WYNNE-JONES, Tim(othy) 1948-

PERSONAL: Born August 12, 1948, in Bromborough, Cheshire, England; son of Sydney Thomas (an engineer and lieutenant colonel in the British Army) and Sheila Beryl (a homemaker; maiden name, Hodgson) Wynne-Jones; married Amanda West Lewis (a writer, calligrapher, director, and teacher), September 12, 1980; children: Alexander, Magdalene, Lewis. Education: University of Waterloo, B.F.A., 1974; York University, M.F.A., 1979. Religion: Anglican. Hobbies and other interests: Cooking, crossword puzzles, cross-country skiing, working out at the gym.

ADDRESSES: Home—RR 4, Perth, Ontario K7H 3C6, Canada. Agent—Leona Trainer, Transatlantic Literary Agency, 72 Glengowan Rd., Toronto, Ontario M4N 1G4, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: PMA Books, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, designer, 1974–76; University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, instructor in visual arts, 1976–78; Solomon & Wynne-Jones, Toronto, graphic designer, 1976–79; York University, Downsview, Ontario, instructor in visual arts, 1978–80; freelance writer.

MEMBER: International PEN, Writers Union of Canada, Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada, Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Seal First Novel Award, Bantam/Seal Books, 1980, and John Creasy Award runner up, Crime Writers Association of Great Britain, both for Odd's End; I.O.D.E. Award, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, and Canada Council Award shortlist, all 1983, and Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award, 1984, all for Zoom at Sea; City of Toronto Book Award shortlist, 1984, for The Knot; Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, 1986, for Zoom Away; award for best radio drama adaptation, Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, 1988, for St. Anthony's Man; author's award runner up, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters, 1989, for Fastyngange; Governor General's Literary Award, 1993, and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction, 1995, Canadian Library Association Children's Book of the Year, and Mister Christie Award shortlist, all for Some of the Kinder Planets; Vicky Metcalf Short Story Award, 1994, for story "The Hope Bakery;" Mr. Christie Award shortlist, 1994, and Silver Birch Award shortlist from Ontario Library Association, both for The Book of Changes; Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature, 1995, Young Adult Book of the Year award, Canadian Library Association, 1996, International Reading Association Children's Literature Award, 1996, Books for the Teen Age citation, New York Public Library, 1997, International Board of Books for Youth (IBBY) Honor Book, 1998, City of Toronto Book Award shortlist, Ruth Schwartz Award shortlist from Ontario Arts Council, New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenager, Booklist Editor's Choice, and Mr. Christie Award shortlist, all for The Maestro; Vicky Metcalf Award, Canadian Authors Association, 1997, for body of work; Best Book of the Year, Canadian Library Association, 1998, for Stephen Fair; Edgar Allan Poe Award for best young adult book, Mystery Writers of America, 2002, Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada, Insula Romana prize, Red Maple Award short list from Ontario Library Association, Ruth Schwartz Award shortlist from Ontario Arts Council, and Mr. Christie Award shortlist, all for The Boy in the Burning House; Mr. Christie Award shortlist and New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenager, both for Lord of the Fries and Other Stories; Red Maple Award shortlist, Ontario Library Association, for Stephen Fair. Some of the Kinder Planets was named one of the Ten Best Books of the Year by Parenting magazine and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; The Boy in the Burning House was named an American Library Association (ALA) popular paperback for young adults in the suspense and mystery category; The Book of Changes was an ALA Notable Book for Children.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Odd's End, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 1980.

The Knot, McClelland & Stewart (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1982.

A Case of Bad Memories, McClelland & Stewart (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1982.

Fastyngange, Lester & Orpen Dennys (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1988, published as Voices, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1990.

FOR YOUNG READERS

Madeline and Ermadello, illustrated by Lindsey Hallam, Before We Are Six (Hawkesville, Ontario, Canada), 1977.

Zoom at Sea, illustrated by Ken Nutt, Douglas & McIntyre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1983, illustrated by Eric Beddows, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

Zoom Away, illustrated by Ken Nutt, Douglas & McIntyre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1985, illustrated by Eric Beddows, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

I'll Make You Small, illustrated by Maryann Kovalski, Douglas & McIntyre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1986.

