Eva Ibbotson - Children's Author

Born in Vienna, Eva came to England as a small girl. She spent much of her adult life in Newcastle upon Tyne. When her husband was alive he bred snails in the garage; they also kept fish and had a small and very hairy dog. Eva had four grown-up children and seven grandchildren. She wrote for both adults and children. Which Witch was runner-up for the Carnegie Medal and The Secret of Platform 13 was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize. Journey to the River Sea won the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, was runner-up for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year and the Guardian Fiction Award, and was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

Eva's books for older readers (12+) include: The Morning Gift, A Song for Summer, The Secret Countess, A Company of Swans and Magic Flutes. Her books for younger readers (9+) include: The Dragonfly Pool, Journey to the River Sea and The Star of Kazan.

And for even younger readers (7+): Which Witch, Dial a Ghost, Not just a Witch, Monster Mission, The Beasts of Clawstone Castle, The secret of Platform 13,  The Great Ghost rescue and The Haunting of Hiram.

Eva's final novel that she completed prior to her death at the age of 85 in 2010 is called One Dog and his Boy. It will be published in 2011.

Eva Ibbotson on writing:
"I started to scribble stories when I was about seven years old and I just carried on so I became a writer gradually. I didn't try to get anything published until I was quite grown-up. I write at my mother's old desk, looking out on to a leafy street, and I rewrite what I have written again and again until I get the words the way I want them (most of my pages have been through eight drafts or so). It's my belief that one should be in the same place each day, so that if an idea is hovering it knows where to find you. Ideas can come from places one has seen or conversations one has overheard - or just from nowhere! Being an author can be lonely, difficult and frustrating, but there is nothing else I'd rather be."

---

Featured Books, with extracts by Eva Ibbotson

The Abominables
Eva Ibbotson
Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining  family group of Yeti and their transportation from the Himalayan Mountains to England in a frozen food lorry is touching, tender and very funny. It also carries a strong...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 7+ readers | 9+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/05/2013
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

The Abominables
Eva Ibbotson
Shortlisted for the 2012 Guardian children's fiction prize and One of Julia Eccleshare’s Stand-out Children’s Book of the Year 2012. July 2012 Book of the Month. Award-winning Eva Ibbotson’s charming fantasy about the rescue of an entertaining  family...
Featured in: 9+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/07/2012
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

One Dog and His Boy
Eva Ibbotson
Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011. Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted is a dog but his parents refuse...
Featured in: 9+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/03/2012
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Journey to the River Sea 10th Anniversary Edition
Eva Ibbotson
Special 10th Anniversary Edition Chosen by Anne Fine as one of her favourite reads.  A charming and magical adventure story that is full of wisdom, warmth and understanding. Orphaned Maia is sent off to stay with her relatives far, far away...
Featured in: 9+ readers | Reluctant Readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/06/2011
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

One Dog and His Boy
Eva Ibbotson
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. Shortlisted for the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award 2011 Award winning Eva Ibbotson’s poignant and beautiful last book celebrates a boy’s passion for a dog. All Hal has ever wanted...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 9+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 05/05/2011
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

The Ogre of Oglefort
Eva Ibbotson
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. A Richard and Judy Children's Book Club selection 2011 - Fluent Readers Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master...
Featured in: 7+ readers | 9+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 04/02/2011
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

The Ogre of Oglefort
Eva Ibbotson
Shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2010. Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2010. Irresistibly ridiculous, this is a wonderful and enchanting romp from a master storyteller. Every year at the Summer Meeting of Unusual Creatures the annual...
Featured in: 7+ readers | 9+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 07/05/2010
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Magic Flutes
Eva Ibbotson
Romance and intrigue make this lyrical historical adventure an unputdownable read! When a British millionaire sets out to buy a secluded fairy tale castle set high up on a rock above a beautiful lake he finds that its heiress is...
Featured in: 14+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/05/2009
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Dragonfly Pool
Eva Ibbotson
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff and pupils and...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Books of the Month | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/04/2009
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Dragonfly Pool
Eva Ibbotson
A wonderful, magical adventure spins out of a school story with a difference. Tally doesn’t want to leave her father and her aunts and go away to boarding school. But Delderton Hall is a very special school with interesting staff...
Featured in: 11+ readers | eBooks
Format: Hardback - Released: 02/05/2008
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Song For Summer
Eva Ibbotson
Eva Ibbotson is so clever at capturing moments in history and weaving a story around them and her characters too are so real you feel you can reach out and touch them.  Here in A Song for Summer is absolutely...
Featured in: 11+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 04/08/2006
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle
Eva Ibbotson
Eva Ibbotson is one of those rare authors that really delivers believable and utterly captivating characters.  Her setting is a castle that is quite fantastical, with some incredibly funny ghosts.  And yet readers are drawn in in such a way as...
Featured in: 9+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/06/2006
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Journey to the River Sea
Eva Ibbotson
Chosen by Anne Fine. A charming and magical adventure story that is full of wisdom, warmth and understanding. Orphaned Maia is sent off to stay with her relatives far, far away in the heart of the Amazon jungle. She’s excited...
Featured in: 11+ readers | 9+ readers
Format: Paperback - Released: 10/05/2002
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy

Which Witch?
Eva Ibbotson
A favourite of November 2010 Guest Editor Jonathan Stroud: "Arriman the Awful, master of black magic and great Wizard of the North, needs an heir. And that means he has to get married. Trouble is, wicked wizards have to marry...
Featured in: 7+ readers | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 12/10/2001
Info   Extract   Wishlist   Compare Price   Buy