SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: The Tiny Woman’s Coat
WORK NOTES: Children’s Bookwatch
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.joycowley.com/
CITY: Picton 7273
STATE:
COUNTRY: New Zealand
NATIONALITY: New Zealander
LAST VOLUME: SATA 352
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born August 7, 1936, in Levin, New Zealand; daughter of Peter (a builder) and Cassia Summers; married Ted Cowley (a farmer), c. 1956 (marriage ended, 1967); married Malcolm Mason (an accountant and writer), 1970 (died 1985); married Terry Coles, 1989; children: (first marriage) Sharon, Edward, Judith, James.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Pharmacists’ apprentice in New Zealand, 1953-56; writer for children, beginning 1967. Presenter at schools and conferences, and writing workshops. Patron and trustee of Children’s Literature Foundation of New Zealand’s Storylines Trust and Foundation.
AVOCATIONS:Cooking, spinning wool and knitting, painting, playing the piano.
MEMBER:New Zealand Society of Authors.
AWARDS:New Zealand Buckland Literary Award, 1970, for Man of Straw; New Zealand Literary Achievement Award, 1980; New Zealand AIM Children’s Book Awards, 1982, for The Silent One, 1992, for Bow down Shadrach, and 1996, for The Cheese Trap; Children’s Book of the Year awards, 1983, for The Silent One, and 1993, for Bow down Shadrach; Russell Clark Award, 1985, for The Duck in the Gun; New Zealand Commemoration Medal, 1990; named to Order of the British Empire, 1992 for services to children’s literature; Margaret Mahy Lecture Award, 1993; Women’s Suffrage Centennial Medal, 1993; honorary doctorate in literature, Massey University, 1993; named patron, New Zealand Children’s Book Foundation, 1994; Best TV Drama Script award, 1994; New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award nomination, 2000, for Red-Eyed Tree Frog, 2003, for Weta: A Knight in Shining Armor; Montana New Zealand Book Awards finalist, 2000, for Classical Music; New Zealand Post Children’s Book Award, 2001, for Shadrach Girl, and 2002, for Brodie; Joy Cowley Award for Children’s Writers established by Children’s Literature Foundation, 2002; A.W. Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature, Montana New Zealand Book Awards, 2004; named Dame Commander, New Zealand Order of Merit, 2005; LIANZA Children’s Book Award shortlist, 2007, for Greedy Cat and the Sneeze; Prime Minister’s Award for Fiction, 2010; Maryann Manning Award for Outstanding Literacy Scholar, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2011; LIANZA Award and New Zealand Post Junior Fiction Award, both 2014, both for Dunger; New Zealand Society of Authors honor, 2015; named member of the Order of New Zealand, 2017; Hans Christian Andersen Award shortlist, 2018.
RELIGION: Roman Catholic.WRITINGS
Author of “Joy Starters” series for Dominie Press. Also author of radio scripts for New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. Contributor to anthologies, including
Carry Me Back, a film produced by Kiwi Film Production/New Zealand Film Commission, and screen at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, was based on a story by Cowley. Nest in a Falling Tree was adapted for film by Roald Dahl as The Night Digger, starring Patricia Neal. The Silent One was adapted for film and aired on The Disney Channel.
SIDELIGHTS
Although Joy Cowley has earned critical praise for her adult novels, her work writing children’s stories has made her a beloved figure in her native New Zealand. The author of hundreds of picture books and readers as well as young-adult novels, Cowley has received numerous awards for her efforts, among them being named Dame Commander of the New Zealand order of merit and a member of the Order of New Zealand.
“In the early years at school, I was a slow and struggling student,” Cowley recalled on her website. “I could have added to the country’s illiteracy statistics. The experience of trying to learn to read with a meaningless system of fragmented language has made me a passionate advocate for the beginning reader, the slow reader, the reader who has English as a second language.”
Cowley began writing for children when her son Edward encountered similar difficulties in learning to read. With the assistance of his teacher, she wrote several stories designed to whet Edward’s interest and be easy to read. She began helping other children with reading problems and teachers soon started using her stories in their classrooms. With the help of June Melser, a teacher and editor, Cowley created the 112-book “Story Box” reading program, which has been used in elementary schools across the English-speaking world. Of the hundreds of books she has written, most are easy readers for young children.
Cowley has gained critical recognition for several of her picture books, among them The Mouse Bride, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, and The Wishing of Biddy Malone. Illustrated by David Christiana, The Mouse Bride is based on a traditional folktale spanning several cultures. Here a small mouse laments her weakness and desires to marry the strongest husband in the world, thereby hoping to raise strong children. Her search takes her to the sun, the clouds, the wind, and finally back home before her quest is resolved.
The folktale-like The Wishing of Biddy Malone gives readers the message that, in order to reach one’s goals, work is required more than wishes. Biddy Malone wants to become an accomplished dancer and singer, but her temper gets in her way. She meets a fairy who offers to grant her wishes, but when she returns home none have come true. Fortunately, wishing has made Biddy clearly determine her goals, and she now sets to work achieving them on her own. “Cowley strives for a folkloric quality in this original tale,” commented Miriam Lang Budin in School Library Journal, and a critic for Publishers Weekly wrote that the author “grabs onto traditional elements of Irish folklore with gusto” in her story. Also reviewing The Wishing of Biddy Malone, Carolyn Phelan concluded in Booklist that Cowley’s “beautifully cadenced story reads aloud with a musical lilt.”
Cowley and photographer Nic Bishop received a Boston Globe/Horn Book Picture Book Award for Red-Eyed Tree Frog, which allows preschool readers to follow a frog’s quest to find food without becoming food himself. With short sentences, drama, and elements of humor, Cowley and Bishop hoped to create a book that “could be vicariously thrilling to a young child,” Cowley explained in her acceptance speech. The story is told in simple sentences “without the slightest hint of anthropomorphism,” commented Horn Book reviewer Lauren Adams, the critic adding that the text in Red-Eyed Tree Frog “is perfectly attuned to the preschool ear” and successfully conveys “information, action, and drama.”
Cowley and Bishop teamed up again on Chameleon, Chameleon, which follows a chameleon through its day, crossing paths with harmless and dangerous creatures as it searches for food and companionship. “This is the ideal combination of spectacular photography with writing perfectly attuned to a young audience,” proclaimed Danielle J. Ford in Horn Book, while School Library Journal critic Patricia Manning noted the “simple text and exceptional photos” featured in Chameleon, Chameleon . “Words and pictures come together to deliver a satisfying nonfiction adventure,” praised a critic for Kirkus Reviews, while in Booklist, Kay Weisman wrote that Cowley’s “deceptively simple narrative” in Chameleon, Chameleon “draws children right in.”
The young heroine in Cowley’s “Agapanthus Hum” picture books is loosely based on her daughter Judith, who, as a child, was constantly losing her eyeglasses. “Sometimes they hung on one ear, sometimes they dropped into her porridge, sometimes she sat on them and twice they were run over by the lawn mower,” Cowley recalled on her website. In Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses, Agapanthus is inspired to become an acrobat by a trip to the circus; predictably, this spells disaster for her glasses, while a loose tooth is the focus of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot.
“Cowley’s simple text is filled with delicious word choices and rhythmic alliteration,” praised Gillian Engberg in a Booklist review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, and Mary Elam wrote in School Library Journal that the book’s “familiar topic, short chapters, frequent illustrations, and ample white space will appeal to beginning readers.” As a Kirkus Reviews contributor noted of the “Agapanthus Hum” stories, “Coley’s genius with new readers is that she knows her audience.”
Many of Cowley’s stories contain a gentle moral or lesson for the reader. In The Video Shop Sparrow, for example, two young boys discover that a sparrow has been trapped inside their neighborhood video rental store during the proprietor’s two-week holiday. Most adults do not care about the bird, but the boys persist and finally get the mayor to have the store opened and the bird freed. Cowley gets the moral across “without hammering it home, and the boys’ compassion in the face of adult indifference is all the more admirable for being so stubborn,” John Peter commented in his review of The Video Shop Sparrow for Booklist.
An environmentally themed picture book, Song of the River features striking landscapes by Kimberly Andrews. The work centers on Cam, a young mountain boy who longs to visit the sea. Having grown impatient with his grandfather, who vows that they will make the journey together, Cam follows a trickle of water that calls to him, promising to lead the youth to his destination. The trickle flows into a mountain creek that leads to a waterfall, where it broadens into a river that flows through rich farmland and empties into a busy harbor. Beckoned further still, Cam ends his trek on the sand dunes, where he marvels at the ocean’s wide expanse.