Mischief City (poems), illustrated by Victor Gad, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1986.

Builder of the Moon, illustrated by Ian Wallace, McElderry Books (New York, NY), 1988, published in Canada as Architect of the Moon, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1988.

The Hour of the Frog, illustrated by Catharine O'Neill, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

Warlock at the Wheel, Random House (New York, NY), 1990.

(Translator) Colette Dufresne, The Louse, illustrated by May Rousseau, Quintin (Waterloo, Quebec, Canada), 1991.

(Translator) Joseph Lévesque, The Snowy Owl, illustrated by Pierre Jarry, Quintin (Waterloo, Quebec, Canada), 1991.

Zoom Upstream, illustrated by Eric Beddows, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1992, Harper-Collins (New York, NY), 1994.

Mouse in the Manger, illustrated by Elaine Blier, Viking (New York, NY), 1993.

The Last Piece of Sky, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1993.

Some of the Kinder Planets (short stories; includes "The Hope Bakery"), Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1993, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Amanda Lewis) Rosie Backstage, illustrated by Bill Slavin, Kids Can Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1994.

The Book of Changes (short stories), Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1994, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1995.

The Maestro, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1995, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1996.

(Reteller) Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, illustrated by Bill Slavin, Key Porter Books (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1996, Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1997.

(Reteller) Bram Stoker, Dracula, illustrated by Laszlo Gal, Key Porter Kids (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1997.

On Tumbledown Hill, illustrated by Dusan Petrici'c, Red Deer College Press (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada), 1998.

Stephen Fair, DK Ink (New York, NY), 1998.

Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, DK Ink (New York, NY), 1999.

The Boy in the Burning House, Douglas & McIntyre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2000, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 2001.

(Editor) Boy's Own: An Anthology of Canadian Fiction for Young Readers, Penguin (New York, NY), 2001.

Ned Mouse Breaks Away, illustrations by Dusan Petrici'c, Groundwood (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

Also author of children's opera A Midwinter Night's Dream and a musical version of Mischief City. Author of regular children's book review column for the Toronto Globe & Mail, 1985–88.

RADIO PLAYS

The Thinking Room, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1981.

The Road Ends at the Sea, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1982.

The Strange Odyssey of Lennis Freed, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1983.

The Testing of Stanley Teagarden, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1985.

The Enormous Radio (based on the story by John Cheever), Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1986.

St. Anthony's Man (based on his own story of the same title), Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1987.

Mr. Gendelman Crashes a Party, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1987.

Dust Is the Only Secret, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1988.

We Now Return You to Your Regularly Scheduled Universe, Canadian Broadcasting Corp., 1992.

ADAPTATIONS: The Testing of Standley Teagarden was adapted to audio cassette together with Arthur C. Clarke's The Nine Billion Names of God, Audio Partners, 1989.

SIDELIGHTS: Tim Wynne-Jones is a British-born Canadian writer whose works range from award-winning adult and young-adult fiction to such popular children's picture books as the "Zoom" series of tales about an adventurous cat. One of Canada's most popular authors among pre-schoolers and primary graders, Wynne-Jones is recognized as the creator of works that capture the mystery, fantasy, and wonder of childhood while addressing such realistic concerns as the conquering of personal fears and the relationship of children with their parents. He is known and appreciated for his rich language, zany plots, and a sophistication of theme that does not proclaim itself didactically, but that "reverberates beneath the simple surface of image and dialogue," as Gwyneth Evans noted in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers. A scriptwriter and composer, Wynne-Jones is also known for his work as lyricist for the television program Fraggle Rock.

