McKay, Hilary (Jane) 1959-

views updated

McKAY, Hilary (Jane) 1959-

PERSONAL: Born June 12, 1959, in England; daughter of Ronald (an engineer) and Mary (a nurse) Damms; married Kevin McKay (a teacher), August 13, 1992; children: Jim, Bella. Education: University of St. Andrew, B.S., 1981.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Jennifer Luthlen, 88 Holmfield Rd., Leicester, England. E-mail—[email protected]

CAREER: Writer. Once worked as a laboratory technician.

AWARDS, HONORS: Guardian Award for Children's Fiction, 1992, for The Exiles; overall winner, Smarties Prize for Children's Literature, 1994, for Dog Friday, 1995, for The Amber Cat and The Zoo in the Attic, and 2002, for Saffy's Angel; Whitbread Children's Book Award, 2003, for Saffy's Angel.

WRITINGS:

The Exiles, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1991, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1992.

The Exiles at Home, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1993, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Dog Friday, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1994, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1995.

The Amber Cat, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1995, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Happy and Glorious, illustrated by Hilda Offen, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1996.

Practically Perfect, illustrated by Hilda Offen, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1996.

Why Didn't You Tell Me?, illustrated by John Eastwood, Piccadilly (London, England), 1996.

The Exiles in Love, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1996; Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1998.

(And illustrator) Strange Bear, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1998.

Where's Bear?, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Dolphin Luck, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1998, Margaret K. Margaret K. McElderry Books Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Pirates Ahoy!, illustrated by Alex Ayliffe, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Saffy's Angel, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Was That Christmas?, illustrated by Amanda Harvey, Margaret K. McElderry Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Rita Cheminais) Inclusion and School Improvement, David Fulton Publishers (London, England), 2002.

"PARADISE HOUSE" SERIES

The Zoo in the Attic, illustrated by Tony Kenyon, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1995.

The Treasure in the Garden, illustrated by Tony Kenyon, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1995.

The Echo in the Chimney, illustrated by Tony Kenyon, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1996.

The Magic in the Mirror, illustrated by Tony Kenyon, Victor Gollancz (London, England), 1996.

(And illustrator) Birthday Party, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2000.

(And illustrator) Keeping Cottontail, self illustrated, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 2000.

"BEETLE AND FRIENDS" SERIES

(And illustrator) Beetle and the Hamster, Scholastic Children's Books (London, England), 2002.

(And illustrator) Beetle and the Bear, Scholastic Children's Books (London, England), 2002.

(And illustrator) Beetle and Lulu, Scholastic Children's Books (London, England), 2002.

Cedar Tree, illustrated by Lesley Harker, Scholastic Children's Books (London, England), 2002.

ADAPTATIONS: Dog Friday, Dolphin Luck, Happy and Glorious, Practically Perfect, Saffy's Angel, The Amber Cat, The Birthday Wish, and The Exiles have all been adapted for audio cassette.

SIDELIGHTS: Although she writes, as she once said in the Something about the Author Autobiography Series (SAAS) "primarily for myself," Hilary McKay has charmed young readers with books like The Exiles and Dog Friday. Such books, critics have noted, present realistic plots, likable characters, and many humorous moments. Furthermore, McKay's books aren't viewed as condescending or preachy. As she noted, "I don't believe in writing down to children and am not conceited enough to desire to inflict my own opinions on other people. Can't stand Good Cause books!"

McKay, who has a bachelor's degree in science and once worked as a laboratory technician, was surprised that her career as a writer "took off so quickly." She explained that she began to write "as an extension of reading.... I have read thousands of books. They influence my writing in the same way as the weather and as people I trust do. They are part of my landscape."

McKay's developed a love of books when she was very young. Her parents refused to bring a television into the home. Each member of the family was expected to read, and each did so eagerly. "In my family we read like starving dogs eat, huge, indiscriminate, barely chewed gulps," she wrote in SAAS. "Anything, ancient damp relics from the six-penny secondhand bookstall on the market, books scrounged from neighbors, books from the town library (blessed place), books that belonged to bookshops ... we raced through whole paperbacks at a time." As a child, McKay's favorite authors included Enid Blyton, E. Nesbit, Arthur Ransome, L. M. Montgomery, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Mark Twain, Eleanor Farjeon, and Louisa May Alcott.

McKay shared her books with her three sisters, Bridget, Robin, and Lorna. Together, the four lived much like the girls in McKay's "Exiles" books. When they weren't in school, they spent a great deal of time reading. They quarreled and kidded one another. They earned pocket money by harvesting produce and working on a farm. McKay told about her work on the farm in her SAAS biography: "It was a lovely place. We would never have gone home given half a chance. I had never been so happy, or so dirty, or so exhausted."

