New Zealand author Jack Lasenby, who "was known for his quirky authorship of children's and young adult fiction, for which he was well regarded," died September 28, Stuff NZ reported. He was 88. The New Zealand Book Council described him as "one of New Zealand's most important children's book authors."
His many books include the Uncle Trev series; The Mangrove Summer; Because We Were the Travellers; and The Lake. His last published book was Grandad's Wheelies (2016). Lasenby was awarded the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award in 2003, and was honored with the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in 2014. The Jack Lasenby Award was established in his name in 2002 by the Wellington Children's Book Association.
Ruth McIntyre of Wellington's Children's Bookshop said Lasenby used to frequent the shop, was always a joy to be around, and had been good friends with McIntyre's husband: "He was certainly a character, I would definitely rate him as a friend. Him and John used to get on very well, as they both regarded themselves as grumpy old men.... He was always so charming and good fun. It was a joy to see him and have a chat."
In 2012, after winning an award for Calling the Gods, Lasenby told Stuff he made sure to write every day, describing himself then as being "81 and still scribbling away for young people."
Dame Fiona Kidman observed: "The thing that strikes me about Jack was that he succeeded as a writer for children and young people because he really liked them. He understood what it was like to be a kid and when he was with them there was never anything artificial or 'writerly' about his interaction. He awarded one of my grandsons a prize for writing once, and when he came to his school for the awards, you could see the rapport and the magic he created with all the students. He gave my grandson the prize because, he said, the story had made him laugh out loud. And that was his own gift, to make others laugh and draw them into his orbit, and then to reveal a much wider vision of the world."