Weston, Carrie

Personal

Born in England; children: two. Education: Attended college. Hobbies and other interests: Writing, studying, skiing, surfing.

Addresses

Home—Kent, England. E-mail—c.e.weston@uel.ac.uk.

Career

Educator and author. University of East London, London, England, lecturer in children's literature.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Lucky Socks, illustrated by Charlotte Middleton, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2001, Phyllis Fogelman Books (New York, NY), 2002.

How to Look after a Rat, illustrated by Chris Brown, Longman (Harlow, England), 2003.

Moonlight Lily, illustrated by Caroline Pedler, Oxfort University Press (Oxford, England), 2004.

The Cobsdown Cat Case (reader), illustrated by Andy Hammond, Rigby Educational, 2004.

(Reteller) Touch the Moon: A Traditional Tale, illustrated by Gwyneth Williamson, Franklin Watts (London, England) 2004.

When Brian Was a Lion, illustrated by Francesca Chessa, Gullane Children's Books (London, England), 2006.

The Queen, the Mice, and the Cheese, illustrated by Martin Remphry, Franklin Watts (London, England), 2006.

Chicken for Supper, illustrated by Sophie Fatus, Simon & Schuster (London, England), 2006, published as If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, Holiday House (New York, NY), 2007.

Oh, Boris!, illustrated by Tim Warnes, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 2006, published as The New Bear at School, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2008.

Sidelights

Teaching courses in children's literature at the University of East London by day, British author Carrie Weston had a second career as a children's book author. With titles such as Lucky Socks, Moonlight Lily, and If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, Weston creates animated stories that are popular with young readers in both her native United Kingdom and the United States.

Weston's first picture book, Lucky Socks, features illustrations by Charlotte Middleton. In the story, a young boy named Kevin believes that wearing a special pair of yellow socks will keep him out of trouble. However, when field day comes, Kevin's lucky socks are nowhere to be found. Kevin's mom comes through with a pair of yellow underpants which she hopes will do the trick and bring the boy good luck. Although he trips during the sack race, and has difficulty in other activities, Kevin's reward at day's end inspires him to exchange underpants for socks as his favorite item of clothing. Together, author and illustrator "have effectively captured the thoughts and actions" of the typical preschooler, according to School Library Journal contributor Wanda Meyers-Hines, while a Kirkus Reviews writer deemed Lucky Socks "absolutely top drawer" and "one of those genuine pleasures that bring an unexpected smile to your face." "Weston nicely captures the comfort a preschooler finds in superstition," maintained Gillian Engberg in her Booklist review, and in Publishers Weekly a critic cited the "child-centered tone" of Weston's entertaining story.

Other picture books by Weston include If a Chicken Stayed for Supper and The New Bear at School, both of which feature animal characters and gently humorous stories. In If a Chicken Stayed for Supper five foxes play near their den while their mother goes hunting for a chicken for supper. As darkness falls, the cubs worry that one of their numbers is lost, but a mother hen hears their cries and assures them that they are okay. When the hen returns the cubs to their den, she meets up with Mommy Fox. Fortunately, good manners prevail and the foxes and the hen all sit down to a meal of vegetable soup. In The New Bear at School—published in England as Oh, Boris!—the arrival of a big brown bear cub at school causes all the other animals to be afraid until Boris the bear unwittingly scares off a menacing gang of bullying rats and becomes class hero. The "naif" illustrations contributed by Sophie Fatus add "a silly winsomeness" to Weston's "cute, if rather woolly story," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor in a review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper. The story's "language is engaging and precise, commented School Library Journal contributor Susan Moorhead of the same book, while in Kirkus Reviews a contributor dubbed If a Chicken Stayed for Supper "a satisfying rendition of a classic premise."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2002, Gillian Engberg, review of Lucky Socks, p. 1023; March 15, 2007, Carolyn Phelan, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 55.

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2002, review of Lucky Socks, p. 53; March 1, 2007, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 234.

Publishers Weekly, November 26, 2001, review of Lucky Socks, p. 61; April 2, 2007, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 56.

School Librarian, summer, 2002, review of Lucky Socks, p. 79; summer, 2004, Carolyn Boyd, review of Moonlight Lily, p. 79.

School Library Journal, March, 2002, Wanda Meyers-Hines, review of Lucky Socks, p. 206; March, 2007, Susan Moorhead, review of If a Chicken Stayed for Supper, p. 190.