Children’s Authors: Sam Youd (a.k.a. John Christopher) on writing and being edited
This is Part 2 of the series “Children’s Authors on Writing.” Read also Part 1, on Enid Blyton.
by Allyson Latta
John Christopher (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012)
Oh, how eagerly we anticipated those grade 5 reading sessions. When the time came, our teacher would sit on a stool at the front of the classroom, open her book, and wait for us to stop fidgeting and fussing, cackling and chatting before she’d begin. And once she did, we sat at our desks listening raptly, girls and boys both, as she granted us a chapter or two at a time of The White Mountains, the first of John Christopher’s sci-fi trilogy about the invasion of Earth by the alien Tripods.
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
Children’s Authors: Enid Blyton on writing from life
A guest post I wrote recently (Dutch Boys and Fast Boats) for the amazing Blog of Green Gables: a mother–daughter reading journal by Kristen den Hartog and “N,” got me thinking about the books that made an impression on me as a child. Not long after the post appeared, I was sad to learn that John Christopher (real name Christopher Youd, and he wrote under many pen names), an author I’d loved as a girl, passed away on February 3, 2012. I’ll remember John Christopher especially for The White Mountains fantasy trilogy, which an elementary school teacher read to our class — captivating me completely — and which I later read to my sons.
Friday, February 17th, 2012
