Joyce Dunbar facts for kids

Joyce Dunbar (born 6 January 1944) is an English writer. She writes many books for children. She has published over seventy books!

Joyce Dunbar is famous for books like Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep. She also wrote This Is The Star. Another popular series is the Mouse and Mole books. Her daughter, Polly Dunbar, is also a children's writer and illustrator.

About Joyce Dunbar

Her Early Life

Joyce Dunbar was born in 1944 in Scunthorpe, England. She grew up in Lincolnshire with three brothers and sisters. Her father worked in a steel factory. Her mother made fishing nets.

Joyce went to Goldsmiths College in London. There, she studied English. After college, she had many different jobs. She worked as a nanny, a waitress, and a salesperson.

Becoming a Writer

In 1968, Joyce started teaching drama at a college. This was in Stratford-on-Avon, England. But Joyce began to lose her hearing. Because of this, she stopped teaching. In 1989, she became a full-time writer.

Joyce Dunbar has two grown-up children. Her son, Ben, is a fashion photographer. Her daughter, Polly, writes and illustrates books. Today, Joyce lives in Norwich.

Her Books and Projects

Writing for Children

Joyce Dunbar published her first children's book when she was 35. In 1985, she wrote Mundo and the Weather-Child. This book is about an imaginary friend of a deaf child. It was even a runner-up for an award!

In 1990, her book A Bun for Barney became a video game. BBC Multimedia Corporation made it.

One of her well-known books is Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep. She wrote it in 1998. This book helps children feel safe and happy. Joyce went on a book tour in the United States in 2002 to share this story.

Her picture book Shoe Baby came out in 2005. Her daughter Polly drew the pictures for it. Shoe Baby was even turned into a puppet show! It was part of the 2006 Brighton Festival.

Joyce Dunbar's most famous books are the Mouse and Mole series. James Mayhew illustrated these books. They were made into a 26-part TV cartoon series. Famous actors like Alan Bennett and Richard Briers did the voices!

Helping Others

Joyce Dunbar is deaf herself. She has worked to help other deaf people. In 1998, she rode her bike across Cuba. She did this to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. She wrote a journal about her trip called Cycle Cuba. It was published in 1999.

That same year, she traveled to the Himalayas. This trip helped support a new ashram, which is a spiritual retreat. Joyce has also taught English writing to children. She taught them on the Greek island of Skyros.

Joyce Dunbar is also part of a group called the Picture project. This project is run by SCOPE. It looks at how children with disabilities are shown in picture books.