The son of an engineer, Wynne-Jones was born in Cheshire, England, in 1948, but he grew up in Ottawa, Canada. Attending the University of Waterloo, he began to study children's literature as part of a research project. A group of sociology students secured a grant to study racism and sexism in books for young readers, and Wynne-Jones, studying visual arts at the time, was included in the grant proposal as someone on the creative side of things. In an interview with Dave Jenkinson in Emergency Librarian, Wynne-Jones explained that having examined a plethora of children's books and finding fault with many of them, "the group decided that, because they knew what was wrong with children's books, they could then write good ones. It was a great lesson in how you do not write a children's book." While the publishing venture created by the grant was short-lived, it did produce Wynne-Jones's first creative effort, Madeline and Ermadello, a "quietly charming story about a young girl's fantasies," according to Linda Smith in In Review: Canadian Books for Children. Ermadello is Madeline's friend, the third in a trio that includes her carpenter father, Ernie, and her next door neighbor, Barnell. But Ermadello is special: he is imaginary, and Madeline can make him be anything she wants him to be. The quiet climax to this picture book comes when Madeline introduces Ermadello to her real-life friends at a tea party. A Children's Book News reviewer concluded that this "is a charming story of friendship that younger readers are certain to enjoy."

Wynne-Jones's first book highlighted the elements of fantasy and wonder common to the author's subsequent efforts for children. It was several years, however, before Wynne-Jones published a second picture book. During this time he worked as a designer at a publishing company, as a visual arts instructor at Waterloo University and York University, and as a graphic designer in his own company. He earned an M.F.A. in visual arts and was married. He also wrote and published his first adult novel, a psychological thriller called Odd's End, which won him Canada's prestigious Seal First Novel Award and a cash prize of fifty thousand dollars. Understandably, Wynne-Jones stuck with adult fiction for his next title, The Knot, but he returned to children's books in 1983.

"I didn't start writing children's books because I had children," Wynne-Jones told Jenkinson in his Emergency Librarian interview. "I'd always had ideas for children's stories." Although a visual artist himself, Wynne-Jones does not illustrate his own books. Rather, he visualizes stories with the illustrations of other artists he respects. One such case was Ken Nutt (Eric Beddows), an acquaintance of his whose artwork Wynne-Jones wanted to see in book form. The direct inspiration for his first successful children's book was the family cat, Montezuma, or Zuma for short. Writing early one morning, Wynne-Jones observed the cat sitting on the kitchen counter batting at water from a dripping faucet. The idea for an adventure-loving and water-loving cat came to the author quickly. "The story, Zoom at Sea, was written in 20 minutes," Wynne-Jones told Jenkinson. "I don't quite know how those things happen." In the story, Zoom the cat goes to the home of the mysterious Maria, who helps him realize a lifelong dream of going to sea. Maria coaxes the cat as the foam gathers around him, "Go on. It's all yours." Linda Granfield, writing in Quill and Quire, noted that these words are "an irresistible, exciting invitation to the cat and the reader alike." Granfield added that the book is a "perfect balance of text and illustration" and serves as a reminder to children and adults alike to "live our dreams."

Wynne-Jones initially had no intention of creating a sequel to this first popular "Zoom" title. However, a letter from his mother-in-law suggested further possibilities for Maria's magical powers, and Zoom Away was launched. In this story, a trip upstairs to Maria's attic becomes the magical metaphor for a trip to the North Pole. Zoom goes in search of the nautical tomcat, Uncle Roy, who set sail for the North Pole and has not been heard from since. Again, Nutt employed simple black and white illustrations to "complement … perfectly" Wynne-Jones's text, according to Bernie Goedhart in Quill and Quire. Goedhart concluded that the two "seem destined to carve themselves a permanent niche in the world of Canadian picture-books." Though some reviewers, including Canadian Literature writer Jon C. Stott, felt that the simple text lacked "depth," others found deeper resonances. Sarah Ellis, writing in Horn Book, commented that "Zoom Away is one of those rare picture books that combines absolute simplicity with mythic resonance…. The story is bigger that its plot." Drawing comparisons to such elemental Canadian myths as the search for the Northwest Passage and the romance involved in such adventure, Ellis concluded that the "satisfaction we feel at the book's safe ending goes beyond the satisfaction of putting a tired child to bed." Reviewing both "Zoom" books in Canadian Children's Literature, Ulrike Walker reminded the reader of Wynne-Jones's theory of thresholds, developmental steps that everyone must take or risk to reach maturity, and placed the books in the context of mythic test or quest tales. "The Zoom books," Walker noted, "are composed of wonderful, multi-layered mixtures of images and text that masterfully combine a comforting sense of security with an equally compelling evocation of less innocent sensual gratification." The critic concluded, "These remarkable works … bear eloquent witness to the complex levels of realization which all of us must undergo before we reach that stage we label 'adult.'"

