Children’s author, Peter Dickinson, died December 16th at age 88 in England. Born in Africa and raised in England, Dickinson is one of the original dystopian authors before it became fashionable. He wrote for both children and adults and won the Whitbread and Carnegie Medals for his children’s titles. His style ranged from picture books, fantasy, science fiction, humor (Punch magazine), historical fiction and thrillers. His book “Eva,” which was published in the early ’90’s, describes a teenager waking up in the hospital after being in a coma for months from a car crash and realizing she is now in the body of a chimpanzee. Set in the future, the human population is confined to living in skyscrapers watching TV after destroying most of the world. As Eva adjusts to living in the body of a chimpanzee, she becomes more acclimated to life as a chimp, identifying with them more than people. In the early 1990’s, Dickinson married Newbery winning author Robin McKinley.