First published in 1994 and re-issued with new illustrations by Andrews twenty-five years later, Song of the River earned a solid critical reception. “With graceful, rhyming poetry, Cowley articulates the connectedness of nature,” observed a contributor in Publishers Weekly, and a writer in Kirkus Reviews also lauded the narrative, stating that “Cowley neatly modulates Cam’s adventure, sentences that build and accrete like that rivulet taking readers on the journey.” In School Library Journal, Amy Shepherd described Song of the River, as “a perfect choice for young naturalists and budding scientists interested in the water cycle.”
First making an appearance in 1980’s Mrs. Wishy-Washy , Cowley’s engaging picture-book character Mrs. Wishy-Washy has greeted new generations as the book series expanded in subsequent decades. In these “classic adventures” according to a Publishers Weekly critic, a washer woman strives to keep things clean. From washing devices that fly out of control to rebellious farm animals who do not want to bathe, Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s adventures are fully of plenty of humorous mishaps. Lee Bock, writing for School Library Journal considered Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm to be “a splendid choice for storytimes,” while a Kirkus Reviews critic recommended it as key to “a rollicking story time.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that, while Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm is a longer book, “Cowley keeps this lengthier sequel easy enough for beginning readers.”
One of Cowley’s first novels for children, The Silent One is set in the South Pacific and introduces a deaf, mute boy named Jonasi, who is dreaded and ostracized by superstitious islanders because of his silence and because of his friendship with a rare albino turtle. Jonasi and the turtle are perceived as demons and blamed for both a hurricane and a fatal shark attack. When the boy gets the chance to leave the island for a new life and an education at a school for the deaf, the life of his turtle is threatened and he risks everything to save it.
Reviewing The Silent One , Virginia Haviland wrote in Horn Book that the book’s prose is “brilliantly evocative of the physical background as well as of the emotional atmosphere.” The book “has a haunting quality,” asserted a critic for Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, and in the Times Educational Supplement, Fred Urquhart declared that The Silent One “will not be forgotten easily.”
In her novel Hunter, Cowley combines modern-day adventure with information about New Zealand in the early 1800s. Jordan, who is part Maori, and her siblings are in a plane that crashes on a remote beach, and they must struggle to survive in an unfamiliar wilderness. Luckily, Jordan begins receiving messages about how to find shelter—the information comes to her from Hunter, a runaway Maori slave living in 1805. While Hunter is fleeing his captors, he does all he can to aid the children he sees in his visions. “Alternately exciting and mysterious, the novel has highly appealing elements,” commented Ellen Fader in her School Library Journal appraisal of Hunter, and Hazel Rochman wrote in Booklist that Cowley “weaves … fascinating history” into her story.
While The Silent One, Hunter, and Cowley’s novel Speed of Light feature serious themes, she treats readers to lighthearted tales in Chicken Feathers, Dunger, and her “Snake and Lizard” and “Wild West Gang” companion stories.
In Chicken Feathers a boy and his talking chicken defend the family farm against a wily fox while his family prepares for a new member, and Dunger focuses on the summer two siblings help their grandparents refit a summer cottage that is woefully “off the grid.” Reviewing Chicken Feathers in Horn Book, Sarah Ellis praised it as a “gengle, folksy short novel” that treats readers to “a delicious moment of magic realism,” while a Kirkus Reviews critic asserted that Cowley’s story here “builds to a climax infused with the sense of the miraculous, [and] leverages happy endings all around.”
The close friendship between two very different reptiles is forged in Snake and Lizard, and Gavin Bishop’s colorful illustrations pairs with Cowley’s engaging and dialogue-rich chapters as their exploits continue in Friends: Snake and Lizard. The author “carves developed characters through concise dialogue,” noted a Kirkus Reviews writer in appraising Snake and Lizard, the critic adding that the “witty moments within each chapter” fuel interest in this desert-themed tale. While Horn Book critic Joanna Rudge Long noted that, like siblings, “Snake and Lizard were born to squabble,” “each argument begins in misunderstanding and ends in companionable accord.”
While Cowley’s work as a writer has slowed as she has focused on her grandchildren and hobbies, as well as on her husband, she still dedicates energy to advancing literacy, using her website and school visits to share interesting observations and stories with her characteristic enthusiasm. “Writing for young people requires a memory,” she once explained to SATA. “More than that—before starting a book it’s necessary to peel away years of adult experience like the layers of an onion, and expose a self that’s of an age corresponding with character and reader. Only by being once more ten or fourteen or whatever age I’m writing for, can I evaluate the work. I can ‘live’ with my characters and understand them as equals.” “Most weeks, the bulk of my writing time is spent answering letters from young friends all over the world,” she added, “A task I consider more play than work!”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Buck, Claire, editor, Bloomsbury Guide to Women’s Literature, Prentice Hall (New York, NY), 1992.
Myers, Robin, editor, Dictionary of Literature in the English Language, Pergamon (Oxford, England), 1978.
Twentieth-Century Children’s Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1989.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 1997, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Singing down the Rain, p. 565; October 15, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Big Moon Tortilla, p. 426; March 15, 1999, John Peters, review of The Rusty, Trusty Tractor, p. 1332; May 15, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Red-Eyed Tree Frog, p. 1696; December 1, 1999, John Peter, review of The Video Shop Sparrow, p. 709; April 15, 2000, Sally Estes, review of Starbright and the Dream Eater, p. 1543; February 15, 2001, Helen Rosenberg, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Major Bark, p. 1143; February 15, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 1072; January 1, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Wishing of Biddy Malone, p. 872; September 15, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Hunter, p. 244; February 15, 2005, Kay Weisman, review of Chameleon, Chameleon, p. 1078; May 15, 2008, Thom Barthelmess, review of Chicken Feathers, p. 42.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, June, 1981, review of The Silent One, p. 189; July, 2000, review of Starbright and the Dream Eater, p. 395; March, 2003, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 268; February, 2004, Janice Del Negro, review of The Wishing of Biddy Malone, p. 225; December, 2011, Jeannette Hulick, review of Friends: Snake and Lizard, p. 199.
Horn Book, June, 1981, Virginia Haviland, review of The Silent One, pp. 301-302; March, 1999, Lauren Adams, review of Red-Eyed Tree Frog, p. 220; January, 2000, transcript of Cowley’s Boston Globe/Horn Book Award acceptance speech, p. 45; May-June, 2005, Danielle J. Ford, review of Chameleon, Chameleon, p. 346; May-June, 2008, Sarah Ellis, review of Chicken Feathers, p. 309; November-December, 2008, Joanna Rudge Long, review of Snake and Lizard, p. 699; January-February, 2012, Joanna Rudge Long, review of Friends, p. 86.
Instructor, April, 2000, review of Red-Eyed Tree Frog, p. 12.
Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2001, review of Mrs. Goodstory, p. 1209; December 15, 2002, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 1847; December 15, 2003, review of The Wishing of Biddy Malone, p. 1449; May 15, 2003, review of Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm, p. 748; March 15, 2005, review of Chameleon, Chameleon, p. 349; April 15, 2008, review of Chicken Feathers; August 1, 2008, review of Snake and Lizard; September 15, 2008, review of The Bedtime Train; August 1, 2012, review of Stories of the Wild West Gang; July 1, 2019, review of Song of the River.
Landfall, May, 2000, Marion McLeod, review of Classical Music, pp. 154-156.
Magpies, July, 2000, reviews of Mrs. Wishy-Washy, p. 6, and Shadrach Girl, Bow down Shadrach, and Gladly, Here I Come, all p. 34; September, 2000, review of Cricket’s Storm, p. 7; May, 2001, review of The Silent One, p. 7; July, 2001, reviews of Pip the Penguin p. 6, and The Wild Wests and the Haunted Fridge, p. 7; November, 2001, review of Brodie, p. 7; March, 2002, reviews of Eating Plums in Bed and Pudding, both p. 5; May, 2002, review of Duck Walk, p. 26; July, 2002, review of Weta: A Knight in Shining Armor, p. 8; September, 2002, review of Apple, Banana, Cherry, p. 4; May, 2003, review of Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm, p. 6; September, 2007, Helen Purdie, review of Snake and Lizard, p. 30; July, 2008, Rosemary Tisdall, review of Chicken Feathers, p. S5; May, 2011, Julie Harper, review of Just One More, p. S4; November, 2011, review of Stories of the Wild West Gang, p. S3; November, 2013, Jenny Millar, review of Dunger, p. 7; September, 2014, Helen Purdie, review of Speed of Light, p. 6.
New York Times Book Review, August 13, 1967, Seymour Epstein, review of Nest in a Falling Tree, p. 5.
