Wendy Cooling was the person who drew me into the world of children’s books when she became a judge in the first Dillon’s Young Reader competition, while head of the Children’s Book Foundation. Her enthusiasm was as infectious as her knowledge was prodigious, and we insisted she return to the panel every year.
Our later collaborations included three very happy years working on Children’s Book Week. All her ideas were rooted in her long experience of teaching and encouraging children to enjoy reading for pleasure, in the belief that the educational benefits would manifest themselves later without any need for preaching.
