Richard O'Neill
Richard O’Neill is a storyteller, author and playwright who grew up in a nomadic Romani family in northern England. He has worked professionally with young people since 1997 in schools, libraries, youth clubs and prisons, and has been awarded National Literacy Hero status. He has also won awards for his work in community leadership, and does workshops and training for educators and other professionals.
Books by Richard O'Neill
Parade of the Pipers
Richard O'Neill, Michelle Russell, Elijah Vardo (illustrator)
The Show Must Go On
Richard O'Neill, Michelle Russell, Mitch Miller (illustrator)
“The Show Must Go On is about a Showman’s site, or a yard, as they will often call them. Developers want to gentrify it, but the older man who owns it does not want this to happen. It doesn’t matter how much money, it’s his home, it’s the family’s home. The protagonist is a girl called Mary Ann who starts a campaign, and all the neighbours and everybody come together to make sure the redevelopment doesn’t happen.” Read more...
Richard O'Neill, Children's Author
“School and home are much more interconnected now than when I was a kid, and I think that’s a good thing. There are hurdles to overcome with that, but I think in the future we will have much more integration, school will be more community-based. And it will be much healthier, physically and mentally, for everybody involved.” Read more...
Richard O'Neill, Children's Author
Polonius the Pit Pony
Richard O'Neill, Feronia Parker Thomas (illustrator)
“I’d known old people with pit ponies who looked after them, and I started to look at what place pit ponies held in certain coal mining communities. These ponies would come up for a two-week holiday or a week’s holiday. Then just the occasional one, which Polonius is, did not want to go back down. And you can just imagine, why that one? Why that one amongst these 30-40 ponies thinks ‘I’m not going back down there, I’m making a bid for freedom?’ Often the owners didn’t want it to go back down, because the pony would be quite dangerous down in the pit once it had tasted freedom.” Read more...
Richard O'Neill, Children's Author
“One day, I was looking at a cola can and I thought, actually, that bow top is very similar to the old-fashioned wagon…As Travellers, sometimes we’re seen as people who are here today, gone tomorrow, who don’t make community connections. But even when we were travelling around most of the year, we still were part of a community when we were there, and we had friends. I wanted to show that with Janie.” Read more...
Richard O'Neill, Children's Author
A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story
by Richard O'Neill
In Edwardian era Sheffield, Lijah is developing a passion for football, and he is very good at it. Unfortunately, his father thinks it’s a daft game which Romani people should stay away from. Lijah is torn between the feeling of freedom and power that he gets from playing football, and love for his family and their traditions. Can he find a way to do what he has set his heart on, without disrespecting his father and losing touch with his family’s way of life? A thoughtful novel by an author from a traditional nomadic Romani community in England, this book is part of Scholastic’s excellent Voices series of historical fiction.
Ages 8-12
Interviews with Richard O'Neill
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1
Polonius the Pit Pony
Richard O'Neill, Feronia Parker Thomas (illustrator) -
2
The Lost Homework
Richard O'Neill, Kirsti Beautyman (illustrator) -
3
The Can Caravan
Richard O'Neill, Cindy Kang (illustrator) -
4
The Show Must Go On
Richard O'Neill, Michelle Russell, Mitch Miller (illustrator) -
5
A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story
by Richard O'Neill
Traveller Books for Kids, recommended by Richard O'Neill
Traveller Books for Kids, recommended by Richard O'Neill
A storyteller from a nomadic Romani family, Richard O’Neill has been telling stories since he was a child. Here, he talks us through five books he’s written for kids. He emphasizes the importance for children of seeing themselves reflected in books, as well as the need for authentic writing about Gypsy and Traveller communities.
Interviews where books by Richard O'Neill were recommended
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1
Polonius the Pit Pony
Richard O'Neill, Feronia Parker Thomas (illustrator) -
2
The Lost Homework
Richard O'Neill, Kirsti Beautyman (illustrator) -
3
The Can Caravan
Richard O'Neill, Cindy Kang (illustrator) -
4
The Show Must Go On
Richard O'Neill, Michelle Russell, Mitch Miller (illustrator) -
5
A Different Kind of Freedom: A Romani Story
by Richard O'Neill
Traveller Books for Kids, recommended by Richard O'Neill
Traveller Books for Kids, recommended by Richard O'Neill
A storyteller from a nomadic Romani family, Richard O’Neill has been telling stories since he was a child. Here, he talks us through five books he’s written for kids. He emphasizes the importance for children of seeing themselves reflected in books, as well as the need for authentic writing about Gypsy and Traveller communities.