Publishers Weekly, November 3, 1997, review of Singing down the Rain, p. 85; December 21, 1998, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses, p. 68; March 1, 1999, review of The Rusty, Trusty Tractor, p. 68; November 1, 1999, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses, p. 56; December 18, 2000, review of Agapanthus Hum and Major Bark, p. 80; February 17, 2003, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 78; April 21, 2003, review of Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm, p. 60; January 5, 2004, review of The Wishing of Biddy Malone, p. 60; September 22, 2008, review of The Bedtime Train, p. 58.
Reading Teacher, March, 2000, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses, p. 519.
School Librarian, autumn, 2011, Anna Griffin, review of Just One More, p. 161; winter, 2014, Nigel Hinton, review of Speed of Light, p. 228; summer, 2014, Carolyn Copland, review of Dunger, p. 101.
School Library Journal, October, 1997, Lisa Falk, review of Singing down the Rain, p. 95; November 1, 1998, Roxanne Burg, review of Big Moon Tortilla, p. 77; March, 1999, Kathy Piehl, review of Red-Eyed Tree Frog, pp. 190-191; April, 1999, Gale W. Sherman, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Eyeglasses, p. 91; May, 1999, Lisa Dennis, review of The Rusty, Trusty Tractor, p. 88; December, 1999, Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of The Video Shop Sparrow, p. 90; June, 2000, Ronni Krasnow, review of Starbright and the Dream Eater, p. 142; February, 2001, Laura Scott, review of Agapanthus Hum and Major Bark, p. 93; September, 2001, Karen J. Tannenbaum, review of Mrs. Goodstory, p. 186; February, 2003, Mary Elam, review of Agapanthus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 103; July, 2003, Lee Bock, review of Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm, p. 89; December, 2003, John Sigwald, review of Where Horses Run Free: A Dream for the American Mustang, p. 112; March, 2004, Miriam Lang Budin, review of The Wishing of Biddy Malone, p. 155; November, 2004, Ellen Fader, review of Hunter, p. 139; April, 2005, Patricia Manning, review of Chameleon, Chameleon, p. 120; April, 2008, Miriam Lang Budin, review of Chicken Feathers, p. 104; October, 2008, Julie Roach, review of The Bedtime Train, p. 104; December, 2008, Kirsten Cutler, review of Snake and Lizard, p. 86; December, 2011, Heather Talty, review of Friends, p. 79; October, 2012, Madeline J. Bryant, review of Stories of the Wild West Gang, p. 128.
Times Educational Supplement, August 20, 1982, Fred Urquhart, review of The Silent One.
Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), March 30, 2003, review of Agapanthaus Hum and the Angel Hoot, p. 5.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2000, review of Starbright and the Dream Eater, p. 358.
ONLINE
Joy Cowley website, http://www.joycowley.com (September 15, 2019).
New Zealand Book Council website, http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/ (September 15, 2019), author profile*.
Joy Cowley has two writing desks. With her husband Terry Coles, she now lives in Featherson, Wairarapa, New Zealand, in a little cottage well suited to a couple of senior citizens; but they still have a house in the Marlborough Sounds where they lived for many years.
The desk in the Featherston is a converted bedroom and has a desk overlooking lawn, garden, and children playing in a quiet cul-de-sac. The desk in the Marlborough Sounds has a view of a bush-rimmed bay, green water licking a stony beach, wekas and seagulls and sometimes, a boat chugging to a mussel farm.
Joy and Terry needed to move from the Wellington apartment, when stairs and traffic became too much of a challenge for Terry. A bonus for Joy is that her lathe and woodturning tools are now a few steps from the kitchen door. Joy now has two certificates in woodturning and enjoys finding bowls, boxes, goblets and platters in lumps of firewood.
Joy sees herself as wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. This is who she is; writing is what she does, and she has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her writing for children began with an after-school job in 1953 when she was 16, editing the children's page of The Manawatu Daily Times.
In the mid-1960s, when one of her sons had difficulty learning to read, Joy wrote stories for him and children with similar difficulties. Some of these were published in the New Zealand School Journals. Many were used as home-made big books in classrooms. By the late 1970s Joy and editor June Melser were working on the Story Box reading programme, published by Wendy Pye. Since Story Box, Joy has written more than 600 titles.
For almost three decades, Joy has travelled, attending conferences, visiting schools, and running writing workshops for people whose culture has not been adequately represented in their children's books. She believes that children need to see themselves and their own culture in their literature. Now, in her seventies, she needs to limit travel but she still enjoys contact with children through hundreds of letters each month. "The day I'm not longer in touch with young people, is the day I stop writing for them, because the energy flows from them and goes back to them."
Joy is a patron and trustee of Storylines, the Children's Literature Foundation of New Zealand (CLFNZ) and has written a book on writing for children, "Writing from the Heart," as a fundraiser for Storylines.
She also writes books of spiritual reflection and is a retreat facilitator.
When she's not writing, Joy likes to spend time with her husband Terry, her four children, thirteen grandchildren and great-grandsons Mateo and Ethan. She also enjoys cooking, spinning wool and knitting, painting, playing the piano and any activity to do with the sea.
Joy's Awards and Honours list.
For more on Joy, her work, and some writing advice, click on the links on this page.
(extract from Questions Kids Ask Joy Cowley, Scholastic 1996)
Where and when were you born? I was born in a house on a chicken farm in Levin, New Zealand at 6 pm on 7 August, 1936. My name was Cassia Joy Summers.
What did your parents do? My parents did not work- they were both ill, my father sufferng from heart disease and my mother from mental illness. They were loving parents but they found life difficult.
Were you good at school? No! When I was young I had trouble concentrating and I got bored easily. I used to read a book under my desk and draw pictures in my exercise books which got me into a lot of trouble.
What did you like to do? I loved to draw pictures, tell stories and make things. I didn't discover the magic of books until I was nine and then I couldn't get enough of them. I would read under the blankets using my father's torch which I "borrowed". When I was at High School, I liked to read, write stories and poetry, and paint.
Did you like writing stories? Not as much as I liked telling them. At primary school I wasn't very good at spelling, grammar, punctuation or handwriting so I often got poor marks for my work. It wasn't until I was at High School and had more control of the written language that I enjoyed writing stories. From the age of 11, I had stories, rhymes and drawings published in the children's page of the Southern Cross newspaper. When I was 16, I got an after-school job editing the children's page of the Manawatu Daily Times in Palmerston North.
What sports did you play? I played hockey in winter and swam in the summer- I enjoyed both and was good at neither.
What did you do when you left school? I was offered a job as a cadet reporter at the Manawatu Daily Times but my parents apprenticed me to the Foxton Chemist where I worked as an assistant. I saved up and bought myself a motorcycle and I learned to fly a Tiger Moth - a wood and canvas bi-plane.
When did you marry and how many children do you have? I married Ted Cowley in 1956 and we had four children- Sharon, Edward, Judith and James within four years. We divorced in 1968. In 1970 I married Malcolm Mason, a Wellington writer and accountant who died in 1985. My third marriage in 1989 was to Terry Coles.
Where do you live? In Fish Bay in the Kenepuru Sound at the top of New Zealand's South Island. We own about 165 acres which was part of a farm but is now reverting to bush. The nearest town (Picton) is about two hours away by car or six minutes by float plane.
Do you like living there? Yes! I love to live by the sea. The bay is a peaceful place with bush, streams, tuis and bellbirds. I sometimes miss the things you can do in big cities but I never get lonely- we have a close, caring community and lots of visitors including my children and nine grandchildren- who come often.
When do you write? I usually get up at 4 am (I'm a farm girl at heart) and write six days a week until mid-afternoon - my brain turns into cottage cheese after 8 p.m. so I don't write at night unless I have a big deadline. I also spend a lot of my writing time replying to children. I get between 200 and 1000 letters a week.
How many books have you had published? I don't know. There are over 400 early readers, about twenty picture books, three novels and two collections of short stories for young readers. For adults there are five novels, a collection of short stories, articles and spiritual material.
Are you a Christian? Yes, I converted to Catholicism almost 20 years ago and my faith is very important to me. Terry and I have a retreat house here at Fish Bay and people come to have some time out in this beautiful, peaceful place.
If you could change anything in New Zealand what would it be? New Zealanders can be quite negative and I would like to see them appreciate and celebrate all the good things here. I would like to see more people enjoy work for work's sake and not just as a way of getting money. I would also like to see people celebrate more, love each other more and become more aware that this earth is our mother - if we hurt the earth, we also hurt ourselves.
Footnote; March 2011. Joy now lives in Featherston, New Zealand with her husband Terry Coles.