If Zoom traveled to the Arctic via Maria's attic, the next obvious question—and one posed by a student to Wynne-Jones—was what would a trip to the basement hold in store for Zoom? The answer came in a third "Zoom" book, Zoom Upstream, "a book of reunion and probably a book about death, but I don't think any child will read that into it," Wynne-Jones explained to Jenkinson. Set in ancient, cat-revering Egypt, Zoom Upstream has Zoom following a mysterious trail through a bookshelf to Egypt where he joins Maria in a further search for Uncle Roy. It is Maria who shows Zoom five silver buttons from a sailor's coat, the clues that ultimately lead the two to Uncle Roy and safety. The book's ending is, as noted by Janet McNaughton in Quill and Quire, "more like a beginning," with the trio sailing away in search of the source of the Nile. "A very special book," concluded McNaughton.

With I'll Make You Small, Wynne-Jones moves away from the voyaging world of cats to the more prosaic but no less dangerous world of the neighborhood. Young Roland's next-door neighbor is crotchety old Mr. Swanskin, who threatens to make Roland small if he catches him trespassing on his property. But when Swanskin is not seen for several days, Roland is sent by his mother to investigate, only to find the eccentric old man repairing toys he broke during his own childhood. The gift of a pie saves Roland from Swanskin's threats, and he learns the man's secret—of how he was made to feel small as a child. "A child who likes scary stories, but is too young for Poe or Hitchcock, should enjoy this book," commented Bernie Goedhart in Quill and Quire. Appearing the same year as I'll Make You Small was Wynne-Jones's Mischief City, twenty-five poems that humorously explore subjects from a young child's frustration with adults to sibling rivalry. Joan McGrath, reviewing the book in Quill and Quire, felt that the verses, which are accompanied by Victor Gad's illustrations, are "big, bold, and bright."

Another popular picture book from Wynne-Jones, and one that Five Owls contributor Anne Lundin compared to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, is Architect of the Moon (published in the United States as Builder of the Moon). Young David Finebloom receives an urgent message one night via a moonbeam and flies away, building blocks in hand, to repair the moon. Lundin went on in her review to note that "Wynne-Jones's text is spare, simple, poetic," while Catherine Osborne, writing in Books for Young People, commented that Wynne-Jones and illustrator Ian Wallace "make a strong contending team in the moon-book category." Walker, writing in Canadian Children's Literature, remarked that Architect of the Moon "is a subtle work" and one that "does not enclose but encourages the child to take a decisive step toward change." Also writing in Canadian Children's Literature, Michael Steig noted that Architect of the Moon is a true "visual text," in which pictures and text are finely integrated and one that "achieves a highly gratifying level of literary and artistic complexity and interest."

Wynne-Jones has written several other picture books for young readers, including The Hour of the Frog, Mouse in a Manger, and The Last Piece of Sky, all of them well received, and in 1988 he made a rare return to adult novels with Fastyngange, an odd tale narrated by an oubliette that helps the heroine, Alexis, find happiness. But it is the "Zoom" books that remain among his most popular achievements. He has also written juvenile and young adult fiction, including two short story collections and a young adult novel. The award-winning Some of the Kinder Planets consists of nine stories that tell of children making encounters with other worlds, both metaphorically and realistically. Deborah Stevenson commented in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books that the writing "is thoughtful, inventive, and often humorous," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that "ordinary moments take on a fresh veneer in this finely tuned short-story collection."

More short stories are offered up in The Book of Changes and Lord of the Fries and Other Stories. Quill & Quire contributor Annette Goldsmith deemed the former to be "a delight," adding that Wynne-Jones attempts to "conjure up a sense of wonder" in these stories and that the "wonderful moments in this book … will stay with readers." Writing in Horn Book, Nancy Vasilakis concluded that "Wynne-Jones tells his readers in these perceptive short stories that we all have the power to create the music of our own lives." In a review of Lord of the Fries, a Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books critic observed that the author's "creative plotting and faith in the power of imagination … keeps events sparking along in absorbing and unpredictable ways."

