British author Louise Rennison died on February 29th at the age of 64.
Although her books have not been checked out a lot lately in my school library, it is on an almost weekly basis that I “mysteriously” find one of her titles tucked away on the shelves where it doesn’t belong. I know that if I see a group of boys laughing or girls giggling in that section, I can be sure to walk over later to find her titles mishelved and furtively slipped behind other books. My students get a kick out of reading various passages from her young teen series about teenager Georgia Nicolson. These diaries are funny and on target as they describe the escapades of 14 year-old Georgia. I first read “Angus” in my early years as a middle school librarian (around 2000) and loved her. She includes a glossary of British slang words in the back of her books (“snogging” refers to kissing). “Knocked Out by My Nunga Nungas,” “Dancing in my Nuddy Pants,” “Away Laughing on a Fast Camel,” and “Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers” are other titles that round out the series. Rennison then began another teen series about Georgia’s cousin, Tallulah- also hilarious. I was not surprised to discover that Rennison was also a comedian. We will miss you, Louise.
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