Jacqui Hawkins
Author of Jen the Hen
About the Author
In league with her husband, author and illustrator Colin Hawkins, Jacqui Hawkins is part of the popular children's book-writing team that has created such popular works as Tog the Dog, Terrible, Terrible Tiger, and Foxy and Friends Go Racing. Featuring engaging animal characters, an offbeat sense show more of fun, and engaging texts, these and many other titles have proved popular with the picture-book set in both Hawkinses' native England as well as in the United States and many other countries. In addition to their books' constant presence on store shelves, the Hawkinses and their comic vision have also made their way to British television in the form of a weekly series featuring the character "Foxy," the main character in such books as Foxy in the Kitchen, Foxy Plays Hide and Seek, and Foxy and His Little Sister. After forming a friendship during their teen years, Colin and Jacqui fell in love and were married in 1968. One of the things cementing their long relationship has been their common interests in art and writing, which they have combined in their successful career as picture book authors. A few years after their first child, Finbar, was born, the Hawkinses began coming up with ideas for story books, and decided to approach several publishers with their proposals in the form of "roughs": words accompanied by sketchy drawings. Despite little initial interest, they persisted, and their first book, Witches, was purchased by Granada in 1981. That book would be the start of something big -- within a decade the prolific Hawkins duo could boast authorship of more than sixty titles. Interestingly, on many of their earliest books, Jacqui did not have her name on the title page; in Witches, for example, the book was credited to "Colin Hawkins and an old witch." This would change after a few titles, and after Colin demanded that his wife receive equal billing from publishers who incorrectly considered her only a minor contributor to each volume. As Colin recalled to Books for Keeps interviewer Stephanie Nettell, [one] publisher said, "'Well, we can't put every little housewife's name on all the books.' Well, without this little housewife, the book wouldn't be here!" (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Jacqui Hawkins
Le Château grincant 1 copy
Popi e a sua cauda 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- children's book author
- Relationships
- Hawkins, Colin (husband)
Members
Reviews
My kids love this book and I like how kids can participate in the reading in different ways no matter what reading level they are.
In this delightful catalogue of witchy pursuits and activities, husband and wife team Jacqui and Colin Hawkins set out to document the life and world of Wizzie, a "charming old witch" who resided at Cauldron Cottage, 13 Spooky Lane, Witchwood. From Wizzie's house to her clothing, from the spells she uses to the pets she keeps, Wizzie Witch chronicles every aspect of its subject's enchanting existence, finishing up with a depiction of her witchy dreams, after a busy day giving a magic tea party to her friends, Wendy, Wanda and Wilma.
Although it is rather discursive, and doesn't offer much in the way of a sequential narrative, this is still a charming book, one that young would-be witches and wizards will enjoy perusing. The artwork is delightfully quirky, with plenty of amusing details to keep children engrossed, while the text offers an engaging look at all aspects of a witch's life. I'm surprised, really, to see that it hasn't been rated or reviewed much online! Recommended to young readers who enjoy witchy tales and artwork.… (more)
Although it is rather discursive, and doesn't offer much in the way of a sequential narrative, this is still a charming book, one that young would-be witches and wizards will enjoy perusing. The artwork is delightfully quirky, with plenty of amusing details to keep children engrossed, while the text offers an engaging look at all aspects of a witch's life. I'm surprised, really, to see that it hasn't been rated or reviewed much online! Recommended to young readers who enjoy witchy tales and artwork.… (more)
Clever idea---to have clipped pages that end with the first letter of a word aligned with the rest of the word on the last page. But the story of Mig the Pig is not very interesting and I find reading cartoon-style text difficult and the text is obviously too hard for the audience who is learning to say: pig, big, etc.
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 22
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 1,712
- Popularity
- #14,992
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 7
- ISBNs
- 99
- Languages
- 7
First published in 1981, Witches is one of a number of picture-book guides from this husband-and-wife team to explore the world of different fascinating figures, including Spooks, Monsters, Vampires and Pirates. I was drawn to it because witchy picture-books and early readers are a pet project of mine, and because I enjoyed the Hawkins' subsequent Wizzie Witch (1999), which also offers a catalogue/guide to the witchy lifestyle. It's a shame I didn't encounter this as a child - it was definitely around when I was a girl - because I suspect that I would have greatly enjoyed poring over it, looking at all of the humorous illustrations, appreciating all the little jokes that are included. The text itself is quite interesting, not just for its entertaining mixture of humor and witchy "facts," but because it ties the figure of the witch and the grandmother together, and makes the argument that, for the most part, witches were/are good. As the narrator says, "on the whole, witches have usually practiced their arts to good purpose," and are "warm, sincere human beings." High praise indeed! Recommended to all the little witches and witch-lovers out there, and to fans of the Hawkins' distinctive art style.… (more)