Page 48 - Great Elizabethans

Malorie Blackman grew up reading and writing all the time – but she didn’t dream that she would one day write books to inspire thousands of children and teenagers herself! Loved by readers
of all ages, her books include the best-selling Noughts and Crosses series.
A NEW LONDON LIFE
Malorie Blackman’s parents arrived in England in 1960 from Barbados in the Caribbean, hoping to make a new life for their family in Britain. Malorie was born in Surrey two years later, but
she grew up mostly in Clapham, a part of London. When she was three, her mother had twin baby boys – Malorie loved helping to look after her brothers, though they were a lot of work! Not
long after, her two older siblings, who had been living with relatives in Barbados, came to join them in England, and the whole family was complete.
Malorie loved books and reading as a child, especially myths and legends – one of her favourite books was The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, set in the magic land of Narnia, and filled with giants, strange underground creatures, a terrifying serpent, and a prince under a spell. She read it at least 10 times! By the age of 11, she’d read all the children’s books in the library, a bit like Roald Dahl’s Matilda (page 18). She also wrote stories and poems non-stop herself, but she didn’t dream that she might become a published writer – partly because she was Black, and all the writers she knew of didn’t look like she did.
Stormzy (page 58) namechecks Malorie in his song “Superheroes”! The grime star has said how much he loved Noughts and Crosses when he was growing up – he even has a role in the TV adaptation.
Sometimes Malorie experienced racism directed towards her – like the ticket inspector who accused her of having stolen her first class ticket when she was a teenager, or the history teacher who told her that there had never been Black inventors, scientists or pioneers. They
made her feel angry and sad – and determined to make a difference.
46