McKay studied zoology and botany at the University of St. Andrew in Scotland. She explained in SAAS that, after earning a science degree, she "married an old St. Andrew's friend," and lived in Cumbria, England. "In Cumbria we lived in great poverty and cheerfulness in a haunted seventeenth-century cottage. Kevin taught maths, and I worked in the local pub and cleaned holiday cottages and painted pictures to sell to tourists, and all our St. Andrew's friends came to stay, especially Isabel, who said, 'I don't see why you don't write a book. You know what books are and you can write letters. Sometimes they are quite amusing. And you might get some money.'"

It was then that McKay wrote the book that, after revision, would be published as The Exiles. After it was completed, McKay and her husband moved to Derbyshire. She began to work as a chemist during the day and to write books at night. With the birth of her first child, she decided to give up chemistry and become a full-time writer.

The Exiles begins when four sisters learn that their father has inherited money. At first, the sisters—Ruth, Naomi, Rachel, and Phoebe Conroy—are excited about the money. But when they hear that their parents plan to use the money to remodel their house and that they are to stay with their grandmother for the summer, they are upset. To make matters worse, when they arrive at their grandmother's house in Cumbria, they find that she has few books to read. "Big Grandma," as they call her, expects the girls to exercise, explore nature in the Lake District, seek adventure, and help out around the house. So the "exiled" girls read cookbooks and the works of Shakespeare (the only books they can find) and begin to enjoy the activities Grandma forces upon them. They even begin to appreciate and understand their grandmother. Although they accidentally set the house on fire, the story ends happily. "Like the writings of Beverly Cleary and Lois Lowry, this warm-hearted first novel provides an ample supply of chuckles," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer. A critic for Kirkus Reviews described the work as "delightful," and concluded: "McKay has a real gift for amusing dialogue and descriptions."

In The Exiles at Home, McKay's sequel to her first book, readers find the four sisters back with their parents. They get into trouble when Ruth secretly pledges ten pounds each month to help educate a boy in Africa. Gradually, all of the sisters find work to help her pay the ten pounds, because she can't make enough money baby-sitting. Naomi gardens for an elderly couple, and Rachel and Phoebe sell food to their classmates. While the girls get into all kinds of trouble, they enjoy writing to their new African friend. Big Grandma finds out about the pledge and the girls' determination to meet it; at the end of the story, an elderly neighbor bequeaths enough money for both the African boy's education and a trip to Africa for the girls and Big Grandma. Patricia J. Morrow noted in Voice of Youth Advocates that, while in The Exiles "some of the girls' actions were dangerous," in The Exiles at Home "they are more entrepreneurial though still short-sighted." The book's conclusion, wrote A. R. Williams in Junior Bookshelf, "should awake a glow of satisfaction in readers." Booklist critic Carolyn Phelan found The Exiles at Home refreshing "for its wit and emotional candor."

The Exiles in Love continues McKay's popular series. In this story, older sisters Ruth and Naomi brood over new romantic interests, while younger siblings Rachel and Phoebe occupy themselves in other ways—Rachel in gaining recognition as May Queen, and Phoebe in preparing herself for a future career as an international spy. The girls' subsequent eager attention to a French visitor named Philippe causes Big Grandma to offer to take all four to France to get them out of their parents' hair for awhile. "Part of the appeal of these books is the light, amusing style, the warmth and accuracy (exaggerated but believable) of the portrayal of the girls' feelings, and the way such basically good-hearted characters never become dull," commented a Junior Bookshelf contributor.

Dog Friday is the story of Robin, a ten-year-old boy who has been afraid of dogs since one attacked him at the beach. He must also contend with his father's death and with the fact that his mother's bed-and-breakfast business is not faring well. When he meets the dog next door (named Old Blanket) and the children who own him (Ant, Perry, Beany, and Sun Dance), Robin begins to recover. He makes a canine friend of his own when he encounters a stray dog on the beach and saves him. Robin names the dog Friday, and tries to persuade his mother to let him keep the dog. She favors turning the dog in to the authorities. Robin's friendship with the dog is also threatened when he reads a note that has been posted about a lost dog that must be Friday. Although he is tempted to ignore the note for fear of losing his new companion, he finally does contact the owners, and finds that Friday is not the lost dog after all. Describing the novel as "poignant," School Library Journal contributor Ann M. Burlingame explained that it is about "honesty and the complexities of friendship." Carolyn Phelan of Booklist concluded that this "distinctive and refreshing" novel possesses "sharply realized characters, [a] fast-paced story, and witty dialogue." "Children will be greatly entertained by this rollicking story," remarked a critic for Junior Bookshelf.