With The Maestro Wynne-Jones again breaks new ground for himself. The story of fourteen-year-old Burl and his struggle for survival, The Maestro is Wynne-Jones's first young adult novel. Fleeing his brutal father, Burl seeks shelter in a remote cabin by a Canadian lake. The cabin is inhabited by Nathaniel Gow, a musical genius and himself in flight from the mechanized world. Gow, patterned after the real-life Canadian musician Glen Gould, takes Burl in for a time. He also allows Burl to stay at his cabin when he returns to Toronto, and when Burl learns of Gow's subsequent death, he tries to claim the cabin for his own; he then goes on a mission to save Gow's final composition, confronting his father along the way. Roderick McGillis, writing in Canadian Children's Literature, noted that the book is "redolently Canadian," but that it also offers much more. "Its prose is dense and its themes move into challenging areas for young readers," McGillis remarked. Stevenson concluded in a Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books review that "Wynne-Jones has displayed a knack for the unusual made credible in his short story collections" and that it was "nice to see that skill expanded into a well-crafted and accessible novel." Writing in Quill and Quire, Maureen Garvie commented that The Maestro is "tightly and dramatically scripted" and that this first young adult novel is a "peach."

Wynne-Jones turned to psychological suspense with Stephen Fair, a 1998 novel about a fifteen-year-old boy plagued by nightmares. With the support of his friend Virginia, Stephen begins to question his troubled family life, including his mother's erratic behavior and the disappearances of his father and older brother. Stephen Fair received strong praise. A Publishers Weekly reviewer, for instance, declared that Wynne-Jones "maintains the suspense while Stephen slowly unveils family secrets." Although Kitty Flynn noted in Horn Book that there are a "couple of facile scenes" in the book, she added that they "don't detract from the strong characterization, rich imagery, and well crafted writing of this ultimately redemptive mystery."

With the passage into a new century, Wynne-Jones has continued to write successful books for children, including The Boy in the Burning House, a young adult suspense novel, and the quirky children's book Ned Mouse Breaks Away. Set in Ontario, The Boy in the Burning House features fourteen-year-old Jim, who is trying to help his mother with the farm after his father mysteriously disappears. When he meets the pastor's stepdaughter, Ruth Rose, he at first does not believe her when she tells him she thinks Father Fisher killed Jim's dad two years ago. But some investigation into the past begins to reveal things that Jim never knew about his father, and it begins to look as if Ruth might be telling the truth. "Wynne-Jones is known for his quirky, offbeat characters," noted Horn Book reviewer Lauren Adams, "and this book does not disappoint." GraceAnne A. DeCandido praised the novel's suspenseful plot in Booklist, calling it "scary, absorbing, with a thrilling denouement," and a Resource Links critic similarly said that the "climax is skillfully built, and agonizingly twisty in getting to the outcome, but all the more satisfying for being that way."

Quirky characters and an unusual storyline come into play again with the children's book Ned Mouse Breaks Away. A tale with a definite message about freedom and political oppression, Ned the mouse is put into a cage when he is caught writing out "The government is unfair to mice!" in his vegetables one day. Closely watched by a rather dimwitted but persistent guard called only "the Keeper," Ned makes many attempts to escape his prison, failing each time until he come upon a bizarre solution: he mails parts of his body, one at a time, to his friend Morty, who then reassembles him. Unfortunately, Ned could not send the last part of his body, his right arm. But he is amazed when the guard shows up with the arm, having converted to Ned's position. "This slyly subversive story of the love of freedom is highly engaging," stated Jill Kedersha McClay in a Resource Links review. Eva Mitnick, writing in School Library Journal, declared the story "funny, light, and deliciously different."

Wynne-Jones has proven himself a versatile and perceptive writer on many levels. Whether writing children's picture books, young adult titles, or adult fiction and plays, his message of the power of fantasy and fiction comes through loud and clear. As he once commented, "I like to tell stories—to entertain and instruct—about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances or extraordinary people in very ordinary circumstances." Regarding his efforts for children, Wynne-Jones commented: "I write for children out of the child I was and am. I cannot write for an audience—where children's books are concerned, I am the Selfish Giant, shooing my audience away in order to reclaim the garden for myself!"

