Carole Wilkinson facts for kids

Carole Wilkinson is an award-winning Australian author who writes exciting fantasy and historical adventures. She is most famous for creating the beloved Dragonkeeper book series. These books tell the story of a brave girl and a magical dragon in ancient times. Throughout her career, she has written many stories, educational books, and television episodes for young readers.

Early Life and Growing Up

Carole Wilkinson was born in Derby, England, on 12 July 1950. When she was 12 years old, her family moved to Australia in 1963. They settled into a new life across the ocean.

As an adult, she did not start out as a full-time author. Instead, she worked as a laboratory assistant for many years. She stayed in that science career until she was 40 years old. At that point, she decided she wanted an exciting new adventure in life.

Becoming an Author

Wilkinson decided to go back to school to learn about writing. She enrolled in university classes to practice her craft. During her studies, she shared a writing sample with a friend in the publishing business. That sample impressed the editors so much that they asked her to write a whole novel.

Her very first novel was written for teenagers. After that initial success, she began writing full-time. She created many educational books and stories for children. She also wrote scripts for children's television programs. She often visits schools to talk with students about reading and creativity. Her daughter, Lili Wilkinson, also grew up to become a successful writer for young adults.

The Famous Dragonkeeper Series

Wilkinson achieved worldwide fame with her fantastic book Dragonkeeper. It was first published in 2003 by an Australian company named Black Dog Books. The story takes place long ago during the Han dynasty in ancient China.

The main character is an orphaned girl named Ping. Ping makes friends with an ancient, wise dragon named Long Danzi. Together, they go on a dangerous journey across the country to protect a mysterious dragon stone. The book quickly won praise around the globe. It won the prestigious 2003 Aurealis Award for young adult fantasy. In 2004, it earned the Book of the Year Award from the Children's Book Council of Australia. The book was also honored with the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards in 2004. In Germany, young readers chose it for the Kalbacher Klapperschlange award in 2006.

The first book was such a huge success that readers wanted to know what happened next. Wilkinson wrote several sequels to continue Ping's adventures. The second book, Garden of the Purple Dragon, came out in 2005. The third book, Dragon Moon, arrived in 2007. She also wrote a special prequel called Dragon Dawn, which shares Danzi's earlier adventures in Huangling mountain. Later, she wrote three more tales to complete the exciting saga.

Exploring History and True Stories

Besides dragons and magical worlds, Wilkinson loves exploring the past. She wrote the Ramose series about an ancient prince living in Egypt. These books follow a brave royal boy as he faces dangers from tomb robbers and royal rivalries.

She also writes nonfiction books based on real events. Nonfiction means the story tells true facts about real people and real places. Her book Atmospheric teaches young readers all about the science of planet Earth and the atmosphere. She has also written biographies about famous explorers and historical figures. Her work helps children discover that real history can be just as exciting as magical fantasy.

List of Selected Works

Dragonkeeper Adventures

• Dragonkeeper (2003)
• Garden of the Purple Dragon (2005)
• Dragon Moon (2007)
• Dragon Dawn (2008)
• Blood Brothers (2012)
• Shadow Sister (2014)
• Bronze Bird Tower (2017)

Ramose Series

• Ramose: Prince in Exile (2003)
• Ramose and the Tomb Robbers (2003)
• Ramose: Sting of the Scorpion (2006)
• Ramose: Wrath of Ra (2006)

Informative Nonfiction

• Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly (2002)
• The Dragon Companion: An Encyclopedia (2007)
• Fromelles: Australia's Bloodiest Day at War (2011)
• Atmospheric: The Burning Story of Climate Change (2015)
• Matthew Flinders: Adventures on leaky ships (2020)