The Greatest and The Best: A Tribute to Diana Wynn Jones

A book for children is first of all to enjoy, and after that it can be full of all the other things books can do for children — mostly, I believe, to encourage them to think for themselves.
---Diane Wynn Jones(1934-2011)

An author can become like a close friend or relative. Their prose can be their voice and their characters can be their children. It takes a certain type of author and a certain type of prose to accomplish this. But when it is accomplished it will stick with you for life.

Diana Wynn Jone is one of the greatest writers for children that has ever lived. She has penned fantasy adventures that make the mind race and she has created characters who I love as siblings. Her Crestomanci books are simply and plainly one of the greatest series of stories on the Planet Earth.

She wrote the first book in that series, Charmed Life, in 1977 and it was delightful. She has continued to add books to that series every few(or sometimes every 11) years or so. One might think that a series drawn out over such a length of time cannot continue with a high level of quality. However, the strongest book in the Crestomanci series was released in 2005 and was called Conrad's Fate. I cannot praise that book highly enough and if I have ever been right about anything, read that book.

Another one of Ms. Jones' biggest accomplishments is The Tough Guide To Fantasyland in which she lays out every fantasy cliche that she can think of and dissects it hilariously. If you ever watch, read, or especially write fantasy you must pick up a copy of this book.

When I sat down to write this I was thinking of calling her Princess Diana to reference the Ex-Princess of Wales but Ms. Jones was not a princess she was a queen.



Rest in Peace, Diana Wynne Jones. You shone like a star. The funniest, wisest, writer & the finest friend. I miss you.
---Neil Gaiman