Sophie Smiley (born 1 March 1957) is an author of books for children. She lives in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and is married with two sons.

Background

Smiley was born in a Dominican monastery near Cambridge. She now teaches English and is also a staff member of

Forest School Camps Forest School Camps (FSC) is an organization that is aimed primarily at children between the ages of 6 and 17. FSC has camps running throughout the year, the main ones lasting 13 nights during late July and August, with one week and weekend camps a ...

, working with both able students and those with learning difficulties. She is the daughter of the philosopher and logician

Timothy Smiley Timothy John Smiley FBA (born 13 November 1930) is a British philosopher, appointed Emeritus Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at Clare College, Cambridge University. He works primarily in philosophy of mathematics and logic. Life and care ...

Writing

Smiley is best known for her partnership with Michael Foreman. She has written five stories about a football-mad family. Her books include ''Bobby, Charlton and the Mountain'', ''Man of the Match'', ''Team Trouble'', ''Pirates Ahoy'', ''Pup on the Pitch'' and ''Snow Goalie''. ''Bobby, Charlton and the Mountain'' is the first story in the series and is centred on the female character Charlie, whose family avidly supports and participates in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. Her brother Bobby has been chosen to present a bouquet to

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

, and he is desperate to earn a football strip to wear for the occasion. The

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

described it as "An excellent story . . . so immediate, so animated". All her works have been published by

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiley, Sophie 1957 births Living people English children's writers