I was born in Levin, New Zealand, 7 August 1936, the eldest daughter of Peter Summers (Scottish/Irish) and Cassia Gedge (mainly Swedish/Danish). I was the eldest of 5 children, four girls and a boy, and because both parents suffered chronic ill health, we were raised on a sickness benefit. This meant that we were financially poor but very rich in family experience.
In the early years at school, I was a slow and struggling student and I could have added to the country's illiteracy statistics. The experience of trying to learn to read with a meaningless system of fragmented language, has made me a passionate advocate for the beginner reader, the slow reader, the reader who has English as a second language. I believe that learning to read must be a pleasurable and meaningful exercise. If it isn't, then we teach children to read and to hate reading at the same time.
When I discovered that reading accessed story, I forgot that I "couldn't read" and delighted in the adventures that could be found in books. By the age of 11, I was a book addict who haunted the local library and like all children who over-dose on reading, I penned the overflow. Writing too, became an addiction.
My chosen career would have been in art or journalism but my parents apprenticed me to the local pharmacist when I left school. At the age of 20 I married farmer Ted Cowley, lived on a dairy farm and had four children in almost as many years - Sharon, Edward, Judith and James. In these years I milked cows, changed diapers, made puppets and play dough and wrote short stories in the evenings. One of these stories, reprinted in "Short Story International" was read in New York by Doubleday editor Anne Hutchens who wrote to ask if I had a novel. That query led to five novels published by Doubleday, between 1967 and 1978.
While this was going on, I was also writing stories for my son Edward who was a slow reader. These little stories extended to other children, other schools and by the early 1970s, teachers were making "big books" from them to use with their students. "Can you get these stories published?" they asked.
In 1978 I decided to take 5 years leave from adult novels, to write a children's reading programme with teacher/editor June Melser. We did the Story Box Reading Programme which was published by Shortland Publications, Auckland, NZ and then The Wright Group, USA. I became deeply involved in early reading and the five years of commitment became twenty years. It was in 1999 that my 6th adult novel was published.
There was much life experience in those years. My marriage to Ted Cowley ended in 1967. In 1970 I married Malcolm Mason, a Wellington writer and accountant who died in 1985. My third marriage in 1989 was to Terry Coles. For many years, Terry and I lived in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand's South Island, with an assortment of animals - sheep, chickens, ducks, 8 cats and a dog - and visits from 13 grandchildren.
In 2004 we moved to Wellington so that Terry could be nearer medical services and for a while lived in an apartment on the wharf, just a stone's throw from the Beehive (Parliament Buildings). This suited us for a while but Terry’s heath deteriorated further, strokes leaving him with diminished sight, hearing and mobility. Wellington’s stairs and traffic became too much of a challenge and it was necessary to move out of the city. We are now in a cottage in the township of Featherston, about fifty minutes north of Wellington. Here I have a garden once more, and a shed with a lathe and woodturning tools.
I am still writing full-time. Failing sight has probably imposed limits, but I can still write in 48pt print, and touch has become more sensitive. These days the creative hours are divided between adult writing - articles, spiritual reflection material, stories and novels - and books for children. I still write graded reading material for schools but I also do picture books and novels, trade titles which children can own. Most weeks, the bulk of writing time is spent answering letters from young friends all over the world, a task that I consider to be more play than work.
Awards and Honours
ICON of the New Zealand Arts Foundation 2020
Title of "KAUMATUA" New Zealand Society of Authors 2015
University of Alabama, Birmingham, Maryann Manning Award for Outstanding Literacy Scholar 2011
Prime Minister's Award for Fiction 2010
Dame Commander of the New Zealand order of Merit (DCMNZ) 2005
A.W. Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature 2004
Roberta Long medal for multicultural writing (USA) 2002
Patron NZ Children's Book Foundation 1994
Award Best TV Drama Script 1994
Hon. D.Litt Massey University 1993
NZ Women's Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993
Margaret Mahy Lecture Award 1993
OBE (Order of the British Empire) for services to children's literature 1992
Commemoration Medal for services to New Zealand
From Joy Cowley
Being an Author
1. The idea comes first. A story may begin with one idea or several. Look for ideas that are original, different. If you can't think of anything, try the library of ideas that come from your own life. That is probably your richest resource. Focus on a specific memory. Was there a family celebration at which something funny happened? Was there a time when you were very frightened? What was your best holiday - and what made it the best? Was there a time when you had to be brave? Have you ever been lost? What was your most exciting discovery or achievement? Your memory is full of material for stories.
2. Expand your idea. An idea is not a story but merely the seed of a story. Develop your characters, make your story come alive with details. Ask yourself questions about the characters and the action until you know all the answers. If you are working from a real-life incident and have a beginning and middle but no satisfactory ending, make one up. Most stories are a mixture of fact and fiction. When you know the shape of your story from beginning to end, then you are ready to write it.
3. Don't worry about putting a title first. It's often easier to think of a title once you've written your story.
4. Write on draft paper, not in your book, and enjoy the writing. Don't stop to check spelling or punctuation and don't worry about words missed or crossed out, or changes of direction. Simply get your story down on paper as best you can. Most stories have an energy that can be lost if we leave them, to look at a dictionary or if we get distracted by mistakes.
5. When you have finished your story, take a deep breath, and then read it through a couple of times. Your "author" role is finished and now it is time to be an editor.
Being an Editor
1. Does your story make sense? Sometimes we neglect to put down all the information we have in our heads.
2. Is the information in the correct order? Or do you need to move some of it around?
3. Check your spelling and punctuation.
4. What "voice" have you used to tell the story? Is the way of telling interesting? Does it have fast and slow movements like music? How have you balanced dialogue and narrative? Look at the action in your story. You can make it sound fast by reducing adjectives and using short sentences with bare nouns and verbs. Or, in the quieter moments, you can slow down your story by using longer sentences and more description.
5. Have you used your own words to describe things? Or have you used cliches, old descriptions used by everyone else. Look at the beginnings of your sentences. Do they grab the reader? If you are not sure how to edit to make your writing sound fresh and exciting, read authors you admire and take note of the way they deal with language. Readers enjoy words that are like fresh juicy fruit, not words that seem old, dry and stale.
6. How have you dealt with the main dramatic moment? Usually, a story has a plot and that plot concerns some kind of problem or challenge that gets solved. Often the main dramatic moment, the most exciting part of the story, occurs just before the problem is solved. When we get to the main dramatic moment, we should slow down and give the reader all the details. If we skip over the main part of the story in a sentence or two, we cheat the reader.
7. Do you have an interesting beginning? No matter how interesting your story is, if your beginning doesn't catch the eye, the reader is not going to go on. You have about two sentences to grab the reader. The best way to do this is to start with action or dialogue.
8. Where have you ended the story? Some young authors occasionally have a problem with endings. They don't know where to finish a story. Chances are, they have gone past the right ending. A story is a bit like a running race. It takes us a while to warm up but once we get going, we don't always stop at the finishing tape, but run on. The right ending for any story is usually soon after the problem gets solved. If you don't know where or how to end your story, stop and look back a few sentences. Chances are you'll find the correct ending already written.
9. Okay, so now you are ready to rewrite your story. Some people find editorial rewriting a bore and a chore. I find it very exciting - like the cutting of a diamond. Good luck!
10.Enjoy the finished product and share it with your friends.
A Few General Hints for Authors
1. A tired mind doesn't produce a good story. Successful creative work comes from the top 25% of our energy. If your story isn't working, have an early night and come back to your story with fresh energy.
2. Seek solitude to develop your ideas. Friends are useful for helping you to generate ideas but you need to be on your own to develop and craft the story.
3. Don't tell people your story before you write it. Each story has a certain energy. You can get rid of that energy by telling the story to someone, then, when you come to write it, the story will seem flat and lifeless.
4. Above all, enjoy every part of the process. Writing can seem like hard work but it is very satisfying. It also empowers us.
