Jill Murphy Fact Cards

Jill was born in 1949 and grew up in London.

Jill’s earliest memory is from when she was two. She remembers sitting on the loor surrounded by sheets of paper, drawing a story.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock By the age of six Jill was producing her own children’s books, which she fastened together with a stapler. Her mum has kept all of these!

Jill loved primary school and would use her artistic skills to illustrate her homework and help her to answer tricky questions.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock Jill did not like the convent where she went to secondary school because it was very strict. The nuns were not interested in Jill’s art work.

At sixteen, Jill left school and went to study at the Chelsea Art School and Croydon Art School.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock Two years after studying at college, Jill wrote her irst novel The Worst Witch. It was turned down by three big publishers.

Jill worked as a nanny and in a children’s home until she was contacted by a small publisher who wanted to print The Worst Witch.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock The Worst Witch was published when Jill was 24 years old and sold out immediately!

Jill went on to write three more books in The Worst Witch series. All were huge successes.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock Jill’s picture book Peace at Last is about a bear who can’t sleep. It was commended for the Kate Greeaway Medal.

A Quiet Night In was also shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal. This was Jill’s irst book about the elephants Mr. and Mrs Large.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock The Large family were so popular that Jill went on to write and illustrate A Piece of Cake, Five Minutes Peace, All in One Piece and Mr. Large in Charge.

Five Minutes Peace won the Best Books for Babies Award and was shortlisted for the Children’s Book Award.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock All in One Piece was Highly Commended for the Kate Greenaway Award and shortlisted for the Children’s Book Award.

The Large family books were so popular that they were adapted for television.

www.teachingideas.co.uk © Images: © ThinkStock Jill’s book The Last Noo-Noo, about a small monster called Marlon, won three awards – including the prestigious Smartie Book Prize.

If Jill could travel back in time, she would want to visit the time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Her favourite children’s book is The Sword in the Stone by T.H.White.