Ivy Wallace

Later in the War she joined the police and it was when working for them that she first thought of Pookie, the winged rabbit. While working on a police switchboard, she doodled a picture of a fairy sitting on a toadstool with a little rabbit in front and by chance it appeared that the wings belonged to the rabbit. She then decided that fairies were "two a penny" so she erased the fairy and kept the little winged rabbit. She named him Pookie because "he had a little pookie face" and wrote his story. It began “This is the story of Pookie, a little white furry rabbit, with soft, floppity ears, big blue eyes and the most lovable rabbit smile in the world.” Ivy illustrated her stories with delicate, detailed watercolour paintings that perfectly captured her evocative tales. In 1945, just after war ended, encouraged by friends to find a publisher for her manuscript, she visited William Collins & Sons in London without an appointment. She was turned away, crestfallen, but asked to leave her manuscript. A few weeks later she was contacted by William Hope Collins and asked to attend the Glasgow office where the Children's Books section was based. Borrowing some money from her brother to buy a new dress and a 'big hat' to make her appear more 'serious', she took the train north to Glasgow. She met with William Hope Collins in the (now demolished) Cathedral Street offices and not only did William accept the book, he also fell in love with its author. In 1950 Ivy and William married and went to live in the Scottish Borders. They were a devoted couple and had two daughters. Ivy founded her own company Pookie Productions Ltd. In all, she wrote ten 'Pookie' books as well as the highly successful 'Animal Shelf' series for younger children and 'The Young Warrenders' series for older ones. For over 20 years, Ivy's beautiful books became a publishing phenomenon and were worldwide bestsellers. The first title Pookie sold over a million copies and subsequent titles became best-sellers and were translated into several languages. Pookie was read as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. In Australia, the stories were broadcast in "Pookie's Half-Hour" and thousands of children attended Pookie rallies. The first two titles of The Animal Shelf series enchanted younger children and sold over 400,000 copies on publication. Ivy also enjoyed a successful career as a writer-illustrator for Wm Collins & Sons and for other international publishers. In 1950 she created the first baby record book 'Baby Days, A Record Year by Year' sold by Boots.