Sheila Lavelle

Sheila Lavelle
Born
Sheila Edmundson[1]

1939 (1939)[2]
Died (aged 62)[2]
GenreChildren's literature

Sheila Lavelle (née Edmundson, 1939–2001), was an English children's writer. She is best known for the Ursula Bear and My Best Fiend series; the latter was a best-seller.[2][3][4][5] In 1993, she was described as "one of the most successful children's authors in Britain".[6]

Early life and education

Sheila Edmundson was born in 1939 in Dunston, Gateshead.[1][2] She attended Dunston Grammar School.[1] She trained to be a teacher in Birmingham.[2]

Career

Lavelle worked as a teacher in infant schools for ten years.[5] She stopped teaching after becoming ill.[2][6] Her first book was Ursula Bear (1977).[2][5] She had previously written fiction for magazines.[6] In 1991, she said that she wrote four or five books each year.[7] By 1994, she had published over forty books.[8]

In 1991 Lavelle was awarded the 1990 East Kilbride Children's Book Award.[3][5][9][10] Following the award, she visited 22 local schools to talk to children.[3]

Lavelle said of her writing that "My experience as a teacher been invaluable. I know the reading capabilities of young children and know from my own experiences of the classroom what kind of stories go down well".[1] She said "I do not write down to my readers or keep the vocabulary simple. Children need a challenge when reading to extend their own vocabulary".[11]

The My Best Fiend series is described by Julie Cross in Humor in Contemporary Junior Literature (2010) as "featur[ing] the antics of Angela, a deliberately transgressive, even cruel girl, whose practical jokes are relayed and narrated by her friend Charlie, who frequently suffers at the hands of Angela".[12] The East Kilbride News described the series as "very funny ... [with] wicked and inventive humour".[3]

One of her books, The Chocolate Candy Kid (1986), was included in the "Toppers" series for reluctant readers, published by Marilyn Malin.[13]

Her books were read as audiobooks by Jill Bennett.[5] In 1991 My Best Fiend was read on BBC Radio 5 by Annabelle Lanyon.[4] In 1991, there was a plan to televise the My Best Fiend series.[5] Most of Lavelle's books were illustrated by Thelma Lambert.[5]

In 1993, Lavelle said she visited about twenty libraries and schools a year to talk to children about her books.[14] She attended book fairs too.[5]

Reception

Julia Eccleshare, writing in The Guardian, recommended Lavelle's Ursula Bear (1977), "the delightful story of a little girl who can turn herself into a bear with the help of a magic spell she has learnt from a library book".[15] The Signal Review of Children's Books said of More Adventures of Ursula Bear (1983) that "The stories of a little girl who can turn herself into a bear are much enjoyed by older infants".[16] New Books for Boys & Girls wrote of The Disappearing Granny (1985) that "Sheila Lavelle's gift for lively dialogue and brisk action makes this a good choice for younger readers".[17] Dorothy Butler, in Babies Need Books (1988), called Everybody said No! (1978) "uproarious".[18] The Junior Bookshelf said of Calamity with the Fiend (1994) that "Sheila Lavelle has a nice line in malapropisms which should amuse the more sophisticated".[19]

Personal life

Lavelle was married to Derek; they had two children.[2][5] In 1989 she and her husband moved to Borgue, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.[5][20][21] They had previously lived in Buckinghamshire.[22]

She died in 2001, aged 62.[2]

Selected books

Ursula Bear

  • Ursula Bear (1977, Gazelle Books, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula Dancing (1979, Hamish Hamilton)
  • More Adventures of Ursula Bear (1983, Beaver Books)
  • Ursula Riding (1985, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula by the Sea (1986, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula Camping (1986, Young Corgi)
  • Ursula on the Farm (1987, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula Sailing (1987, Young Corgi)
  • Ursula Climbing (1988, Young Corgi)
  • Ursula Exploring (1989, Young Corgi)
  • Ursula Flying (1989, Young Corgi)
  • Ursula Skiing (1989, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula in the Snow (1989, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula Swimming (1990, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula Ballooning (1992, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Ursula on Safari (1992, Hamish Hamilton)

My Best Fiend

  • My Best Fiend (1980, Young Lions)
  • The Fiend Next Door (1983, Young Lions)
  • Disaster with the Fiend (1988, Young Lions)
  • Calamity with the Fiend (1994, Puffin Books)
  • Trouble with the Fiend (1995, Young Lions)
  • Holiday with the Fiend (1997, Puffin Books)
  • Revenge of the Fiend (1997, Puffin Books)