The author more recently said, "It is the spring of 2002 and I am writing a book tentatively titled The Outrageous Tiny Rathbone. In this novel a boy in a small Ontario town finds the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 Warner Brothers movie The Wizard of Oz. The idea grew from a little article in the newspaper about an auction in New York in which the ruby slippers were sold for a million dollars. The article also mentioned, however, that there were seven pairs of slippers made for the movie. The whereabouts of several of the pairs is unknown. Where are they now? While my new book is only nominally a mystery story, in the genre sense of the word, there is a mystery at its heart. The book isn't about the ruby slippers, it's about the people who come in contact with this mystery. I think this is true of every story I write.

"Alfred Hitchcock talks about the 'McGuffin' in his films, meaning the thing that everybody is after, the drugs, the fabled necklace, or what have you. If I understand him correctly, he intimates that it isn't really important what the McGuffin actually is, only that it gets the ball rolling and keeps the characters on their toes. It is the hub around which the events of the story swirl. Let me update. To me this plot device is more like a 'snitch' as in the Harry Potter books. You never know quite when the snitch might whiz by your head-that's suspense. Suspense intrigues me-but Hey! That's what it is supposed to do.

"Someone once said that Jane Austen is suspenseful and I know what he meant. Suspense is that essential fictional ingredient that keeps the reader turning pages to get to the bottom of the mystery. I do not, however, write straight 'Suspense Thrillers' anymore than I write straight 'Mysteries.' This must be annoying for those who wish to categorize authors. I'm just interested in the human condition to reduce a story to a basic 'and then' kind of state with the required cliff-hanger finish to every chapter. Which is why I don't write plot outlines. Can't do it. Hate it! I write the same way I read (though not as fast, unfortunately). I never quite know what's going to happen on the next page. I want to surprise myself and by so doing, hopefully, surprise my reader. Sooner or later, I get an idea where the story is going. That's what happens when I read, too. But even when I know where I want to take a story, I keep my options open. You never know when one of your characters will come up with a better idea than you!

"My new novel deals with the idea that amazing things show up even in your own small neck of the woods. This is an article of faith to me. I am firmly convinced that there is nowhere that is 'ordinary' nor is there such a thing as an 'ordinary' kid. A treasure is nothing more nor less than an article imbued with some intrinsic value. And an extraordinary person is pretty well anyone you send enough time getting to know. In my story, the ruby slippers are not important so much for their monetary value, but for the magic they contain, a magic that comes from a connection, however slight, with history and legend. They are a source of wonder to tiny Rathbone. I am heavily into Wonder. Mystery, Suspense, Wonder. That about sums it up."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 21, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1990, pp. 226-231.

Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, fourth edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1995, pp. 1049–1051.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1994, Julie Corsaro, review of Zoom Away, p. 834; June 1, 1994, Ilene Cooper, review of Zoom Upstream, p. 1846; March 1, 1995, Chris Sherman, review of Some of the Kinder Planets, p. 1241; October 1, 1995, Hazel Rochman, review of The Book of Changes, p. 321; December 15, 1996, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Maestro, p. 724; June 1, 1998, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Stephen Fair, p. 1750; February 15, 1999, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, p. 1060; September 1, 2001, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 97.

Book Report, November-December, 1998, Jane Cabaya and Shelley Glantz, "Reviews: Fiction."

Books for Young People, October, 1988, Catherine Osborne, "Architect of the Moon," p. 10.

Books in Canada, October, 1988, review of Fastyngange, p. 30.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May, 1995, Deborah Stevenson, review of One of the Kinder Planets, p. 328; October, 1996, Deborah Stevenson, review of The Maestro, p. 81; March, 1999, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, p. 260.

Canadian Children's Literature, Number 60, 1990, Ulrike Walker, "A Matter of Thresholds," pp. 108-116; Number 70, 1993, Michael Steig, "The Importance of the Visual Text in Architect of the Moon: Mothers, Teapots, et al.," pp. 22-33; Number 81, 1996, Roderick McGillis, review of The Maestro, pp. 58-59.

Canadian Literature, spring, 1987, Jon C. Stott, review of Zoom Away, p. 160.

Chicago Tribune Book World, December 28, 1980.

