I was flicking through some old Puffins I'd dug up today, and was struck by the quality of many of those from the 1970s or so. They had one thing in common: those three little words, "Editor: Kaye Webb". The blurbs on the inside front cover seemed somehow far more literate than you'd get on the average Puffin these days - for example, Moominpapa at Sea (actually a very good book, which I'm enjoying reading again) was described thus (from memory):
"This haunting, moving, beautiful book is perhaps the most satisfying of all the Moomin adventures."
My chain of thought then led me to the Puffin Club, of which I was once a member, and its excellent magazine Puffin Post. There was some really high quality writing in there, and I still think it was a great loss when the Club folded - not coincidentally, shortly after the retirement of KW - and withered away as yet another school-based setup.
No real point to this post; just some pleasant memories of a woman who probably influenced my childhood more than most.
Cheers,
David.
"This haunting, moving, beautiful book is perhaps the most satisfying of all the Moomin adventures."
My chain of thought then led me to the Puffin Club, of which I was once a member, and its excellent magazine Puffin Post. There was some really high quality writing in there, and I still think it was a great loss when the Club folded - not coincidentally, shortly after the retirement of KW - and withered away as yet another school-based setup.
No real point to this post; just some pleasant memories of a woman who probably influenced my childhood more than most.
Cheers,
David.
