Petronella Breinburg

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Petronella Breinburg
BornPetronella Alexandrina Breinburg[1]
1927 (1927)
Died (aged 92)
OccupationChildren's book author, playwright, educator
NationalitySurinamese British
EducationUniversity of Keele
Notable worksMy Brother Sean (1973)

Petronella Breinburg (1927 – 5 November 2019) was a Surinamese British author, playwright and professor and one of the first black British authors to write picture books about black children.[1][2] My Brother Sean, illustrated by Errol Lloyd and published by The Bodley Head in 1973, was followed by a series, including Sean Goes to School, Sean's Red Bike and Doctor Sean.[3][4][5] She also wrote books focused on older children, including her first book Legend of Suriname, Us Boys of Westcroft and Stories from the Caribbean.[3][6] Her early books, published at a time where black authored books were rare, provided one of the first opportunities for black children in Britain to read stories they could identify with.[7]

Biography[edit]

Breinburg, of mixed European and African heritage, was born in Suriname in 1927.[8][9] Her father, a policeman, died when she was 12 and the family – there were six children – went to live with her grandmother, near an old Dutch plantation. This grandmother used to terrify the children with tales about the old Dutchman who had owned the plantation.[10]

Influenced by a lineage of storytellers, Breinburg enjoyed writing from a young age, winning local competitions from the age of eight and writing her first play at 13.[11] She was educated at St. Rosa and St. Margaret's Convent in Suriname, before training as a teacher.[12]

After emigrating to Guyana with her husband, she gave birth to two children.[12] In Guyana, she was a member of the Red Cross Society for 10 years, serving for some time as Lieutenant of the Girls Life Brigade.[12] She came to the UK with her two children to join her husband in 1961.[13] Breinburg was a supply teacher in London, where her experience of racism and representation shaped her writing.[6][12]

Breinburg obtained her doctorate in education with linguistics at University of Keele, with one year at Amsterdam University and a stint as a research fellow at the linguistic department of the University of Sheffield.[14][15] She was then appointed to Goldsmiths' University of London, where she was a senior lecturer and head of the Caribbean Centre.[16] Breinburg published books for children, teenagers, and for adults.[17] She also wrote a number of plays and poetry.[12][18]

Breinburg died on 5 November 2019.[19][20]

Publications[edit]