One of McKay's most recent efforts has been likened to a fairy tale—but with the author's own trademark stamp of humor. "Hilary McKay has set no limits to her love of the absurd as a foundation for humour," wrote Junior Bookshelf contributor D. A. Young in a review of Practically Perfect. In this story, McKay features a ten-year-old Queen who alleviates her boredom by creating her own royal racecourse, riding the Royal Donkey to victory. As the story progresses and years pass, the Queen's Ladies-in-Waiting grow more anxious to marry the restive adolescent, who dismisses a host of suitors to marry, at the age of eighteen, her childhood friend—the gardener's boy.

Apart from winning the Whitbread Children's Book Award, Saffy's Angel was nominated for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in fiction and poetry in 2002. Gillian Engberg said in Booklist that McKay "introduces yet another eccentric, irresistible family." The Cassons live in a rundown house outside London. At the age of eight, Saffron discovers she was adopted at three and that her biological mother, her adoptive mother's twin sister, was killed in a car crash in Italy. Feeling isolated since the discovery, Saffron, now thirteen, learns that her grandfather in Italy left her an angel—what kind and where she knows not. However, she feels that finding it is central to her understanding of who she truly is. With the help of a new friend and her family, and what Engberg called Saffron's "madcap siblings," she travels to Italy to find her inheritance. A critic for Kirkus Reviews found Saffron's sister, Rose, the most vivid character, around whom revolve "some very funny scenes," while the eccentric nature of other family members add to the story's warmth and humor. B. Allison Gray said in School Library Journal that "delicious phrasing and a wonderfully descriptive style add further to the sense of British eccentricity, reminiscent of Helen Cresswell's Bagthorpe Saga."A Publishers Weekly reviewer added that the "droll dialogue will keep readers chuckling," and the story contains "especially entertaining subplots." When reviewing Saffy's Angel for Horn Book, a critic commented that "sometimes stories by British children's authors can feel, well, loose compared to ours," and that, as the book began, a description of Saffy's mother as "sweet and useless and friendly" appeared to describe the entire story. "But it's not," the critic said. "Somehow, Hilary McKay made me care very much about the whole thing."

"Most of my books have sold foreign language rights," McKay once remarked. "Some have also been put onto audio tape, but I am thinking of the British editions. The U.S. ones are adaptations of the British ones and the changes are not done by me. Good adaptations, I am sure, but they do not feel exactly the books I wrote. That is probably ridiculous of me!" McKay plans to continue writing books for children. "Children's minds grow just as their bodies do; it seems very important to me that there should be books worth reading for them right from the start," she wrote in her SAAS piece. "To be at home with books is to have a whole world of doorways open to you. Adults who know this already can open or shut the doors at will; what they make of what they find on the other side is up to them. Children have first to discover that the doors are there. That seems to me to be the thing that matters most; to get them wanting to open the doors. That is why I think children's books are so important ... and why it seems such a privilege, such an enormous stroke of luck, that I have slipped into this job. I am helping to make the worlds behind the doors."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 23, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1997, pp. 147-159.

St. James Guide to Children's Writers, fifth edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 15, 1995, p. 925; November 15, 1995, p. 560; November 15, 1997, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Amber Cat, p. 559; May 1, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Exiles in Love, p. 1516; January 1, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Where's Bear?, p. 889; May 15, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Saffy's Angel, p. 1594.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October, 1995, p. 62.

Horn Book, January-February, 1993, p. 86; May 1998, Dog Friday (audio review), p. 373; July 1999, review of Dolphin Luck, p. 470.

Junior Bookshelf, April, 1994, p. 72; April, 1995, p. 72; August, 1995, p. 146; December, 1996, pp. 256, 271.

Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 1992, p. 1381; May 1, 2002, review of Saffy's Angel, p. 661.

Publishers Weekly, October 19, 1992, p. 79; October 23, 1995, p. 69; June 2, 1997, review of Exiles at Home, p. 73; March 18, 2002, review of Saffy's Angel, p. 104; August 5, 2002, Saffy's Angel (audio review), p; 28.

School Librarian, spring, 1999, review of PuddingBag School, p. 33; summer, 1999, review of Strange Bear, p. 75.

School Library Journal, October, 1992, p. 118; October, 1995, p. 136; June, 2000, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of Pirates Ahoy!, p. 120; May, 2002, B. Allison Gray, review of Saffy's Angel, p. 156.

TESS Primary, September 24, 1999, review of Practically Perfect, p. 48.

Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 1995, Patricia J. Morrow, review of The Exiles at Home, p. 24.