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Valerie Mendes facts for kids

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Valerie Helene Mendes (born in October 1939) is an English writer. She writes novels and poems.

Valerie Mendes is famous for her books for teenagers. These include Girl in the Attic, Coming of Age, Lost and Found, and The Drowning. She also writes historical novels for adults. Some of these are Larkswood, Daddy’s Girl, and Beatrice and Alexander. In recent years, she has published a memoir called Not Only But Also (2021). She also released a collection of her poems, The Gathering, in 2022.

Valerie Mendes's Early Life

Valerie Mendes was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in October 1939. Her father was Reuben Barnett. She went to school at North London Collegiate School. Later, she studied at the University of Reading.

Valerie Mendes has a son named Sir Sam Mendes. He is a very well-known director of theatre and films. She also has four grandchildren.

Valerie Mendes's Writing Career

Valerie Mendes started her career as a journalist. She worked for a company called Marshall Cavendish. There, she wrote and edited for weekly magazines.

Later, she moved to Oxford University Press (OUP). She helped edit books for people learning English. She also worked for Penguin Books for a while. Then, she returned to OUP. She started a new series of easy-to-read books called Alpha Books.

From 1979 to 1983, Valerie Mendes worked on a big project. It was an Encyclopedia of Visual Art for Elsevier Oxford. This encyclopedia was later bought and published by other companies. These included Macmillan and Encyclopedia Britannica.

In the mid-1980s, she managed promotions for the Franklin Watts Group. This group published children's books. She also taught publishing at Oxford Polytechnic. She even managed publications for BUPA in London.

In 1990, Valerie Mendes started her own company. It was called Wordwise. It was a business that helped with writing and editing books. For eight years, she wrote and edited books for many publishers. These included Blackwell Publishers and Collins Educational.

Early Stories and Picture Books

While working for Penguin Books, Valerie Mendes wrote stories. Her stories New Year Cat and The Best Guy in Albert Street were published. They appeared in a magazine called Puffin Post.

Between 1992 and 2001, she published two picture books. These books are for younger children. Tomasina's First Dance was illustrated by Heather Calder. Look at Me, Grandma! was illustrated by Claire Fletcher. People liked Look at Me, Grandma! because it had writing that repeated.

Novels for Teenagers and Adults

In 2002, Valerie Mendes published her first novel for teenagers. It was called Girl in the Attic. She then wrote four more teenage novels: Coming of Age, Lost and Found, The Drowning, and Where Peacocks Scream.

In 2014, she wrote her first historical novel for adults. This book was named Larkswood. After that, she published Daddy's Girl and Beatrice and Alexander.

Valerie Mendes's Books

  • Girl in the Attic (2002)
  • Coming of Age (2003)
  • Lost and Found (2004)
  • The Drowning (2005)
  • Larkswood (2014)
  • Where Peacocks Scream (2017)
  • Daddy's Girl (2021)
  • Beatrice and Alexander (2021)
  • Not Only But Also: A Memoir (2021)
  • The Gathering: Collected Poems (2022)

Picture Books

  • Tomasina's First Dance (1992)
  • Look At Me, Grandma! (2001)

See also

A friendly robot, like a helper for kids. In Spanish: Valerie Mendes para niños

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