Jenny Nimmo facts for kids

Jenny Nimmo, born on January 15, 1944, is a British writer. She creates books for children. Her stories include exciting fantasy and adventure novels. She also writes shorter chapter books and picture books.

Jenny Nimmo was born in England. For about 40 years, she has lived mostly in Wales. She is famous for two fantasy series. One is The Magician Trilogy (1986–1989). These stories use old Welsh myths. The other is Children of the Red King (2002–2010). This series is about schoolchildren with special magic powers.

Her book The Snow Spider was the first in The Magician Trilogy. It won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. It also won the 1987 Tir na n-Og Award. This award is for the best English book with a true Welsh setting. Another book, The Stone Mouse, was praised for the 1993 Carnegie Medal. Many of her other books have also been nominated for children's book awards.

About Jenny Nimmo

Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, England. She was an only child. Her father passed away when she was five years old. As a child, she loved to read many books. This love for reading made her want to write her own stories. She would share these stories with her friends.

After working in theatre for a while, Nimmo joined the BBC. She spent several years there. Part of her job was to change other writers' stories for television. She adapted 40 episodes for Jackanory readings. Her very first book, The Bronze Trumpeter, started as a TV script. It was published in January 1975.

In 1975, Jenny Nimmo married David Wynn Millward. He is a Welsh artist and illustrator. They had two daughters and one son between 1975 and 1980. Today, she lives in Wales. She spends her time writing and helping her husband. He runs a summer art school.

Her husband, David Wynn Millward, has also written or illustrated some books. He worked with Jenny Nimmo on four books. Jenny and her younger daughter, Gwen Millward, also worked together. Gwen illustrated Jenny's picture book, The Beasties, published in 2010.

Her Books and Series

The Charlie Bone Adventures

Jenny Nimmo's most famous work is likely Children of the Red King. This series is also known as the Charlie Bone series. In these books, Charlie Bone has a special magical talent. This talent pulls him into tricky situations at his new school. By 2006, the Charlie Bone books were published in nine other languages. Translations into eleven more languages were also being made.

The original plan was for five books in the Red King series. Later, Jenny Nimmo signed a contract for three more books. The main story reaches a big moment in the fifth book. It has another big ending in the eighth book. There is also a new Red King series now.

Books on Screen

Some of Jenny Nimmo's books have been made into TV shows and movies. The Snow Spider and its follow-up books were adapted for television. A writer named Julia Jones created three miniseries. These shows aired from 1989 to 1991 on HTV. The TV series featured Osian Roberts as Gwyn Griffiths. Siân Phillips played his grandmother, Nain Griffiths.

In December 2023, Amazon MGM Studios announced something exciting. A film version of the novel Midnight for Charlie Bone is being made.