YORKSHIRE DAY GREETINGS & READINGS! by Penny Dolan

Today is Yorkshire Day when the White Rose flag flutters freely from flagpoles all across God's Own County, especially in tourist spots like York and I enjoy seeing them.

Yorkshire Day began as a response to the 1974 governmental reorganisation that, in Yorkshire, removed its three traditional administrative areas, which had existed since 1100, when the Danes divided the land into "Thirdings",  allowing each representation at the "Thing",  the parliamentary gathering in York.  The term Thirdings gradually shifted to become "The Ridings", and they were simply known as the West Riding, the North Riding, and East Riding., which was given its name back at later date.

 However, there is a purely fictitious"South Riding".

                            

South Riding is an influential "farm and school" novel by Winifred Holtby, who wrote for the Manchester Guardian in the 1920's & 30's. The book is about Sarah Burton, a modernising schoolteacher trying to develop the lives of her pupils, the romantic interest of a Yorkshire farmer and other characters, including an older woman councillor, supposedly based on Holtby's mother, the first female Alderman on the County Council.

Holtby's nominal South Riding is the area south of the market town of Beverley, down towards Hull, and offers a picture of the changes brought about in provincial life after First World War. The writing reflects both her progressive politics and love of the Yorkshire countryside, and the novel was adapted for the small screen in 2011.

            

After Holtby's early death, her friend Vera Brittain saw the manuscript of South Riding to publication in 1936. and its triumphant reception.

Holtby's novel reads almost like a historical novel now, as do those famous Yorkshire children's classics: The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  

So, as Awfully Big Blog Adventure is about children's books, I've looked for a few writers from or living in Yorkshire whose books are inspiring and interesting children today. Here's what - or who -  I found.

Steve Weatherill and Stephen Waterhouse areboth illustrators, creating picture books, from cute geese through to non-fiction.. 

 

 

 

Poet and writer Em Lyn as and illustrator Matt Hunt have created  thsi newly published The Cat and the Rat and the Hat book.

 

 Saviour Pirotta writes books and series based on myths & legends, taking his enthusiastic young readers into past times and historical adventures.

Among Hilary Robinson's recent picture books for little ones are the Gregory Goose, series illustrated with Mandy Stanley, as well as her WWI picture books

Theresa Tomlinson has re-issued her 7th century historical novel about Hild, the Abbess of Whitby and Fridgyth, a herb-wife. Adult and older readers.

Sally Nicholls, originally from Yorkshire, usually writes for teens and early teens, and here is her historical novel about the arrival of the Plague.

 

 

Meanwhile, for football fans,, it's worth searching for books by Helena Pielichaty and by Tom Palmer., as well as Tom's war novels.

 

 

 Or there are several powerful Phil Earle titles to choose from:

Or fearsome fantasy from Liz Flanagan: 

I tracked down all the "Yorkshire" children's authors above, but there are others such as Melvin Burgess,  Andy Seed, Emma Barnes, Kate Pankhurst, Teresa Flavin  and more. . . 

But, please, do YOU have any Yorkshire authors, illustrators or book titles to suggest? Do add them in the comments!

And there's this book too, still around , or so I've heard . . .

 

Have a Great Yorkshire Day today!

Penny Dolan 

@pennydolan1