The daughter of the German writer and drama critic Alfred Kerr, she
was born in Berlin and fled with her family at age 9 to Switzerland,
France, and finally England. She lives in London.
Her late brother, Sir Michael Kerr, was a well-known judge.
Her late husband, sci-fi screenwriter Thomas Nigel Kneale, was the
author of the "Quatermass" series. Their daughter Tacy Kneale is a TV
actress and animatronic designer for the Harry Potter movies. Their
son Matthew Kneale is a successful novelist.
Would you believe that volume 185 (released a couple of months ago) of
the encyclopedia series "Something about the Author" says in the index
that Kerr died in 1970, when just two of her many books had been
published?
On top of that, the only entry for her in the series is in volume 24,
which was published in 1981!
She also wrote the "Mog" series for small children, based on her own
cats.
In "Something about the Author":
"I wrote ('When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit') for my children, who have
often asked what it was like to lose one's home, one's country, and
even one's language. I wanted to explain that it was not nearly as bad
as it sounded--that given good parents and a bit of luck one can cope
with such difficulties and even enjoy the process. But perhaps even
more than this, I wanted to write something about my parents. They
were the very opposite of the parents in pioneer stories, for instance
the admirable Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Unlike Laura Ingalls'
splendidly practical parents, my mother could neither cook nor sew, my
father had absolutely no understanding of money. He was a writer and
she a musician and no two people could have been less fitted for the
very practical everyday difficulties which we encountered. And yet,
because they were marvelous people, we managed. In spite of all the
trouble and tragedies around us, my brother and I probably had a
happier and more satisfying childhood than most."
"The Other Way Around" and "A Small Person Far Away" are the sequels
to "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit."
"Christopher Wordsworth asserted that 'the triumph of ('The Other Way
Around') is its avoidance of sententiousness. . . . Almost alarmingly
evocative, tinged with quiet wisdom, it touches tellingly on the
pecking order of the refugee community and the sadness when one
generation adapts and another is left marooned.' "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/11/03/bomog103.xml&page=1
(three pages long - very amusing stuff about Mog, about teaching her
son to read and about her husband)
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=judith%20kerr&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
(photos, some covers)
http://books.guardian.co.uk/graphic/0,,2235574,00.html
(short article by Kerr and photo of her office)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Hitler_Stole_Pink_Rabbit
(plot summary)
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
JUVENILE; ALL SELF-ILLUSTRATED
* The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Coward, 1968.
* Mog, the Forgetful Cat, Collins, 1970, Parents' Magazine Press,
1972.
* When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Collins, 1971, Coward, 1972.
* When Willy Went to the Wedding, Collins, 1972, Parents' Magazine
Press, 1973.
* The Other Way Round, Coward, 1975.
* Mog's Christmas, Collins, 1976, Collins, 1977.
* A Small Person Far Away, Collins, 1978.
* Mog and the Baby, Collins, 1980.
* Mog in the Dark, Collins, 1983; Larousse (New York), 1984.
* Mog and Me, Collins, 1984.
* Mog's Family of Cats, Collins, 1985.
* Mog's Amazing Birthday Caper, Collins, 1986.
* Mog and Bunny, Collins, 1988; Knopf (New York City), 1988.
* Mog and Barnaby, Collins, 1991, published as Look Out, Mog!,
Random House, 1991.
* How Mrs. Monkey Missed the Ark, Collins, 1992.
* The Adventures of Mog, Collins, 1993.
* Mog on Fox Night, HarperCollins, 1993.
Lenona.
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