Harry series

  • Harry's Horse (1987, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Harry's Dog (1988, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Harry's Hamster (1990, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Harry's Cat (1992, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Harry's Aunt (1995, Puffin Books)

Webster series

  • Wake up, Webster! (1994, Longman)
  • Webster and the Treacle Toffee (1994, Longman)
  • Webster the World's Worst Dog (1994, Longman)
  • Webster's Week (1994, Longman)

Maisy series

  • Messy Maisy; Maisy's measles (1991, Young Piper)
  • Maisy in the Mud (1992, Pan Macmillan)
  • Maisy in the Mud; Maisy's Masterpiece (1994, Young Piper)

Other

  • Everybody said No! (1978, A & C Black
  • Oliver Ostrich (1978, A & C Black)
  • Too Many Husbands (1978, Hamish Hamilton)
  • Mr Ginger's Potato (1981, A & C Black)
  • Myrtle Turtle (1981, A & C Black)
  • The Disappearing Granny (1985, Mammoth Books)
  • The Chocolate Candy Kid (1986, Marilyn Malin Books)
  • The Boggy Bay Marathon (1987, Orchard)
  • The Topsy-Turvy Teacher (1988, Orchard)
  • Copycat (1989, Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Strawberry-Jam Pony (1989, Puffin)
  • Fish Stew (1990, Paperbird)
  • Monica's Monster (1990, Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Sunil's Bad Dream (1990, Ginn)
  • Wincey's Worm (1991, Hodder & Stoughton)
  • The Apple Pie Alien (1993, Orchard)
  • The Big Stink (1993, Mammoth)
  • The Dognapper (1993, Heinemann)
  • Snowy, the Christmas Dog (1994, Oxford University Press)
  • Spots in Space (1994, Orchard Books)
  • Tomasina's Twin (1994, Longman)
  • Fetch the Slipper (1997, Puffin)
  • Tiger (1999, Orchard)

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Sheila's book is the first of many". Gateshead Post. 18 August 1977. p. 4. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lavelle, Sheila (2014). My Best Fiend. Penguin Random House Children's UK. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-14-135602-0. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "Read All About It". East Kilbride News. 30 August 1991. p. 16. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Radio Tonight". Gloucestershire Echo. 30 April 1991. p. 16. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sproat, Jacqui (18 January 1991). "Top book award for writer. 'Little Fiend' may soon have her own TV series". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. p. 13. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Children meet leading author". Paisley Daily Express. 30 May 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Author tells her own story". Northern Scot and Moray & Nairn Express. 22 November 1991. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  8. ^ "Snowy arrives for Christmas". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. 12 October 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  9. ^ MacLennan, Fran (4 January 1991). "SHEILA IS FAVOURITE AUTHOR WITH THE CHILDREN". East Kilbride News. p. 11. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Meeting a favourite writer". East Kilbride News. 29 March 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Writers meet readers". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 6 October 1987. p. 5. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  12. ^ Cross, Julie (2010). Humor in Contemporary Junior Literature. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-136-83987-0. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  13. ^ Slight, Jill, ed. (8 August 1986). "Updating the bedtime story". Western Evening Herald. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  14. ^ "Books festival gets first reading". Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser. 13 November 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  15. ^ Eccleshare, Julia (29 December 2014). "What are the best books on bears to read after watching Paddington the movie?". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  16. ^ "More Adventures of Ursula Bear by Sheila Lavelle, illustrated by Thelma Lambert. 77 pages. Beaver". The Signal Review of Children's Books. Thimble Press. 1983. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-903355-14-8. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  17. ^ "LAVELLE, Sheila (text) Lisa Kopper (illus.) The Disappearing Granny, Heinemann, 1985 42p. ISBN 0434930261 Banana Books". New Books for Boys & Girls. No. 95–101. Children's Book Council of Australia, New South Wales Branch. 1985. p. 33. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  18. ^ Butler, Dorothy (1988). Babies Need Books. Penguin. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-14-010094-5. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  19. ^ "Lavelle, S. Calamity with the Fiend Illus. by M. Chamberlain 140pp". The Junior Bookshelf. Marsh Hall. 1994. p. 24. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Sheila's in a class of her own!". East Kilbride News. 13 November 1992. p. 28. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  21. ^ "Youngsters hear Sheila's tale of Harry". Dumfries and Galloway Standard. 15 February 1991. p. 9. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  22. ^ Plunkett, Archie (19 July 1990). "Warm welcome in Borgue for children's author". Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser. p. 19. Retrieved 27 November 2025.

Sheila Lavelle at Jane Badger Books

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