Rawlinson, Julia

Personal

Born in England; married; children: two sons. Education: Southampton University, degree (geography).

Addresses

Home—London, England.

Career

Children's book author.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Fred and the Little Egg, illustrated by Jane Massey, Good Books (Intercourse, PA), 2005.

A Surprise for Rosie, illustrated by Tim Warnes, Tiger Tales (Wilton, CT), 2005.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke, Greenwillow Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of poems to children's anthologies.

Sidelights

Julia Rawlinson's books for young readers include Fred and the Little Egg, A Surprise for Rosie, and Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. In Fred and the Little Egg a bear cub watches the swans on a nearby lake care for their eggs, then decides that he can also help Mother Nature along by making a nest for a fallen acorn. Teaching her son a lesson about life, Fred's mother then explains to the helpful cub that, because a seed is not an egg, planting is a better way to help his acorn grow. Another story dealing with a young nature lover, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, was called a "potent synthesis of art and prose" by School Library Journal contributor Catherine Threadgill. This tale finds a young fox worried when the leaves on his favorite tree turn as brown as Fletcher's own foxy fur coat. When autumn leaves begin to fall, the fox tries to reattach them, but to no avail; by the time Fletcher needs to hibernate, most have blown away. Worry turns to wonder, however, when the fox emerges from his den in mid-winter to find his favorite tree glistening with strands of icicles. Praising Fletcher and the Falling Leaves as "a poetic tribute to winter and fall," a Kirkus Reviews writer cited Rawlinson's "warm and lyrical text," while Threadgill noted the "resplendent" water-color illustrations by Tiphanie Beeke.

In A Surprise for Rosie toddlers meet a curious young rabbit whose father has promised her a surprise. Rosie searches for her surprise with the help of her woodland animal friends, who provide her with clues, but she eventually gives up. Finally, her surprise is ultimately revealed in a foldout: a basket held aloft by a huge blue balloon, in which Rosie and her father can take a ride into the sky. In School Library Journal Wanda Meyers-Hines called A Surprise for Rosie "a great choice for a read-aloud or naptime story," while in Kirkus Reviews a critic predicted that Rawlinson's "readers will definitely share Rosie's delight."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2005, review of A Surprise for Rosie, p. 294; August 1, 2006, review of Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, p. 794.

Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2005, review of A Surprise for Rosie, p. 75.

School Library Journal, May, 2005, Wanda Meyers-Hines, review of A Surprise for Rosie, p. 94; August, 2006, Catherine Threadgill, review of Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, p. 94.