Ivy Lilian Wallace was a British author and illustrator and best known for writing the “Pookie” series of illustrated children’s stories. She was born in Grimsby, in the UK on 7th October1915.  She showed early talent at drawing and her parents anticipated her future success as an artist. Instead, she became an actress at the  Felixstowe Repertory Theatre, and during the War years made educational films for the British film industry as well as conducting some support work as a switchboard operator for the Grimsby Police. It was during this time, (1946), whilst doodling with her pen, that Ivy’s initial conception of “Pookie”, the winged rabbit began.

She presented her finished manuscript to London publishers Williams Collins Ltd.  who rejected it.  However, William Hope Collins, from the Glaswegian office where the Children’s Book section was based, contacted Ivy some weeks later.

To cut a long story short, he liked the script and the author and although estranged from his wife and children, he and Ivy married four years later and they moved to a small town near the English/Scottish border. They had two children and in 1967 after her husband’s untimely death, she ceased her writing career.

The intro the the first book “Pookie” (1946) starts:

“Pookie was a little white furry rabbit with soft floppity ears, big blue eyes and the most lovable rabbit smile in the world.

He lived with his Mother and father and four brothers and three sisters deep down in the warm brown earth under a great Oak tree and had lettuce and honey sandwiches for tea every Wednesday and two hazelnuts for pocket money every Saturday.

His siblings were Wiggletail, Swifflekins, Twinkletoes, Brighteyes, Tomasina, Bobasina and Weeny-One”.

The “Pookie: book series consist of:

• “Pookie”;
• “Pookie and the Gypsies”;
• “Pookie Puts the World Right”;
• “Pookie in Search of a Home”;
• “Pookie Believes in Santa Claus”;
• “Pookie at the Seaside”; and
• “Pookie’s Big Day Out”.

In 1994, Ivy and her daughters re-printed the stories for their own publishing company, Pookie Productions Ltd. – Ivy Wallace died in March 13, 2006.

For examples of similar posts see my  Illustrative Art page.

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