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Beames, Margaret
Writer's File

Margaret Beames

Deceased
Beames, Margaret
In brief
Margaret Beames was a children's author whose imaginative narratives drew young readers into worlds of drama and suspense. A prolific writer, Beames published forty books for children since her first, The Greenstone Summer, in 1977. Several titles were published in Australia and the UK. She won the Picture Book and Children's Choice categories at the 2001 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, and, since 1987, was a finalist several times in the same awards. Beames also wrote drama for stage and radio.
  • Primary publisher
    Scholastic New Zealand
Bio

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beames, Margaret (1935–2016) was a children's writer whose rich imaginative narratives drew her young readers into worlds of drama and suspense.

A prolific writer, Beames published forty books for children since her first, The Greenstone Summer, in 1977. Titles include Hidden Valley (1983); The Plant That Grew and Grew... (1984); The Parkhurst Boys (1986); Clown Magic (1989); The Glass Tower (1991); The Girl in Blue (1993); The Archway Arrow (1996); and The Shearwater Bell (1997). Several titles have been published in Australia and the UK.

Storm was published in 1999. ‘Nine to twelve year olds will want to read this all in one go — great torch-under-the-blankets stuff.’ Outlanders was published the following year.

Beames also wrote drama for stage and radio, and, with Karen Scotson, published a book for adults, Karen: Her Fight Against Leukemia (1988).

Oliver in the Garden (2000), illustrated by Sue Hitchcock, won Best Picture Book and the Children's Choice Award at the 2001 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. Outlanders was shortlisted in the senior fiction category.

Duster (2002) is a young, scruffy dog found by Fliss. Fliss lives in an apartment but she is determined to keep him. Oliver’s Party (2003) features illustrations by Sue Hitchcock. Life can be most unfair for a cat — but a party can make up for everything.

Duster was included in the 2003 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction list.

Joseph's Bear (Lothian, 2004) tells the story of a boys search for his father in the war ravaged Germany of 1948. Her young adult novel Spirit of the Deep (Lothian) was published in 2006, and was listed as as 2007 Storylines Notable Young Adult Fiction Book. Beames released The Mouse that Danced (Scholastic) in 2007. It is a heart-warming story of a mouse who danced across the city, never suspecting home was the best place to be after all.

Oliver Goes Exploring (Scholastic, 2008) has our favourite cat on an exploration of the spare paddock next door. Illustrated by Sue Hitchcock. Beames returned to the junior fiction genre with The Singing Cave (Scholastic, 2009), a story where reality meets unreality in a cave on an idyllic Pacific Island.

Margaret Beames passed away in February, 2016.

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