- Aileen Paterson
Aileen Paterson (born
30 November 1934 onSt Andrew's Day ) is a Scottish writer and illustrator, best known for her series of children's books about Maisie the kitten, beginning with "Maisie Comes to Morningside" the title deliberately echoing 'Cotton comes to Harlem' byChester Himes .Born in the Fife town of
Burntisland , she then moved toKirkcaldy , before gaining a place atEdinburgh Art College where she specialised in pottery.Quintessentially always an artist, she has maintained an eager eye on the goings on of her adopted city in order to incorporate the latest what-have-you in her adopted town into the internationally famed Maisie series of 25 titles so far.
Maisie, the heroine, wears a
kilt andFair Isle jumper. She lives in a flat in Morningside, the famous genteel suburb inEdinburgh . Aileen Paterson has created a world where almost everyone is feline. There's a belligerent budgie and the occasional horse, but no dogs or humans. However, the illustrations are of real places, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paris or New York, the latter title 'Maisie Bites the Big Apple' featuring theMarc Chagall murals in theMetropolitan Opera House .Maisie is a brave, adventurous kitten exploring a world that ultimately reinforces the good things in life such as friendship, food, fun, community and football. The wit and finely-tuned social observation engages adults as much as children.
Several stories have been turned into an animated series called 'Meeow' starring
Stanley Baxter and her latest book sees Maisie investigating strange goings-on in Edinburgh's Botanic Gardens.Aileen Paterson lives with an aristocratic
Cornish Rex called Genghis, who is as fierce as a bowl of custard. She has 5 grown-up children and 6 grandchildren. Her interests include reading, gardening, crosswords and jazz. Her heroes includeHarry Horse ,Edmund Crispin andCamila Batmanghelidjh .External links
* [http://www.braw.org.uk/AuthorsIllustrators/AuthorandIllustratorDirectory/tabid/94/Default.aspx?viewauthor=48]
* [http://www.girlguidingscotland.org.uk/information/info_interview_paterson.htm Girlguiding Scotland - Interview]
* [http://www.nls.uk/writestuff/index.html The Write Stuff - National Library of Scotland]
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