Ruth Starke lived in Adelaide, South Australia. She published more than 20 novels for young people including the award-winning NIPS XI, which was named Honour Book (Younger Readers) in the 2001 CBCA Awards.
She was awarded the Carclew Fellowship in 2002, and served as a judge for both the Colin Thiele Writing Fellowship and the Independent Arts Fellowship. She was a longtime book reviewer for Australian Book Review, Viewpoint, and Radio Adelaide, an an editorial adviser for ABR, and a past Chair of the SA Writers Centre.
Here are some books I greatly enjoyed by Ruth Starke. Sadly many of these are now out of print but a few might be in your school or local library:
I regularly recommended this one to my senior students. Dear old Mrs Tuck has run the school canteen for years. But after a chain of nasty culinary upsets, she gets the chop and a slick new commercial caterer is appointed. Angelo Martinelli, junior private eye, smells a rat and not just the dead one in the canteen. Is it sabotage, or is it a red herring? Can The Angel get to the bottom of the mystery that has the whole school on the run? This was one title from a terrific series called Crime Waves (Lothian). Ruth Starke also wrote Star Struck for this series - they all had wonderful cover designs.
And look for the Sequel NIPS go National.
NIPS XI was a 2001 CBCA Younger Readers Honour Book.
Stella by the Sea was short-listed by the CBCA in Younger Readers in 2004
Stella by the Sea is a perfect book for readers who love the idea of living in a tree house
Captain Congo and the Crocodile King was short listed by the CBCA in 2009
The story starts off in 20th century London. A small group of kids from one of the many homes for children in London are offered free passage to Australia as migrants. One of these kids is Hilly Lyon and her little brother Egg (short for Gregory). A month and a bit later and they are landing in the Western Australian port of Fremantle. To Hilly's horror she finds herself separated from her beloved brother and sent to another home instead of the new parents promised by the officials back in London. What follows is a sad tale of harsh nuns and cruel rules. Hilly is desperate to find her brother and attempts to enlist the help of the Queen.
Orphans of the Queen is intended for older readers (12 years and up). Ruth Starke
After 113 years Saddler Street School is going to be closed down. Over the decades it has taught hundreds of migrant children including Sam Papamanos in 1937 and Sim Van Le in 1996.
Sim has a plan to save the school, enlisting the help of fellow students.
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