(Jane) Sally Grindley (1953-)

With over ninety books to her credit, British children's book author Sally Grindley finds inspiration for her many books, which include Wake Up, Dad!, Bible Stories for the Young, and The Sulky Vulture, in her family, the local newspaper, and observing the world around her. Primarily an author of picture books and beginning readers, her first novel, Feather Wars, about a family that breeds racing pigeons used by the Royal Air Force during World War II, was published in 2003.

Born in Kent, England, Grindley began writing when she was a child and became involved with children's books while working for a book club in the mid-1980s. She published her first children's book, Knock, Knock, Who's There?, in 1985, and decided then and there that penning books for young readers was what she wanted to do with her life. She worked as a part-time writer for the next ten years, before becoming a full-time freelancer in 1995.

Families of all sorts figure prominently in Grindley's books. Her 1989 book Wake Up, Dad!, which, like many of her books, has been published in both Great Britain and the United States, recounts a young child's efforts to rouse Mom and Dad from bed on the weekend. Noting the story's "wry humor"—the child offers to play a bedside recorder concert as the parents desperately cling to a few more minutes of sleep—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books contributor Zena Sutherland also praised the line drawings by Siobhan Dodds, while in Books for Your Children, D. Carline tested Wake Up, Dad! on a sampling of listeners and pronounced it "wonderful."

Children's lives are often jarred by disruptions, be they a move to a new town, the death of a grandparent, or divorce. Grindley deals with some of the emotions children go through in books like A New Room for William and the compelling Peter's Place. In the first, a young boy becomes more enthusiastic about his parents' decision to buy a new house when he is allowed to pick out dinosaur wallpaper for his space. A friendly boy living in his new neighborhood also presents positive possibilities in a book that presents "a very gentle look at a very difficult point in a child's life," according to Booklist contributor GraceAnne A. DeCandido. Mary Harris Russell, writing in Chicago's Tribune Books, also found Grindley's story valuable for adults, who sometimes forget how difficult it is to "make a new space our own comforting world." In Peter's Place, a young boy's world is touched by disaster, and the changes are long-term, when an oil tanker crashes against a nearby shore and the spill that results scars the land and harms the creatures he has come to love. In Booklist, Hazel Rochman praised Grindley's "quietly told disaster story," while Horn Book contributor Elizabeth S. Watson praised Peter's Place for "mak[ing] the plight of wild creatures faced with polluted habitats very real and touchingly personal." While by story's end, the seals, ducks, and other creatures have been restored to heath, "Grindley's affecting story proves its point," according to School Library Journal reviewer Ellen Fader: "that oil spills can have long-lasting effects, forever changing the places we hold dear."

Many of Grindley's original picture-book tales feature anthropomorphized animal characters, from chickens and ducks to polar bears and even an orangutan. She started out small—one of her first published books was the award-winning See Mouse Run, about a skittish farmyard rodent—but quickly moved to larger subjects, as in Polar Star. In this 1997 story, illustrated by John Butler and containing a factual appendix, a mother polar bear and her two cubs survive in the Arctic cold, finding danger but also painting "a loving depiction" of a family, according to School Library Journal's Mollie Bynum. Moving to warmer climes, Little Elephant Thunderfoot finds a young elephant learning to travel in the herd, which is led by his grandmother. When Little Thunderfoot's grandmother is killed by poachers, he must help the rest of his family flee to safety and then return to honor the fallen leader's memory. Sniffles turn to cheers by story's end, however, when the elephants find a new herd and a new home. Praising the realism of the story in her School Library Journal review, Augusta R. Malvagno cited Little Elephant Thunderfoot as Text and illustrations tell two different stories in Sally Grindley's tale of a doting grandpa bear who refuses to believe his cubs could be mischievous. (From No Trouble at All, illustrated by Eleanor Taylor.) a good way "to instill respect for the animal kingdom and conservation."

Jefferson Bear and fox Figgy Twosocks are best friends in a trio of picture books that focus on the care and feeding of friendship. In What Are Friends For?, the pair get into their first fight and then make up, finding out that fighting does not mean that their friendship is over, while Figgy's sadness at separation is the focus of What Will I Do without You?, which finds Jefferson Bear headed to his den for a long winter's nap. Will You Forgive Me? follows what happens after Figgy is talked into playing a trick on her friend. Losing Jefferson's favorite tickling stick, the young fox is afraid to tell the bear, thinking he will no longer wish to be her friend. In a Booklist review of What Are Friends For?, Ilene Cooper cited the book for portraying "a timeless topic in a sweet and appealing way," while School Library Journal contributor Kathleen M. Kelly MacMillan noted that the worries of Grindley's characters in What Will I Do without You? "will be immediately recognizable to children."

Sometimes Grindley takes a favorite story and adapts it for younger readers. Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling, and the story of the sorcerer's apprentice have all been introduced to young pre-readers through Grindley's efforts. Reviewing her retelling of the The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a story about an overeager trainee that has its roots in ancient Greece, School Library Journal contributor Grace Oliff noted that Grindley's "prose is clear and flows logically and smoothly," although she does not attempt to make changes to the classic text. Pandora and the Mystery Box is treated more imaginatively, taking the story about a woman whose curiosity caused her great harm and placing it in a context young readers can comprehend while preserving "the complex ideas and feelings" of the original Greek myth, according to School Librarian reviewer Irene Babsky.

As an editor, Grindley has produced many anthologies, some focusing on animal stories and others collecting folk and fairy tales. In Animal Stories for the Very Young, she presents ten tales penned by such notable authors as Dick King-Smith and Jenny Koralek, which together present story-time readers "a brilliant collection" of upbeat stories, according to School Librarian critic Steve Hardman. The assorted tales also provide the opportunity for listeners to contribute their own rendition of animal sounds. More serious fare is collected in Bible Stories for the Young, as stories about Noah and the ark, Daniel in the lion's den, Jonah and the whale, David and Goliath, and the last supper of Jesus all are recounted with "a cozy friendliness that young children will find inviting," according to Janice M. Del Negro in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Through her informal approach, Grindley "succeeds in retelling the Old Testament tales in a direct, vivid, lively style," added Magpies reviewer Lyn Linning, noting that the bloodier parts of this ancient text are eliminated as a consideration to young listeners. Breaking the Spell: Tales of Enchantment delivers on its promise, presenting seven modern stories by popular children's authors. Young listeners can travel the world and visit with witches, dragons, princesses, and other magical manifestations, all from the safety of the story-time circle, in a unique collection School Library Journal reviewer Angela J. Reynolds found "fresh and satisfying."

When she takes a break from writing and editing, Grindley has many hobbies, including playing tennis and squash, and she also dabbles in watercolor painting in her spare time. She lives with her family—which includes her three children and assorted pets—in Gloucestershire, England.

Grindley once commented: "I was involved in children's theatre at Sussex University, writing, acting, and directing. My eight years with Books for Children as book buyer and brochure writer have provided me with much experience. I prefer reading about reality to reading about fantasy and my writing tends to reflect this preference. The children's books I have written so far, and those in the pipeline, are predominantly about children themselves in recognizable day-to-day situations, or in situations they might imagine themselves in."

Oliver and his friend Mucky Duck get progressively dirtier in Grindley's picture-book story of their playful activities. (From Mucky Duck, illustrated by Neal Layton.)