Elizabeth Laird (author)

Elizabeth Laird is an author of many books for children, including picture books and books for older children. Some of her novels are Red Sky in the Morning, Secrets of the Fearless and Kiss the Dust.

Biography

Elizabeth Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943, the fourth of five children. Her father was a ship's surgeon; both he and Elizabeth's mother were Scottish. In 1945, Laird and her family returned to Britain and Elizabeth Laird grew up in South London, where she was educated at Croydon High School.

When she was eighteen, Elizabeth Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid.

Elizabeth Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, once she had been to University in Bristol. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays.

After a while at Edinburgh University, Elizabeth Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she was terribly airsick and the passenger next to her was very kind to her. It was David McDowall, whom she turned out to marry soon after, in 1975.

Elizabeth Laird has also been to places since like Iraq and Lebanon. Things that Elizabeth Laird dislikes are snakes, porridge and being cold and things that she does like are very dark chocolate, Mozart and reading. She has also greatly enjoyed marrying David McDowall, having her two sons, Angus and William and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra.

She is currently living is Richmond, London with David McDowall.

Works

Elizabeth Laird has published a variety of works including young adult novels, picture books, short novels for beginning readers, short stories, retellings, and stories for students learning to speak English. Laird's inspiration for her stories come from her travels and personal experiences.

Young adult

• A Little Piece of Ground
• Red Sky in the Morning (1988)
• Hiding Out
• Jake's Tower
• Kiss the Dust
• The Garbage King
• "Secrets of the Fearless"
• "Jay"
• Crusade

Picture books

• A Book of Promise
• Rosy's Garden
• Beautiful Bananas

Short stories

• Hot Rock Mountain
• Me and My Electric

Awards and nominations

• Red Sky in the Morning has been: Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Children's Book Award.
• Hiding Out is the: Winner of the Smarties Young Judges Award.
• Jake's Tower has been:Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Book Award.
• The Garbage King is: Winner of the Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year award and the Stockport Book award. It has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Blue Peter Award, the Salford Children's Book Award, the Calderdale Children's Book Award, the Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award, the Stockton Children's Book of the Year, the West Sussex Children's Book Award, the Portsmouth Book Award and the Sheffield Children's Book Award.
• A Little Piece of Ground is: The Winner of the Hampshire Book Award and has been shortlisted for the Southern Schools Book Award.

External links

• Author's Website
• Interview with the Author
• Information About Author
• Works By Author
• Book Review of Crusaders
• Comments on Kiss The Dust
• Book Review on Kiss the Dust
• Interview of Controversial Novel A Little Piece of Ground
• Teaching Guide for A Little Piece of Ground
• Article About A Little Piece of Ground
• A Little Piece of Ground Controversy
• A Little Piece of Ground
• Book Review on A little Piece of Ground