Children's Book News, June, 1979, review of Madeline and Ermadello, p. 2.

CM Magazine, November, 1988, Melanie Fogel, "Tim Wynne-Jones," pp. 200-201.

Emergency Librarian, January-February, 1988, Dave Jenkinson, "Tim Wynne-Jones—Poet, Playwright, Song Writer, Teacher, Critic and Award Winning Author for Children and Adults," pp. 56-62; May-June, 1997, Rosemary Chance, "Reality Check #2: Readers' Advisory and New Novels."

Five Owls, May-June, 1989, Anne Lundin, review of Builder of the Moon.

Globe & Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), May 18, 1985; November 9, 1985; January 17, 1987; September 24, 1988; November 19, 1988.

Horn Book, May-June, 1987, Sarah Ellis, review of Zoom Away, pp. 378-381; January-February, 1995, Sarah Ellis, "News from the North," p. 99; May-June, 1995, Nancy Vasilakis, review of Some of the Kinder Planets, p. 334; January-February, 1996, Nancy Vasilakis, review of The Book of Changes, p. 76; July-August, 1998, Kitty Flynn, review of Stephen Fair, p. 502; July, 1999, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, p. 475; November-December, 2001, Lauren Adams, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 759.

In Review: Canadian Books for Children, winter, 1978, Linda Smith, review of Madeline and Ermadello, p. 70.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, March, 2002, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 551.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2001, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 1136.

Kliatt, September, 2003, Paula Rohrlick, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 23.

Maclean's, October 20, 1980, Margaret Cannon, review of Odd's End, p. 62; October 25, 1982, Margaret Cannon, review of The Knot, p. 72; October 24, 1988, Yvonne Cox, review of Fastygange, p. 66.

New Statesman, February 27, 1981, Brian Martin, review of Odd's End, p. 22.

Publishers Weekly, May 30, 1980, "Multitalented Artist Wins Seal Books Award," p. 25; August 22, 1980, Barbara A. Bannon, review of Odd's End, p. 43; February 10, 1989, Kimberly Olson Fakih and Diane Roback, review of Builder of the Moon, p. 69; April 12, 1993, review of Zoom at Sea, May 1, 1995, review of Some of the Kinder Planets, p. 59; October 30, 1995, review of The Book of Changes, p. 62; October 14, 1996, review of The Maestro, p. 84; October 13, 1997, Elizabeth Devereaux and Diane Roback, review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, p. 75; March 16, 1998, review of Stephen Fair, p. 65; January 25, 1999, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, p. 97; September 24, 2001, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 94; February 3, 2003, review of Ned Mouse Breaks Away, p. 76.

Quill and Quire, August, 1985, Bernie Goedhart, review of Zoom Away, p. 38; October, 1986, Bernie Goedhart, review of I'll Make You Small, p. 16; December, 1986, Joan McGrath, "Poems for Kids Conjure Up a Cockeyed World," p. 15; October, 1988, review of Fastygange, p. 19; November, 1992, Janet McNaughton, review of Zoom Upstream, p. 33; October, 1994, Annette Goldsmith, review of The Book of Changes, p. 38; December, 1995, Maureen Garvie, review of The Maestro, pp. 36-37.

Resource Links, February, 1997, review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, pp. 115-116; June, 1999, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories, p. 26; December, 2000, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 31; December, 2001, Ingrid Johnston, review of Boys' Own, p. 39; June, 2003, Jill Kedersha McClay, review of Ned Mouse Breaks Away, p. 48.

School Library Journal, July, 1989, Lee Bock, review of Builder of the Moon, p. 78; August, 1994, Steven Engelfried, review of Zoom Upstream, p. 148; April, 1999, Steven Engelfried, review of Lord of the Fries and Other Stories; May, 1999, Julie Cummins, review of On Tumbledown Hill, p. 100; October, 2001, Alison Follos, review of The Boy in the Burning House, p. 176; April, 2003, Eva Mitnick, review of Ned Mouse Breaks Away, p. 144.

University of Toronto Quarterly, fall, 1989, Dennis Duffy, review of Fastyngange, p. 21.

ONLINE

Tim Wynne-Jones Home Page, http://www.timwynne-jones.com (June 4, 2004).