Beth Webb facts for kids

Beth Webb is a British author who writes exciting books for kids and teenagers. She has written fifteen books, including the popular Star Dancer series. This is a fantasy series published by Macmillan. She also wrote the Fleabag Trilogy. Beth is also a co-founder of Books Beyond Words. She has drawn pictures for over twenty books for adults with learning disabilities. She lives in Somerset, close to Glastonbury Tor.

Growing Up and Learning

Beth Webb was born near Hampton Court Palace. She grew up in Farnborough, Hampshire. She started writing when she was a teenager. Her very first story was published in a magazine when she was just fourteen!

She went to university to study sociology and psychology. After that, she traveled around Europe for three years. For a while, she even lived on a houseboat in Amsterdam! When she came back to the UK, she worked in London. She was a journalist and also worked in radio. Later, she moved to Somerset. There, she earned a special degree in creative writing from Bath Spa University.

What Beth Webb Does

As an Illustrator

In 1989, Beth Webb helped start an organization called Books Beyond Words. She started it with Sheila Hollins. Since then, Beth has drawn pictures for more than 20 books in this series. These books tell stories using only pictures. They help people with learning disabilities understand difficult life events.

For example, she was the artist for the book Getting On With Cancer (2002). She worked closely with a team to create it. This team included people with learning disabilities, doctors, and health experts. They also had people read the book to try it out. In 2005, a magazine called Learning Disability Practice praised her drawings. They said her pictures in books like When Dad Died and When Mum Died were "simply drawn and carefully crafted."

As a Writer

Beth Webb has been teaching creative writing since 1990. She teaches young people in schools and workshops. Her students range from eight-year-olds to people who are 80 years old! She even dedicated her book Star Dancer to a group of young writers. They were called the "Kilvites" and attended her writing course at the Kilve Court Residential Educational Centre.

Over the years, she has written books for different age groups. She writes for younger children (ages six to eight), older children, and teenagers. Her four-book series, starting with Star Dancer, was a big success. Macmillan published it in 2006. For the Star Dancer series, she did a lot of research. She looked into British folklore, archaeology, and history.

She has also worked as a performance storyteller. This means she tells stories live to an audience.