Susan Varley
{{Short description|English writer and illustrator}}
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{{BLP sources|date=August 2015}}
{{notability|Biographies|date=August 2015}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox writer
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| name = Susan Varley
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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1961}}
| birth_place = Blackpool, England
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| occupation = Illustrator, writer
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| nationality = British
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| alma_mater = Manchester Polytechnic
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| genre = Children's picture books
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| notable_works = Badger's Parting Gifts
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| children = 1
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| awards = Mother Goose Award 1985
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Susan Varley is a British illustrator and author of children's picture books. Her best known book is Badger's Parting Gifts, a story which aims to be a gentle introduction to old age and bereavement for young children. She both wrote and illustrated the book, and it was awarded the Mother Goose Award in 1985.
Early life
Born in 1961 in Blackpool, England, Varley studied graphic design and illustration at Manchester Polytechnic.
Career
Badger's Parting Gifts was Susan Varley's first book, it was published by Andersen Press in 1984. A traditional picture book, it seeks to introduce old age and death to young children through a cast of anthropomorphised woodland characters. It won the 1985 Mother Goose Award, an award for the "most exciting newcomer to British children's book illustration". The judges commented that Varley's treatment of the difficult subject of grief was "just distanced enough" for young children "and in no way mawkish".{{cite journal |last1=Waters |first1=Fiona |title=Children's Books - Articles - Awards - The Mother Goose Awards |journal=Books for Keeps |date=May 1985 |volume=32 |url=http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/issue/32/childrens-books/articles/awards/awards-%E2%80%93-the-mother-goose-award-the-guardian-award-the |access-date=20 June 2021}} Some booksellers however reportedly refused to take it at the time, because of the subject matter.{{cite web |last1=Varley |first1=Susan |title='I just hope that it can help' Susan Varley on her iconic book about grief, Badger's Parting Gifts |url=https://www.booktrust.org.uk/news-and-features/features/2019/march/i-just-hope-that-it-can-help-susan-varley-on-her-iconic-book-about-grief-badgers-parting-gifts/ |website=BookTrust |access-date=20 June 2021}}
Badger's Parting Gifts is still in print, and in 2019 a 35th anniversary edition was released in partnership with the charity Child Bereavement UK.{{cite web |title=Badger's Parting Gifts |url=https://www.childbereavementuk.org/News/badgers-parting-gifts35th-anniversary-edition |website=Child Bereavement UK |access-date=7 June 2021}} It continues to be cited by grief counsellors, teachers and journalists as an effective book to facilitate discussions about death and grief with children.{{cite news |last1=Hinde |first1=Natasha |title=Prince Harry Sought Grief Counselling 20 Years After His Mother's Death - A Guide On How To Seek Help |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/how-and-when-to-speak-to-a-grief-counsellor_uk_5d81f470e4b0849d4720b498 |access-date=25 June 2021 |work=Huffington Post |date=18 September 2019}}{{cite news |last1=O'Connell |first1=Alex |title=The Building Boy by Ross Montgomery and David Litchfield |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/the-building-boy-by-ross-montgomery-and-david-litchfield-505k3f7v9 |access-date=25 June 2021 |work=The Times |date=10 September 2016}}
Varley has also illustrated other authors' books, including The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis, Two Small Pandas and Lovely Old Lion by Julia Jarman, The Spring Rabbit by Joyce Dunbar, and Captain Small Pig by Martin Waddell.The Monster Bed, about the illustrator{{cite news |last1=Tucker |first1=Nicholas |title=IoS Books of the Year 2012: Children's picture books |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ios-books-year-2012-children-s-picture-books-8420188.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/ios-books-year-2012-children-s-picture-books-8420188.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=20 June 2021 |work=The Independent |date=16 December 2012}} All are published by Andersen.{{cite news |last1=Flugge |first1=Klaus |author-link=Klaus Flugge|title=A publisher's postbag - in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2011/apr/21/illustrated-envelopes-posy-simmonds-axel-scheffler-tony-ross-david-mckee |website=The Guardian |date=21 April 2011 |access-date=7 June 2021}}[http://www.andersenpress.co.uk/catalog/author.htm?authorID=2401 Andersen Press: Susan Varley]
Personal life
Varley is married, with one daughter. She lives in England.
Selected works
- Badger's Parting Gifts, Andersen Press, London 1984
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Portal |Children's literature}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:English children's book illustrators
Category:English women children's book illustrators
Category:English children's writers
Category:English women children's writers
{{UK-illustrator-stub}}