“Gene Kemp has addressed a wide range of readers in a variety of genres. She is a very funny writer who writes with a passionate concern for dignity and justice; there is a large space in her work for the underprivileged and the marginalized, and a grittiness in their representation which refuses any reader temptation to sentimentalize them.” Gillian Cross
Gene Kemp was one of Britain’s most inventive and imaginative children’s authors, writing with a unique combination of riotous comedy, human sympathy and natural realism. In 1984 she was awarded an honorary degree for her books, which have been translated into numerous languages. Gene also wrote for radio and television. Gene Kemp was born in Staffordshire in 1926. After studying at Exeter University, she taught in a primary school for 16 years. She lived in Devon and was married with three children. She died in 2015.
You can find out more about Gene Kemp in these articles:
‘Authorgraph‘ in Books for Keeps from 1988 Obituary in the Guardian, 2015
Gene Kemp ▸ Books
40 books, including:
9 Cricklepit School stories (including one joke book)
8 country childhood books including 5 Tamworth Pigs and 2 Goosey Farms
9 ghost stories
4 books for young adults
The Cricklepit School Stories
8 exquisitely observed books about everyday life in a secondary school, which somehow always turns out to be exciting and funny. For children aged 8-12 years.
“One of the most realistic depictions of life in an inner-city school in fiction” Nerds in Space blog
Click on a book cover for details:
Country childhood
A pig with a mind (and a campaigning career) of his own, has introduced children to green issues and the countryside since long before those concerns were so mainstream.
The Goosey Farm books are based on Gene’s own childhood, growing up in the country.