Joy Cowley
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Joy Cowley
ONZ DCNZM OBE
Joy Cowley smiling
At 2012 Frankfurt Book Fair
Born Cassia Joy Summers
7 August 1936 (age 85)
Levin, New Zealand
Pen name Joy Cowley
Occupation Writer
Language English
Education D.Litt (honorary)
Alma mater Massey University
Period 1967–present
Spouse
Ted Cowley (c. 1956–1967)
Malcolm Mason (1970–1985)
Terry Coles (1989–present)
Website
joycowley.com
Cassia Joy Cowley ONZ DCNZM OBE (née Summers; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy.[1][2][3]
She started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, Nest in a Falling Tree (1967), was adapted for the screen by Roald Dahl. It became the 1971 film The Night Digger. Following its success in the United States, Cowley wrote several other novels, including Man of Straw (1972), Of Men and Angels (1972), The Mandrake Root (1975), and The Growing Season (1979). Typical themes of these works were marital infidelity, mental illness, and death, as experienced within families. Cowley has also published several collections of short stories, including Two of a Kind (1984) and Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985). Today she is best known for children's books, such as The Silent One (1981), which was made into a 1985 film. Others include Bow Down Shadrach (1991) and its sequel, Gladly, Here I Come (1994).[citation needed]
She has written forty-one picture books, such as The Duck in the Gun (1969), The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch (1982), Salmagundi (1985), and The Cheese Trap (1995). The Duck in the Gun and Salmagundi are explicitly anti-war books. She has been actively involved in teaching early reading skills and helping those with reading difficulties, in which capacity she has written approximately 500 basal readers (termed reading books in New Zealand).[citation needed]
Contents
1 Honours and awards
2 Personal life
3 In popular culture
4 Recent publications
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Honours and awards
In 1990, Cowley was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, and in the 1992 New Year Honours she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to children's literature.[3][4][5] The following year she was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt.) from Massey University, and was awarded the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[6][3]
In 1993, Cowley became the third recipient of the Margaret Mahy Award, whose winners present and publish a lecture concerning children's literature or literacy.[7][8] Cowley's lecture was titled Influences.[8] The award is presented by the Storylines Childrens Literature Charitable Trust, who established the Joy Cowley Award in 2002, in recognition of the "exceptional contribution Joy Cowley makes to both children's literature and literacy in New Zealand and internationally".[8][9] In 2004, she became a patron of the Storylines Childrens Literature Foundation, and she is one of Storylines' trustees.[6] At least one of her books has been on the Storylines Notable Books List every year since it was established in 2000, other than 2009 and 2011 (in 2012 she was given a "special mention").[3]
In 2002, she was awarded the Roberta Long Medal, presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham for culturally diverse children's literature.[6][3] In 2004, she was awarded the A. W. Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature, and in 2010, she won the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in the Fiction category.[3]
Cowley has won the overall Book of the Year award three times at the various incarnations of the New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards: first for The Silent One in 1982; then for Hunter in 2006; and finally for Snake and Lizard in 2008. The latter two books were entered into the Junior Fiction category, in which she also won the category award for her books Ticket to the Sky Dance in 1998, Starbright and the Dream Eater in 1999, and Shadrach Girl in 2001. She won the Children's Choice award in this category for Friends: Snake and Lizard in 2010.[3]
She won the now defunct Fiction category in 1992 for Bow Down Shadrach, and the Picture Book category in 2002 for Brodie.[3] An additional five of her books have been short-listed as finalists in the Picture Book category at the awards, and an additional three in the Junior Fiction category.[3]
Cowley's book The Video Shop Sparrow was included in the 2000 White Ravens List, administered by the International Youth Library, and five of her books have been finalists for the Esther Glen Award from 1995 to 2010.[3] She won Best Script Television Drama at the 1994 TV Guide Television Awards for Mother Tongue, a 52-minute film shot in 1992, and set in 1953, about an 18-year-old couple who fall in love – although the woman (played by Sarah Smuts-Kennedy) is Catholic, and the man (played by Craig Parker) is Jewish.[6][10][11][12]
In the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Cowley was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM), for services to children's literature.[13] In 2009, when the New Zealand government restored titular honours, Cowley declined redesignation as a dame.[14]
Cowley was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ), for services to New Zealand, in the 2018 New Year Honours.[15] In 2020, she received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award, limited to 20 living people.[16]
Personal life
Cowley has been married three times, first at twenty years old to dairy farmer Ted Cowley, with whom she had four children: Sharon, Edward, Judith and James. After their marriage ended in 1967, Cowley married Malcolm Mason, a Wellington writer and accountant who died in 1985.[6]
In 1989, Cowley married Terry Coles.[6] She lived with him, and an assortment of animals, for many years in the Marlborough Sounds, but in 2004 they moved to a wharf apartment in Wellington so Coles could be nearer medical services.[6] As Coles' health deteriorated, Wellington's stairs and traffic became too much for him, and the couple moved again to Featherston, where Cowley now lives.[6] She has 13 grandchildren and still writes full-time.[6]
In popular culture
In 1999 a VHS about Cowley, her life, and work as a children's writer was published by Wright Group.[17] Called A Day Full of Joy, it was presented by the author and featured her reading one of her picture books, The Meanies Come to School, to an audience of children, interspersed with CGI renderings of the characters in the story.[citation needed]
Elsewhere in the video, Cowley discusses her life with her animals in the Marlborough Sounds and her childhood and answers questions about her creative process. In 2017 the video was selected as a pick for "Best of the Worst", a feature on RedLetterMedia's YouTube channel where obscure video releases are watched, ridiculed, and rated based on which stands out as the highest quality or most enjoyable production.[18]
Recent publications
1986 – Turnips For Dinner, illustrated by Jan van der Voo, 16pp., ISBN 0-87449-368-4
1986 – The King's Pudding, illustrated by Martin Bailey, 16pp., ISBN 0-87449-370-6
2007 – Snake and Lizard, illustrated by Gavin Bishop, 102pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-0-9582787-3-7[19]
2009 – Friends: Snake and Lizard, illustrated by Gavin Bishop, 144pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-1-877467-25-7[20]
2010 – The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate, 40pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 9781877467400[21]
2011 – Stories of the Wild West Gang, 362pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-1-877467-85-1[22]
2013 – Dunger, 156pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-1-877579-46-2[23]
2014 – Speed of Light, 208pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-1-877579-93-6[24]
2015 – The Bakehouse, 140pp.,(Gecko Press), ISBN 978-1-776570-07-2[25]
2016 – The Road to Ratenburg, 200pp.,(Gecko Press) ISBN 978-1-776570-75-1[26]
2017 – Helper and Helper, 128pp.,(Gecko Press) ISBN 978-1-776571-05-5[27]
2018 - Snake and Lizard Anniversary Edition, illustrated by Gavin Bishop, 102pp.,(Gecko Press) ISBN 978-1-877467-25-7 [28]
IN BRIEF
Joy Cowley is a prolific, widely-published and much-celebrated writer of fiction for adults and children. Cowley began her career writing short stories and novels before moving into the realm of children’s literature. She has published numerous novels, as well as short stories that have featured in journals, anthologies and book-length collections. She has written a remarkable range of children’s books and stories, often illustrated by renowned artists. Cowley was made a Distinguished Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children's literature in 2005, and she was awarded a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement for Fiction in 2010. In 2018, Cowley was made a member of the Order of New Zealand.
FROM THE OXFORD COMPANION TO NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE
Cowley, Joy (1936– ), fiction writer for children and adults, was born in Levin and educated at Palmerston North GHS and Pharmacy College. She has been published so widely and to such acclaim that she received a Commemoration Medal in 1990, the OBE in 1992 for her services to children’s literature, the Margaret Mahy Award Lecture in 1993 and an honorary doctorate from Massey University in 1993.
The publisher’s notice for Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985) states that ‘during her adult life she has had many occupations: artist, freelance photographer, builder’s labourer, farm worker, pharmaceutical apprentice, newspaper children’s page editor, housewife, mother and writer’. Elsewhere she has noted her ‘interests’ as ‘spinning, weaving, woodwork, sailing, fishing and an isolated farm on Marlborough Sounds’.
Married to Ted Cowley in 1956, she first tried to develop as a painter but then decided to begin writing seriously in 1960 when pregnant with her fourth child, sending two or three short stories to the NZ Listener each month. Although she sent in twenty-nine stories before one was accepted, she has always acknowledged that the editor, M.H. Holcroft, was her main mentor and early supporter.
When a short story from Landfall was republished in the USA, Doubleday, a major US publisher, wrote asking for a novel. She had none to send, but wrote Nest in a Falling Tree in six months. It was published by Doubleday in 1967 to enthusiastic reviews and was made into a film, scripted by Roald Dahl, with his wife, Patricia Neal, in the leading role. It is a story of passion, a love affair between a 17-year-old boy, Red, and Maura, an older woman. Maura’s mother, whom she is nursing, rejects Red, but dies of an overdose of medicine. Public opinion gradually turns against Maura, and when Red does too she finds herself alone.
To follow up this initial success Cowley wrote four more novels in the next decade before devoting herself entirely to writing for young people. Man of Straw (1972) tells of a summer in the life of a small-town family, seen mainly through the eyes of two daughters, Rosalind, aged 13, and Miranda, aged 22. Rosalind is puzzled by the passions that develop when her father is accused of seducing Miranda’s friend Julie-Ann and a sense of mystery is resolved when it is revealed that he has also had an affair with Julie-Ann’s mother. The people of the town throw stones at the house and kill the family dog. Rosalind runs away from home and collapses, wilfully or by accident, into the sea.
