This book was delivered to my flat this morning.
So Much To Tell (Viking, page 328 pages, ISBN: 978-1846142000) is the biography of Kaye Webb, Puffin Books' most famous editor.
Her name was what I used to look out for on the title pages of my Puffins and, to me, Kaye Webb meant a good book.
Here's the product description of the biography (by Valerie Grove), taken from Amazon.co.uk:
Kaye Webb, a journalist with no
publishing experience, burst into the
world of children’s books in 1961 and changed the face of children’s
publishing forever. Her child-like enthusiasm and shrewd business mind
led her to become Puffin’s most successful editor and the genius behind
the Puffin Club, which opened up the exciting world of authors and books
to children across Britain. But whilst Kaye’s professional life had
worked out beautifully, her private life had been the reverse. Kaye had
two husbands before her marriage to the artist Ronald Searle, and the
torment of his sudden and shocking departure never left her. Yet to
the outside world Kaye Webb remained passionate and unstoppable. This
is the unknown story of the woman who brought the joy of books to
children everywhere whilst battling the emotional pain that plagued her
private life.
And this is the title page of my first copy of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. It was a 12th birthday present from, as you can see, my sister, Christina who, like everyone in my family, encouraged and nurtured my love for reading.
Notice the Students Service Centre Stamp! It was a bookstore in Batu Pahat that sold mostly text books and workbooks but had the odd gem. I also got Anne of Green Gables at this store, as well as The Gardens of Dorr by Paul Biegel - which is the book that showed me that children's literature could be dark and disturbing. (I still have those copies of Anne and Garden of Dorrs.)
I am so looking forward to reading the Kaye Webb biography but it will have to wait until I finish reading a couple of other books for review: Theodore Boone by John Grisham (everyone wants to write children's books) and The Castle in the Pyrenees by Jostein Gaarder.
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