Author Fact File: Laura Henry-Allain
Laura Henry-Allain is a British author who has written popular books for teachers and children. Her picture books were the inspiration behind the smash-hit children's TV show JoJo and Gran Gran, which first aired on CBeebies in March 2020. Laura is the creator of the characters of this groundbreaking animation series—the first of its kind to focus on a Black British family.
Endearing, energetic and sage-like, Gran Gran was based on Laura's much-loved St Lucian grandmother, Marie-Helena, with whom she had a close bond. Laura spent time with her grandmother during her childhood, in west London, very near to Grenfell Tower. She has fond memories of their time together and this is lovingly echoed in the multi-generational relationship between JoJo, Gran Gran and Great Gran Gran back in St Lucia.
In her creative work, Laura is passionate about depicting St Lucia's cultural traditions, especially its Creole heartbeat. She feels that as a small Caribbean island, St Lucia is often overlooked in favour of its larger neighbours, and she is keen to redress this imbalance, striving for more diverse representation in everything she does.
When she's not writing, Laura travels the world as an award-winning early years writer, speaker and consultant, sharing her expertise with other education professionals. She still thoroughly enjoys working with children and young adults and loves doing author visits to primary and secondary schools.
Laura currently lives in London and has two grown-up sons.
Download FREE author fact file here. (PDF version)
Download FREE author fact file here. (editable Word version)
Notes for teachers and parents: If you open the Word file and PowerPoint with Google Docs, this may affect the styles/layout. It's best to download the files in their original format to retain the correct formatting. In the slideshow and fact file, Laura's favourite book is The Color Purple by Alice Walker. The US spelling of book title The Color Purple is correct. You may wish to amend this to UK spelling to suit your class.
I'd love feedback as to whether you find these resources useful or not, so please leave your helpful comments in the comments box below. Similarly, if there are any other Black authors for whom you'd like me to create resources just let me know, and I'll try to make it happen.
Thanks to CBeebies Children’s and Education brand management team for permission to use the CBeebies logo.
Comments
Post a Comment