Passions are more restrained in Of Men and Angels (1972), which contrasts one woman, who pursues a career and has casual affairs, with another, who is unhappily married and looks for satisfaction in Catholicism and good causes. Their emotions focus on to a pregnant teenager, but it remains undecided which way of life is more satisfactory. It was followed by The Mandrake Root (1975), a study of a person who has recovered from mental illness, but lives on the verge between illness and health. The Growing Season (1979) contrasts family reactions to the coming death of James. Some are resigned, others upset, but he accepts his situation as a part of the natural order.
Heart Attack and Other Stories (1985) collects stories from various periods, the first twelve forming a loose sequence showing the journey from youth to middle age. Included is Cowley’s best-known story, the often anthologised ‘The Silk’. The Complete Short Stories was published in 1997.
Cowley began writing for children to help her son Edward who, like her, was slow to learn reading skills. Her first picture book, which uses humour to carry a serious anti-war statement, was The Duck and the Gun, illustrated by Edward Sorel and published in New York in 1969, the same year as the beginning of Margaret Mahy’s remarkable publishing career. It was republished in 1985 with new illustrations by Robyn Belton, which won the Russell Clark Award in 1985.
Other notable picture books include The Terrible Taniwha of Timberditch, illustrated by Rodney McRae (1982), which explores different cultural versions of dragons; Salmagundi, illustrated by Philip Webb (1985), which carries another, more sophisticated anti-war message; and The Screaming Mean Machine, illustrated by David Cox (1993), which looks at the difficulty of overcoming fear.
Cowley’s short stories have featured on radio and in Two of a Kind (1984) in collaboration with Mona Williamsand in Beyond the River (1994); she has also had a play produced, ‘The Haunting of Frogwash Farm’ (1988). Like Mahy, Cowley has also become a prolific creator of entertaining and predominantly humorous readers, with a total of more than 400 books for the ‘Storybox’ series and for Wendy Pye Publishing.
She now spends about three months in every year overseas, working with teachers on early reading and children’s difficulties, and running writing workshops. But it is mainly for her children’s novels that Cowley has won awards. The Silent One, illustrated by Sherryl Jordan (1981), won the 1982 inaugural Children’s Book of the Year Award for its sensitive, poetic and mythic qualities.
It became a feature film, released in 1985 with notable music by Jenny McLeod. It tells the story of a deaf boy on a Pacific island who befriends a white turtle and struggles to survive his isolated tribe’s superstition and fears when the village is afflicted by a drought and a hurricane, brought on, so the tribe believes, because the turtle is an evil spirit from the depths of the sea.
In 1992 Bow Down Shadrach, illustrated by Robyn Belton (1991), won the AIM Book of the Year for its portrayal of twists and difficulties in family love concerning, in particular, an old horse at the end of its life. The sequel, Gladly, Here I Come, appeared in 1994.
Cowley now lives in the Marlborough Sounds, providing the hospitality of ‘Te Aroha’ to people suffering social difficulty. She contributed a statement of her view of life to What I Believe, edited by Allan Thomson (1993). DH/NW
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Joy Cowley Award for children’s writers – offering a monetary prize, the opportunity to work with Joy Cowley herself and the eventual publication of a picture book – was announced by the Children’s Literature Foundation and publisher Scholastic New Zealand in 2002.
In 1992, she received the prestigious Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award, awarded annually by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation.
Cowley has won eight awards at the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. These awards include: Best in Junior Fiction for Ticket to the Sky Dance (1998), Best in Junior Fiction for Starbright and the Dream Eater (1999), Best in Junior Fiction for Shadrach Girl (2001), Best Picture Book for Brodie (by Joy Cowley and Chris Mousdale, 2002), Book of the Year and Best in Junior Fiction for Hunter (2006), and Book of the Year and Best in Junior Fiction for Snake & Lizard (by Joy Cowley and Gavin Bishop, 2008).
Three of her stories have been honoured with the Russell Clark Award for Illustration: George's Monster (1997, illustrations by Murray Grimsdale), The Cheese Trap (1996, illustrations by Linda McClelland), and The Duck in the Gun (1985).
In 2004, she received the A W Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. The award is presented biennially in recognition of an outstanding contribution to New Zealand literature and an involvement in activities which foster and promote literature to wider audiences.
She was made a Distinguished Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit for services to children's literature at the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Joy Cowley continues to be a prolific writer and win awards for her work.
2000
Cowley's novel for adults, Classical Music, was a finalist in the fiction category of the 2000 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her children's non-fiction picture book Red-Eyed Tree Frog was nominated for an award in the 2000 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, and Shadrach Girl (2000) won the Junior Fiction category of the 2001 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards.
Other publications for children included Apple Banana Cherry, and Cricket's Storm.
2001
Cowley's Brodie was written in response to teachers' requests for stories about the loss of a classmate. It tells the story of schoolboy Brodie and of how his classmates come to terms with his death from cancer. Brodie was the winner in the Picture Book category for the 2002 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards and was republished in 2013 as a Walker Classics.
Cowley's novel for adults, Holy Days, and two new books for children Pudding and Eating Plums in Bed were also published in 2001.
2002
Brodie and The Wild Wests and the Haunted Fridge were listed as 2002 Storylines Notable Picture Books.
Cowley's titles published in 2002 were Pigeon Princess, A modern fantasy, the story of Lottie who lives in a tower who is about to discover that dreams really do come true; Weta: A Knight in Shining Armour (2002), which was shortlisted for the 2003 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards; Froghopper, the story of a family sailing around the Marlborough Sounds; The Sea Daughter, with the Maori language edition Te Tamahine a Te Moana and Tulevai and the Sea also with a Maori language edition, Ko Tulevai me te moana, and the picture book Duck Walk. Duck Walk, Froghopper and Weta: A Knight in Shining Armour were listed as 2003 Storylines Notable Books.
Cowley was also awarded the Roberta Long Medal in Alabama, USA, in 2002.
2003
Mrs Wishy-Washy's Farm (2003) by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Elizabeth Fuller has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Mrs Wishy-Washy scrubs and rubs all the animals on the farm, until they decide to run away to the big smoke...
Froghopper and the Paua Poachers: More Adventures with the Fabulous Green Team, which continues the adventures of Flea, Pete and Libby Green, was also published in 2003.
Both works were listed as 2004 Storylines Notable Books.
2004
The Little Tractor, written by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Gavin Bishop, is a book for 3 to 6 year olds. The little tractor starts its working life on a farm where it does a good job - but the family grows up and things change and the tractor is retired to sit in the local car yard. The tractor is sold to one interesting character after the other, until finally it arrives full circle.
In Greedy Cat and the School Pet Show, written by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Robyn Belton, Kate is determined to take Greedy Cat to the school pet show, but Greedy Cat doesn't want to go.
2005
Two of Cowley's books were finalists in the LIANZA Children's Book Awards 2005. Tarakihana Pakupaku (Scholastic), translated by Katerina Mataira was a finalist for the Te Kura Pounamu Award and Wild West Hullabaloo (HarperCollins) was a finalist for The Esther Glen Award.
Hunter, also published in 2005, won Best in Junior Fiction and Book of the Year at the 2006 New Zealand Post Awards for Children and Young Adults. In this riveting book, Cowley brings together two very different worlds, providing a rare glimpse of the remarkable human spirit that connects us all. The work was also listed as a 2006 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
The Wishing of Biddy Malone, illustrated by Christopher Denise (Penguin), and Wild West Hullabaloo (HarperCollins) were listed as 2005 Storylines Notable Books, in picture books and junior fiction, respectively.
2006
Tulevai and the Sea (2006), was published by Scholastic. Joy Cowley and Robyn Belton also released Greedy Cat and Sneeze (Scholastic). Chameleon, Chameleon (Scholastic New Zealand) was listed as a 2006 Storylines Notable Non-Fiction Book.
2007
Snake and Lizard (Gecko Press, 2007), written by Joy Cowley and illustrated by Gavin Bishop won the Junior Fiction section as well as Book of the Year for the 2008 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The work was also listed as a 2008 Storylines Notable Junior Fiction Book.
2008
Titles published included Ticket to the Sky Dance (Puffin), a story of orphans who get drawn into a web of deceit in the modelling world, Chicken Feathers (Puffin), a fun chapter book for young readers, and Starbright and the Dream Eater (Puffin).
