Biography
Jill Tomlinson was born on 11 March 1931 in Carshalton, Surrey. She trained and worked as a professional singer before becoming a writer. Her background in performance — the ability to find and sustain a voice, to think about audience and rhythm — shapes her books profoundly.
She began writing the Animals series in the late 1960s, producing six books featuring young animals who must find their place in the world: The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark (1968), The Aardvark Who Wasn't Sure (1969), The Cat Who Wanted to Go Home (1969), Hilda the Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up (1970), The Otter Who Wanted to Know (1979), and The Gorilla Who Wanted to Grow Up (1977).
Each book follows the same structural pattern: a young animal with a specific problem is sent out into the world to find answers, and each encounter with a human or another animal offers a different perspective. The structure is educational without being didactic, cumulative without being mechanical.
Tomlinson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her twenties and dealt with increasing disability throughout her writing life. She died in March 1976 in Leamington Spa at the age of 45, leaving the final books in her series to be completed posthumously. The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark remains her most celebrated work and one of the best-loved British children's books of the twentieth century.