Lisle, Rebecca

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Lisle, Rebecca

Personal

Born in Yorkshire, England; married; children: three boys. Education: Attended Newcastle University and Oxford University.

Addresses

Home —Bristol, England. Agent —c/o Author Mail, G. P. Putnam, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

Career

Writer.

Writings

Sparks Will Fly, Viking Kestrel (London, England), 1988.

Shrubbery Skullduggery, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1990.

The Weatherstone Eleven, Yearling (London, England), 1994.

Finders, Keepers, Yearling (London, England), 1995.

Petrified, Young Corgi (London, England), 1996.

Mr Cool Cat, Macdonald Young (Hove, England), 1999.

Twelfth Night, Hodder Wayland (London, England), 2000.

The Bear Pit, Hodder Wayland (London, England), 2001.

Copper, Andersen (London, England), 2002.

The Empty Grave, Hodder Wayland (London, England), 2000.

Romeo and Juliet, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Planimal Magic, A. & C. Black (London, England), 2003.

Rocky, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.

Dogs Don't Do Dishes, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

Toad Prince, Random House (New York, NY), 2005.

Sidelights

British author Rebecca Lisle began writing stories while working as a au-pair in France after completing her education. Because of the lack of a television or radio to entertain the children she looked after, Lisle began
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reading them stories she had written instead. That forced entry into the world of storytelling has since grown to become a career: published widely in her native England, Lisle's books, such as Copper, have also found their way into the hands of American readers.

In Copper, Lisle's ten-year-old protagonist is sent away from her aunt Ruby's home in London to the Marble Mountains, where she discovers a family she did not know existed. While in the mountain Copper learns that her family history and heritage is much more complex than she had previously been led to believe: she is in fact the daughter of a couple who were forced to flee their native village because they each hailed from warring clans that viewed the couple's union as a threat. While in hiding, Copper's parents were separated, and after her birth their daughter was sent to her aunt Ruby's to be raised. With this new knowledge, Lisle's spunky heroine sets on a quest to reunite her family and parents, despite all odds.

In a review of Copper Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan noted that Lisle's "relatively short fantasy is packed with many characters, several settings, and a number of secrets to be revealed." Lee Bock, reviewing the novel for School Library Journal, enjoyed the book, writing that, "with enough excitement to be an excellent read-aloud, this well-crafted fantasy provides children with a solid entry into the [fantasy] genre." Veronica Schwartz, also writing in School Library Journal, stated that, "on the whole, this enjoyable fantasy will appeal to a wide audience."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2005, Carolyn Phelan, review of Copper, p. 1060; April 15, 2004, Anna Rich, review of Copper, p. 1462.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April, 2004, Janice Del Negro, review of Copper, p. 336.

Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2004, review of Copper, p. 85.

School Librarian, spring, 2004, Jan Cooper, review of Planimal Magic, p. 24; winter, 2004, p. 185.

School Library Journal, December, 2002, Carol Schene, review of Antony and Cleopatra, p. 94; January, 2004, Lee Bock, review of Copper, p. 132; May, 2004, Veronica Schwartz, review of Copper, p. 91.