2009
A new edition of A Duck in the Gun was released by Walker Books, with illustrations by Robyn Belton. A further 2005 publication for Cowley was Greedy Cat and the Goldfish (Scholastic, 2009) also illustrated by Robyn Belton, and a continuation of the long-running Greedy Cat series. Cowley's book Friends: Snake and Lizard (Gecko Press, 2009) was illustrated by Gavin Bishop, and nominated in the Junior Fiction section of the 2010 New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards. Cowshed Christmas (Scholastic, 2009, also illustrated by Gavin Bishop, was nominated in the Picture Book section of the same awards.
2010
This year saw Cowshed Christmas (illustrated by Gavin Bishop, Random House New Zealand), Greedy Cat and the Goldfish (illustrated by Robyn Belton, Scholastic New Zealand), and Friends: Snake & Lizard (illustrated by Gavin Bishop, Gecko Press) listed as Storylines Notable Books.
Gecko Press republished The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate with new illustrations by Sarah Davis.
Fly Pie, illustrated by Philip Webb, was published by Scholastic New Zealand.
Roz Edwards published Too Many Cats!, a humorous story about what happens when Grandma & Grandad decide to get a pet. Illustrated by Amber Edwards.
Also in 2010, Cowley published the personal memoir Navigation, in which she injects autobiography with her familiar storytelling flair and originality.
Storylines Children's Literature Charitable Trust published Cowley's Writing from the Heart: How to Write for Children, a writer's guide covering topics such as developing a plot, dialogue, writers' discipline, humour, early reading, novels, picture books, plays, poetry, presentation and editing.
Joy Cowley was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in fiction in 2010.
2011
Cowley's publications this year included Stories of the Wild West Gang and Just One More (illustrated by Gavin Bishop), both published by Gecko Press, and Robby and Hoot, illustrated by Phillip Fickling (Penguin NZ).
She was also the winner of the University of Alabama's Maryann Manning Award for Outstanding Literacy Scholar.
2012
Manukura: The White Kiwi, about an albino kiwi hatched Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre, was published with illustrations by Bruce Potter (Random House).
Cowley's book Just One More received a special mention in the Storylines Notable Books 2012 Junior Fiction list.
She also published Wishy-Washy World, illustrated by Philip Webb (Reading Alive 2012).
2013
Dunger was published by Gecko Press (2013). The novel won the Junior Fiction award at the 2014 New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults.
2015
In May, Hush: A Kiwi Lullaby was released by Joy Cowley and illustrator Andrew Burdan. Hush is a children’s picture book in which a classic Kiwi lullaby is beautifully rewritten.
The Remarkable Cake Shop, written by Cowley and illustrated by Bruce Potter, was published in July of 2015, and presents the story of a mayor who gets his just desserts.
In July, Cowley’s latest book The Bakehouse was published. The novel, set in wartime New Zealand, portrays the life and psyche of young Bert, who wishes to serve as a soldier overseas. Little does Bert know that the actions he takes at home will be of international import.
2016
In April 2016, Joy Cowley and illustrator Gavin Bishop’s children’s book The Road to Ratenburg is scheduled for release. The book follows the exploits of a group of rats who journey to find the blissful Ratenburg.
2018
Joy Cowley was made a member of the Order of New Zealand in the 2018 Honours List.
MEDIA LINKS AND CLIPS
Joy Cowley’s website (www.joycowley.com)
Joy Cowley on the New Zealand Literature File site
Joy Cowley on the Houghton Mifflin site
Joy Cowley Author Page on the Boyds Mills Press site
Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand's best-loved writers. Her awards include the Margaret Mahy Medal; the NZ Post Children's Book Award 2006; the Roberta Long Medal, Alabama, USA; and the AW Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature. She is a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Women’s Weekly Books Extract
I can’t choose only one favourite book. Many come to mind, among them Annie Proulx’s “The Fishing News”, Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” and Sharon Creech’s “Love that Dog.” My favourite book experience was reading the Harry Potter series to grandsons on the boat in the Marlborough Sounds. We spent long summer holidays swimming and cruising under a pirate flag. As soon as we tied up on a mooring, Harry Potter came out, and my husband Terry who would yell from the deck, “Wait for me!”
What am I reading at present?
Niall William’s “History of the Rain.” Ruthie’s narrative is wonderful. On page 123: “Goodness provokes bitchiness. It’s mathematical. It’s somewhere in the human genes. Any number of lovely people are married to horrible ones. Read Middlemarch (Book 989, George Eliot, Penguin Classic, London) if you don’t believe me. There’s something in me that can’t just let it be. Goodness is a tidy bow you just can’t help wanting to pull loose.” I love writing that has so much voice!
The Tiny Woman's Coat: an interview with Joy Cowley
22 November 2021
Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand’s best-loved writers for children and adults, with an international reputation. She has won a multitude of awards and honours for her bestselling books, including the Prime Minister’s Award for contribution to literature. She was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018. The Tiny Woman’s Coat, which is illustrated by Giselle Clarkson, is her latest book.
What inspired the story of the tiny woman without a coat?
A red leaf. A friend sent me a letter with a red leaf that they had collected on a walk one day. It had the texture of fine cloth. I had it on my writing desk and would touch it every day and thought wouldn’t it be lovely to have a coat in that texture. It fell to pieces eventually.
Children are fascinated with small things. After decades of working with children and helping them to learn to read, I’ve noticed the gift of being small and so close to the ground. I’ve been asked ‘do frogs have toenails?’ ‘Why do daffodils have yellow hairs?’ Being small and seeing small and playing with small things the size of their hands—sometimes as big people we forget about these things.
And children are never small in their own eyes. Only their little brother or sister are small to them. Anyone who starts a story with “There was a little girl…” well, I don’t believe they know children very well!
The Tiny Woman’s Coat looks at the outside world through a child’s eyes and has been compared to Thumbelina and The Borrowers. Did you enjoy the process of magnifying the natural world for young readers?
I thought more about what would make the perfect make-believe materials for a tiny coat. I went through a list in my mind that way.
I wanted the story of The Tiny Woman’s Coat to be a song, so that it floated and had a lyrical effect. To not be a serious story, but a warm and lovely story about making and thinking like a child.
tiny womans coat spread.jpgDo you hope the story inspires young children to explore their own back yard to look closely at the little treasures they might find?
I believe children do explore their own backyard anyway. But I hope everything they read inspires them in some way. Books should give children pleasure, extend their imaginations and make their hearts rejoice. A book is a different thing for children than it is for adults. It’s a friend: they take it around the house with them, they tuck it under their t-shirt or pillow at night.
The story includes trees and animals, seasons and resourcefulness. What are some of your favourite books about the outdoors and the natural world?
Unfortunately I can’t read now, which is a tragedy. But when I was young, I was introduced to a world I didn’t know after reading May Gibbs’ Snugglepot & Cuddlepie. That world became real for me. My sister and I would run past banksia trees, believing the villains of the story were sitting in their branches. I believe environment books can become real for young children.
I also read A. A. Milne and memorised his rhymes because I wanted to hold them. When reading words like copse and spinney in Winnie the Pooh, I had no clue what they were exactly but just knew they were magical places.
This is your second collaboration with illustrator Giselle Clarkson. How is it to see different illustrators bring your stories to life in different ways?
I see illustrators as co-authors because that’s what they are! I often warn people at my writing workshops not to dictate to illustrators but to treat them as a co-author. The definition of author is authority and creator and that’s what an illustrator is, bringing the story to life with pictures. I’m always delighted with the extra story that comes from the illustrator.
What’s one picture book you loved as a four-year-old?
I didn’t have books as a child. We moved around a lot and my family had only one book in the house—a Bible. Instead, I heard stories that my Aunt would tell me and they often changed with each retelling. I was eight-and-a-half years old before I read a book to myself. The Story About Ping gave me my reading skills. I read that book from beginning to end, then tucked it away in my desk. I just couldn’t bear to finish it. Then when I read it a second time I was surprised that it was the exact same story, unlike my Aunt’s storytelling that was different every time. With Ping, I discovered the constancy of print, that books do not change.
Do you believe in fairy people?
I believe a whole lot of living goes on outside of our five senses. I feed the sparrows in my garden every day, I talk to them, I tell the trees that they are beautiful (I’m not sure what the neighbours think). But I feel it is important to talk about perception not about absolute knowledge.
The Tiny Woman’s Coat by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press) is available now, $24.99 RRP
JOY COWLEY – NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
Posted on February 20, 2020 by librarybond
When it comes to children’s literature writers in New Zealand – three people are legendary in their contributions and encouragement of others. One was Margaret Mahy, one is Maurice Gee and one is Joy Cowley. Read NZ wrote an article about the 50 books all New Zealand Children must read and couldn’t decide on just which book for each of these three writers. In the end, they cheated by adding all of their works so I guess this reading assignment for kiwi kids got to more than 100 books.
