Ruth Thomas (4 January 1927 – 25 August 2011) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author of

children's fiction Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. For her first novel, ''

The Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", "Queens of N ...

'', she won the 1988

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

, an annual book award judged by a panel of British children's writers. Thomas was born in

Wellington, Somerset Wellington is a market town in rural Somerset, a county in the west of England, situated south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the tow ...

, England, to two primary school teachers. Her books draw on her own experiences as a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

teacher, at first in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

; during the 1980s in

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

, north west London.

Publications

* ''

'' (1987) * ''The Class That Went Wild'' (1989) * ''The Secret'' (1991) * ''The New Boy'' (1992) * ''Guilty!'' (1993) * ''Hideaway'' (1994) * ''The Paper Bag Baby'' (2002)

References

External links

Ruth Thomas At RandomHouse
English children's writers Schoolteachers from Somerset Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners Alumni of the University of Bristol 1927 births 2011 deaths Place of death missing {{UK-child-writer-stub