The Return of the Word Spy

Ursula Dubosarsky was born in Ursula Coleman, Sydney, in 1961. She is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults, whose work is characterised by a child's vision and voice. She has won nine national literary prizes, including five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. She is the author of illustrated books and novels, and also three works of non-fiction about the English language, grammar and etymology for children, featuring a comically enthusiastic character known as "The Word Spy". These "Word Spy" books, illustrated by Tohby Riddle, have won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, the Children's Book Council of Australia Junior Judges' Award and Book of the Year Award. In the United States and Canada "The Word Spy" is published under the title "The Word Snoop. Three of her books have been adapted for theatre - "The Red Shoe", "The Terrible Plop" and "Too Many Elephants In This House".

She is a Hans Christian Andersen Award Nominee and a Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Nominee.

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