Joy Cowley is a champion of children reading for fun. She was a founder of “Storylines” the organisation which exists simply to promote children’s literature and encourage a love of reading. She struggled to read herself as a child and as a mother seeing her own child experiencing the same difficulties she began to write stories just for him. His teachers recognised how marvellous these stories were and encouraged her to get them published. Over the next two decades, Joy Cowley dedicated herself to writing educational readers. Our own book room at this international School has still has readers written by Joy Cowley. She worked on the Story Box reading programme, published by Wendy Pye. Since Story Box, Joy has written more than 600 titles.
Screen Shot 2020-02-12 at 13.59.35
Screenshot from Joy’s own website http://www.joycowley.com/
Joy Cowley has written several successful adult fiction books and numerous short stories. My favourite is “The Silk” which was first published in 1965 is the beautiful story of Mr and Mrs Blackie, an elderly couple who both are very aware that Mr Blackie is terminally ill. Mrs Blackie takes the silk fabric that her husband brought back from the war and begins to make him some pyjamas from it. It is available in several anthologies of New Zeland writing including, “Women’s Work” published in 1985. It was made into a short movie by Nathalie Boltt and Clare Burgess. Joy is quoted as saying this about the movie “I am stunned by the beauty of “The Silk”. Every detail is perfect, the acting, directing, pacing, music, and that is not all: the transition to screen has given the story a depth that goes beyond words.”
Another personal favourite of mine was “The Silent One” also made into a movie. Published in 1981 and illustrated by Sherryl Jordan it won the 1982 inaugural Children’s Book of the Year Award. It is a beautiful story of Jonasi, a deaf child who was washed up by the sea and adopted by a family in a village on an unnamed Pacific Island. Jonasi’s deafness makes him an outsider and he is treated with suspicion by the villagers. Their suspicions deepen when Jonasi befriends an albino turtle and the island is hit by a hurricane. The movie, directed by Yvonne MacKay, was released in 1985. I remember arranging for all of our year 10 students at Tokoroa High School to go to see it when it came to our town of Tokoroa. It had a huge impact as many of our students were from the Pacific Islands. It was so powerful for these students to see themselves on the big screen. One of Joy’s philosophies is for readers to see themselves in her stories.
Joy Cowley
The photo was taken from the article at https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/100685336/kiwi-author-joy-cowley-shortlisted-for-top-international-childrens-book-award
Of course, there are many more books and stories that are worthy of mention. There is a bibliography of her works in this bio on the Storylines page. Joy Cowley’s contribution to children’s literature is global and this was recognised in 2018 when she was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Anderson Award. In this article about her nomination, there is a video clip of her talking about her book “Pawprints in the butter” which children were invited to help illustrate and about the nomination. Further down in the same article is an interview with Joy Cowley about receiving the honour of Member of the Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in the 2018 New Year’s honours list. She says she sees it as a great honour, like some sort of religious order. She sees New Zealand as sacred land and she loves it and loves the people in it. We love her too.
Interview with NZ Children's Author: Joy Cowley
Joy Cowley sees herself as a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. For as long as she can remember, she has written. New Zealand readers from young to old will be familiar with her stories and her characters. Mrs Wishy-Washy, Agapanthus Hum, Greedy Cat, The Wild West Gang, and Shadrach are just some of the characters that have graced Kiwi bookshelves over the years.
NZ Booklovers recently had the great fortune of catching up with Joy about writing, family and retirement.
What career would you have chosen in a parallel universe, if you hadn’t been a writer?
Do I have only one choice? In three parallel universes I would be (a) a teacher of young children, (b) an artist (painting) and (c) a joiner who makes fine furniture.
What is your writing process like? Do you have any special quirks or superstitions?
No quirks. Generally there is a need for solitude and silence but I have written a story on a brown paper bag in a crowded airport. I usually hold a story internally like a pregnancy, until it is ready to be born, then it comes with a rush. After it’s downloaded, then comes a long process of editing and refinement.
You’ve said you started writing for your son, who had difficulty learning to read. What kept you doing it?
I started with my son, and then other reluctant readers. Teachers used some of the stories and asked if I could get them published. In the late 1970s I committed 5 years to work on “Story Box” an early reading programme. Writing for children was so much fun, and so rewarding in effect, that I really haven’t gone back to writing for adults.
How has being a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother shaped you as a writer?
Without this experience I would not be writing for children. As adults we all have every age within us, but it needs to connect with the child out there. I tell aspiring authors that if they write for one child they know very well, they will get the age and language level right.
As a new mum, I (as I’m sure other mum’s with young babies who aspire to write will agree) am in total awe of your ability to have four small children and publish novels at the same! What’s your secret?
I think “was” is the operative word in the last sentence. I had four children before I was 25, and I seemed to have boundless energy. Young children are in bed early, and I often had evenings to myself. Writing time!
You’ve said: “For me, the Marlborough Sounds hold the stuff of legend, and away from this place, I lose something of my identity.” (I believe) you’re living in Featherstone now, how does this change your writing identity?
There is a definite feeling of coming home to myself when I go back to Fish Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. There the environment is defined by sunrise and sunset, high tide and low tide, and no internet access. In a place of natural beauty, wild with growth, it is very easy to write. We go there in January and each holiday has produced a children’s novel. This is because I have support and encouragement from Terry, my kind and patient husband. I think every writer needs a “Terry.”
How does it feel to receive so many fan letters from your young readers? Do you feel a great sense of responsibility to them?
Yes, of course I feel a great sense of responsibility to children who write letters. They have priority. If a child has to wait 3 weeks for a reply, that seems like an eternity. I do enjoy their letters and keep the treasures, including one from a 9 years old girl who asked the usual questions such as, what is your favourite colour, and then finished with: “Are you still alive?”
With over 600 stories to your name, which one (or series) are you most proud of? Why?
I am still sentimental about the first series, “The Story Box” published by Wendy Pye. There are now about 1100 early reading titles,many of them out of print, but I have also edited about 500 books by other authors. I can’t write outside of my own culture, so have done writing workshops for aspiring authors in countries that didn’t have their own reading programmes. I think it is important that children see themselves authentically in their books.
What are you currently working on?
I am having much pleasure in a new character called “Ted Bear” who represents a child of 2 – 3. Writing for pre-school children is challenging but so enjoyable. I’ve also more or less finished editing my last junior fiction work “Ratenburg” a story about a family of rats who set out on a long and difficult journey, and that is ready for a publisher who has been waiting for it. I think I mentioned that editing takes me a long time. I go through stories many times.
Will you ever retire from writing?
I’m 79 this year and energy is diminishing. I have needed to retire from some writing-related activities, but I expect I’ll go on writing as long as the ideas insist on words. I may not be writing children’s books, though. I facilitate spiritual retreats and these days a lot of my writing goes into those.
Heidi North-Bailey
Cowley, Joy THE TINY WOMAN'S COAT Gecko Press (Children's None) $17.99 10, 5 ISBN: 978-1-77657-342-4
When a very tiny woman needs a new coat, she gets lots of practical help.
She is determined to make the coat but needs tools and supplies. Autumn trees shed their beautiful leaves to provide the coat’s cloth. A grey goose uses its beak as scissors to cut the leaves into body and sleeves. A porcupine generously offers a quill as needle. Thread comes from a horse’s mane, and wild weeds scatter seeds for buttons. When the coat is complete, it gives her warmth and comfort through cold and storm. With text constructed in a folkloric style, each interaction begins, on one double-page spread, “The tiny woman wanted a coat,” followed by the question of where to acquire a needed element. Each donation is offered on the subsequent double-page spread, accompanied by an italicized, expository refrain. “Rustle, rustle, rustle” say the leaves; “snip, snip, snip” goes the goose’s bill; and the porcupine’s quill is “sharp, sharp, sharp.” Young readers will have fun echoing the repetitive phrases throughout the tale, adding their own voices to the narration. The pale-skinned, redheaded protagonist is indeed tiny, depicted in Clarkson’s detailed illustrations as snail-sized, with plants, grasses, and the helpful animals towering over her. Sharp eyes will note the mushroom umbrella that shelters her and her coat from the rainstorm.
From New Zealand, an inventive and delightful tale that evokes Thumbelina, the Borrowers, and other beloved wee characters. (Picture book. 3-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Cowley, Joy: THE TINY WOMAN'S COAT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A671783107/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d17d8d92. Accessed 14 Mar. 2022.