About

Telling Trails was conceived as an online guide to children’s book authors, illustrators and literary landmarks in south-west London. Part literary travel guide and part biographical dictionary, the site explores the importance of place in the creative process of children’s writers and illustrators. Where possible, I interviewed the featured writers and illustrators myself. It also includes books that have been inspired by the area or have some other connection to it.

I initially developed Telling Trails in 2005 for a web publishing module during my MA course in librarianship. In 2013 I migrated that content to this WordPress site but please note that I have not updated or expanded it since and have no plans to do so: I keep it here as an archive and reference only.

This site is for anyone who shares an interest in children’s books and/or the local area. It is an independent, educational, non-commercial website.

If you have any comments, corrections or queries about the content on this site, please get in touch.

About me

My name is Terri McCargar and I am the author of Telling Trails. I grew up near the Mississippi River in Minnesota and now live not far from the Thames in Twickenham. My mother worked as a school librarian before I was born; as a child I was surrounded by discarded library books so well loved they were falling apart. This led to a lifelong love affair with books and initially to a career in educational and children’s publishing. I worked as a book editor in London for about 10 years before deciding to re-train as a librarian. Since first publishing this site, I have worked as a children’s librarian for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and as a school librarian in independent secondary schools in London.