  • Legends of Suriname (1971)[21]
  • My Brother Sean (1973)[22][23][4]
  • Sean Goes to School (1974)[24]
  • Us Boys of Westcroft (1975)[25]
  • Doctor Sean (1975)[26]
  • Sean’s Red Bike (1976)[27]
  • A Girl, Frog and Petticoat (1977)[28]
  • One Day, Another Day (1977)[29]
  • Sally-Ann's Umbrella (1977)[30]
  • Sally-Ann in the Snow (1977)[31]
  • Sally-Ann's Skateboard (1979)[32]
  • Tiger, Paleface and Me (1979). Nippers series.[33]
  • Brinsly's Dream (1980)[34]
  • Stories From The Caribbean (1999)[35]
  • Jeremia and The Trumpet Man (2004)[36]
  • Instead of Roses and Rings (2005)[37]
  • Thoughts of a Creole Woman: A Reminiscence (2006)[18][38]
  • A Long Road to Salamanca (2007)[39]
  • Goodasyu: Crescendo (2011)[40]
  • Out of a Coloured Box: The Broken Shoes Tale (2015)[41]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Petronella Breinburg". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. ^ Hoffman, Mary (13 October 2015). "25 years of Amazing Grace". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Results for 'au:Breinburg, Petronella,' [WorldCat.org]". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Lloyd, Errol (2019). "My Time With Children's Literature in Breaking New Ground: Celebrating British Writers and Illustrators of Colour" (PDF). The Book Trust.
  5. ^ "Go deeper: Reflecting on Black presence in children's books". The British Library. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Petronella Breinburg | George Padmore Institute". www.georgepadmoreinstitute.org. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. ^ John, Gus (15 October 2013). "We Remember... Jessica Huntley". ligali.org. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Breinburg, Petronella", in Jack Zipes (ed.), The The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 9780195146561.
  9. ^ "Petronella Breinburg". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  10. ^ Pavord, Anna (9 September 1973). "Anybody seen Petronella's Fiery Horseman?". The Observer Magazine. Last accessed at The George Padmore Institute. File 145.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (7 September 2019). "Lennox Salmon is In conversation with Dr Petronella Breinburg (8:37)". Vimeo. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  12. ^ a b c d e Breinburg, Petronella. 1968. Personal correspondence between Petronella Breinburg and John La Rose, owner of New Beacon Publishers. Last accessed at The George Padmore Institute. File 145.
  13. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (7 September 2019). "Lennox Salmon is In conversation with Dr Petronella Breinburg (6:40)". Vimeo. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Petronella Breinburg". www.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  15. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (Autumn 1984). "Cultural Racism and Books". Dragons Teeth: Bulletin of the National Committee on Racism in Children's Books. 19: 7. ISSN 0142-6494.
  16. ^ "CACOEU". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Petronella Breinburg". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Thoughts Of A Creole Woman: A Reminiscence". Thoughts of a Creole Woman – Celebrating the life and works of petronella Breinburg. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Telegraph announcements". The Telegraph. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Sad News…". Thoughts Of A Creole Woman. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  21. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1971). Legends of Suriname;. London: New Beacon Books. ISBN 978-0-901241-06-1. OCLC 696709.
  22. ^ Breinburg, Petronella; Lloyd, Errol (1978). My brother Sean. G.B.: Puffin. OCLC 614569609.
  23. ^ "My Brother Sean". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  24. ^ Breinburg, Petronella; Lloyd, Errol (1974). Shawn goes to school. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-690-00277-5. OCLC 23726962.
  25. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1978). Us boys of Westcroft. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-18814-9. OCLC 633845042.
  26. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1974). Doctor Sean. G.B.: Bodley Head. OCLC 614569572.
  27. ^ Breinburg, Petronella; Lloyd, Errol (1994). Sean's red bike. London: Red Fox. ISBN 978-0-09-928901-2. OCLC 31241515.
  28. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1977). A girl, a frog and a petticoat. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-22751-0. OCLC 16429705.
  29. ^ Breinburg, P (1996). One Day, Another Day. London: Macmillan Education. ISBN 978-0-333-21544-9. OCLC 966024807.
  30. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1975). Sally-Ann's umbrella. London: Bodley Head. ISBN 978-0-370-10752-3. OCLC 8188667.
  31. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1984). Sally-Ann in the snow. London: Bodley Head. ISBN 978-0-370-01809-6. OCLC 24642685.
  32. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (1979). Sally-Ann's skateboard. London: Bodley Head. ISBN 978-0-370-30166-2. OCLC 6128382.
  33. ^ Breinburg, Petronella. Tiger, Paleface and Me. ASIN 0333173082.
  34. ^ Petronella, Breinburg. Brinsly's Dream. ASIN 0140311122.
  35. ^ Formats and Editions of Stories from the Caribbean [WorldCat.org]. OCLC 812908864. Retrieved 11 September 2020 – via www.worldcat.org.
  36. ^ Breinburg, Petronella; Kronheimer, Anne (2004). Jeremia and the trumpet man. Oxford: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-92065-7. OCLC 635171782.
  37. ^ Breinburg, Petronella. Instead of Roses and Rings. ASIN 0954999207.
  38. ^ Breinburg, Petronella (2006). Creole women: a generation of thought. London: Petrojass. ISBN 978-0-9549992-2-3. OCLC 506195880.
  39. ^ Breinburg, Petronella A. A Long Road to Salamanca.
  40. ^ Breinburg, Petronella. Goodasyu: Crescendo. ASIN 095499924X.
  41. ^ Breinburg, P. A. Out of a Coloured Box: The Broken Shoes Tale. ASIN 1536923559.

External links[edit]

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