Greenwillow, 2014-04-22) fantasy 10-13 (good) [9]
(reviewed as by Diana Wynne Jones)
- Ursula Jones at Library of Congress, with 8 library catalogue records (evidently combines more than one Ursula Jones)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
--none of the authorities evidently identifies works by other writers
--LC blurb fits but four works (3rd to 6th as listed) are by other writers; NL is a mix too