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Jamila Gavin
Jamila Gavin was born in India and grew up on the border between
India and Pakistan. She first visited England when she was five,
and settled here for good when she was 11.
Jamila went to loads of different schools but never
liked the discipline they imposed. She left as soon as she could
and went to the Guildhall School of Music, where she studied to
become a concert pianist.
Though she never became a professional performer,
Jamila continued to love music and she worked in the music
department at the BBC before becoming a writer.
She wrote her first book when her children were born
because she realised that there were very few books that reflected
their experience of being multi-racial.
In later stories, and particularly in her Surya
Trilogy, she drew on her own childhood memories of growing up in
India. In particular, the relationships between English and Indian
families at a time when India was becoming an independent country.
Jamila won the coveted Whitbread Prize for Coram
Boy.
Fine Feathered Friend
Raju is furious when his parents go off to a wedding in England, leaving him behind to stay with his aunt and uncle in the country. What on earth will Raju do? He loves the bustle of Bombay and is sure that he will be bored to death away from the city. But Raju soon finds out that life in the country can be surprisingly interesting too. (8+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
Grandpa Chatterji
Neetu and Sanjay have two grandpas, but they have never met one of them - Grandpa Chatterji - who lives in India. One day he comes to stay with them in England, and Neetu and Sanjay soon discover what a wonderful and special person their Grandpa Chatterji is. (9+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
Three Indian Princesses
In this book Jamila Gavin re-tells the stories of India's great princesses, showing their powers of love and bravery. There's Princess Savitri who receives a tragic warning that her husband will die within a year; beautiful Princess Damayanti whom everyone wants to marry but whose future is cursed; and lastly, there's Princess Sita, who follows her husband into the jungle when he is banished by his jealous stepmother, but is then kidnapped herself. (8+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
Three Indian Goddesses
A book of three contemporary stories inspired by Indian folk tales. In The Girl Who Rode On A Lion, Anil and Kiki are suspicious when their cousin Durga comes to stay, but they soon find out that Durga is a very surprising person; in Monkey In The Stars, Hanuman the monkey god takes Amrita on a magical journey through the story of Diwali; and in The Temple By The Sea, Shanta is chosen to dance for the gods, but faces a terrible curse by doing so. (8+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
The Wheel of Surya
Marvinder and Jaspal are separated from their mother when the family flees from their home in the Punjab in 1947. Against the background of the Civil War, the two children manage to survive, eventually escaping to England to find their father who they hardly know. They find a new life in a strange, hostile culture waiting for them when they get there. (11+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
Coram Boy
The Coram boy of the title is Aaron, rescued as a baby from a terrible fate by the simpleton Meshak. He and his friend, Toby, are cared for at The Coram Hospital for parentless children. But their histories are very different. An epic story about passion, intrigue, and tragic loss told across two generations. (12+)
Published by Egmont Books Limited
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[ Windows Media Clip 1- Coram Boy ]
[ Windows Media Clip 2- I like to write about children finding their identity ]
[ Windows Media Clip 3- My memory of being a child ]
[ Windows Media Clip 4- When I came to England ]
