Pamela Allen

Born in the Auckland suburb of Devonport in 1934 to Esma Eileen (née Griffith) and William Ewart Griffiths,[1][2] Allen studied at St Cuthbert's College,[3] then the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland, from where she graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts in 1955.[4] She then worked as a secondary school art teacher.[5] She married sculptor Jim Allen in 1964.[6] They moved to Sydney in about 1977,[7] and after about 30 years returned to live in Auckland, New Zealand.[8][9][10]

Allen published her first book, Mr Archimedes' Bath, in 1980.[5] Since then she has written and illustrated more than 30 picture books for children.[11]

She has won or been shortlisted for many awards as both a writer and illustrator. She won the Children's Book Council of Australia's Children's Picture Book of The Year Award in 1983 for Who Sank the Boat?[5] and 1984 for Bertie and the Bear,[5] and has been shortlisted for the same award on five other occasions.[11] She twice won the Ethel Turner Prize in the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, in 1980 for Mr Archimedes' Bath[5] and 1983 for Who Sank the Boat?.[12]

Allen was awarded the International Board on Books for Young People honour diploma for illustration, for Who Sank the Boat?, in 1984.[13]

In 1986, she received the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa Russell Clark Illustration Award for her illustrations in A Lion in the Night.[14]

In 2001, Who Sank The Boat?, first published in 1982, won the Gaelyn Gordon Award—given to the author of a New Zealand children's book that has been a favourite with children over a long period of time—from the New Zealand Book Council.[11][15]

Allen returned to live in Auckland and in 2004 she won the Margaret Mahy Medal, New Zealand's top children's literature prize.[11][16] In the 2005 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to children's literature.[17]

Eight of her books have been adapted for the stage by Patch Theatre Company and performed at the Sydney Opera House.[18]

Allen's daughter, Ruth Allen, a Melbourne-based glass sculptor,[7][18] was commissioned by Penguin Australia in 2008 to create an artwork to celebrate sales of over five million copies of Allen's books.[19]

• A Lion in the Night
• Clippity-Clop
• Cuthbert's Babies
• Belinda
• Mr Archimedes' Bath
• Who Sank the Boat?
• Bertie and the Bear
• Herbert and Harry
• Fancy That!
• I Wish I Had A Pirate Suit
• My Cat Maisie
• Black Dog
• Mr McGee
• Mr McGee Goes to Sea
• Mr McGee and the Blackberry Jam
• Mr McGee and the Biting Flea
• Mr McGee and the Perfect Nest
• Mr McGee and the Elephants
• Alexander's Outing
• Waddle Giggle Gargle
• The Bear's Lunch
• The Pear in the Pear Tree
• Inside Mary Elizabeth's House
• Can You Keep a Secret?
• Brown Bread and Honey
• The Potato People
• Daisy All-Sorts
• Grandpa and Thomas
• Grandpa and Thomas and the Green Umbrella
• Where's the Gold?
• My First ABC
• Shhh! Little Mouse
• Felix
• The Toymaker and the Bird
• Hetty's Day Out

• Morley, Sarah (Spring 2020). "Mr Archimedes MOVES IN" (PDF). SL magazine. State Library of New South Wales. 13 (3): 48–51.

• Pamela Allen pictorial material and papers, 1974-2016, manuscripts, audio cassettes, video recordings, etchings and illustrations, State Library of New South Wales.