Chris d'Lacey facts for kids

Chris D'Lacey (born 15 December 1954) is a British author. He writes exciting books for children. He is most famous for his fantasy series, The Last Dragon Chronicles. He has also written many other popular stories.

About Chris D'Lacey

Chris D'Lacey was born in Valletta, Malta. As a child, he moved to Leicester and then to Bolton in England. He studied biology at the University of York. After university, he worked at the University of Leicester. He worked in the Pre-Clinical Sciences department there.

Chris started writing songs first. He did not begin writing fiction until he was 32 years old. His first story was very long, about 250,000 words. It was about polar bears. He wrote it for his wife, Jay, as a Christmas gift. It went with a stuffed polar bear he bought her.

He didn't write another story for seven years. Then, he heard about a writing contest. It was for young children's stories. The prize was £2,000. He wrote a book called A Hole at the Pole. This story was also about polar bears. He didn't win the contest, but a publisher liked his book and accepted it.

His first children's novel was Fly, Cherokee, Fly. It came out in 1998. This book was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. The story was inspired by a real event. Chris found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park. He took it home and helped it get better. The pigeon lived with him for 14 more years. It could fly in and out of a nest box on his house. He named its babies after Native American tribes. This is where the book's title comes from.

Since then, Chris D'Lacey has written over twenty children's books. These include Pawnee Warrior, a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly. He also wrote From E To You with another author, Linda Newbery. His most famous books are The Last Dragon Chronicles and "The Erth Dragons" series. Many of his books talk about protecting the environment. They often include events from his own life.

In July 2002, the University of Leicester gave him a special award. It was an honorary doctorate for his work in children's literature. Writing is now his main job. However, he still works at the university. He operates a special microscope called a confocal microscope.

Chris D'Lacey enjoys reading too. His favorite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit. He also likes the authors Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl.

Awards and Recognitions

Chris D'Lacey has won several awards for his books:

• 1998 Fly, Cherokee, Fly was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
• 2002 The Fire Within won the Rotherham Children's Book Award.
• 2002 He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester.
• 2005 Horace was nominated for the Bolton Children's Book Award.
• 2005 Horace was also nominated for the Hampshire Book Award.
• 2006 Icefire was nominated for the Angus Book Award.
• 2010 Gruffen won the Books Factor Award.