Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, was born in 1939.

Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England, on June 15, 1939 and died on February 5, 2011. Since the age of 15, Jacques has held a variety of jobs including merchant sailor, firefighter, dock worker, truck driver, boxer, and even stand-up comedian! The first in his Redwall series was published in 1986, after a childhood teacher showed the story to a publisher without telling Jacques. Today, the series boasts 22 books and a number of related titles including two Tribes of Redwall books.

After your students have read one of Brian Jacques' Redwall stories, or another fantasy novel, create a class newspaper based on the story.

• First, have students complete a story map using this Story Map Handout or the interactive Story Mapping tool.
  
  
• As a whole class, brainstorm a list of the most interesting or significant story events and characters from the novel.
  
  
• Have students work in small groups to write a newspaper story based on a specific character or event from the story. They should describe the scene or character in the style of a news article and write a descriptive headline, such as "Redwall Inhabitants in Struggle of Good vs. Evil!" (You can review the elements of a newspaper article with your students using the Creating a Classroom Newspaper lesson.)
  
  
• After all the groups have finished writing their articles, have students use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press to create their newspaper.
  
  

• Brian Jacques: The Official Website
  

  This is the official website of children's author Brian Jacques. Included is information about the Redwall series, Jacques' biography, puzzles, and more.

   

• Brian Jacques Biography
  

  Penguin Books offers this biography of Jacques. The page also features links to an author interview and a booklist.

   

• Brian Jacques
  

  This Kidsreads.com page includes a biography of and interview with Jacques, along with reviews of books in the series.

   

• Brian Jacques
  

  This site, from Random House, U.K., offers a biography of Jacques, as well as a list of his books with links to each title.