Malaika Rose Stanley
Malaika Rose Stanley (Ros)
1954 – 2019
We were deeply saddened by the death of Malaika Rose Stanley who was a prominent member of our group for many years. Some of our newer members will also also have met her when she returned to the group, albeit too briefly, in 2018.
Marion Rose gave a moving tribute to Ros at her funeral last week in which she said:
“Some of us first met Ros in a scruffy classroom in the Hornsey Road. It was a course for writers who were ‘serious’ about publishing for children. Ros was very serious. Over the weeks we also found that she was funny, and feisty, and very focused on things she cared about – such as her own search for a parent, and being the best that she could be as a single mum, for her two boys.
All of this is reflected in her writing, though we probably didn’t see it at the time. What we did see was her emerging skill as a story-teller, her empathy with and insight into people , and her determination to champion a black child’s place in the world, with all her considerable creative talent.”
Ros was a former teacher, a children’s author and, with the publication of Loose Connections, a debut memoirist.
Her children’s books have been described as topical, engaging and full of humour. Her first Amazon review describes Loose Connections as a ‘… wonderfully moving book… really well written, clear and simple but heartbreaking too.’
She was born in Birmingham and lived in London, near her grown-up sons, their partners – and her first grandson.
MALAIKA’S BOOKS
WHILE I AM SLEEPING Pearson Education
SPIKE AND ALI ENSON Tamarind
SPIKE IN SPACE Tamarind
SKIN DEEP Tamarind
DANCE DREAMS (SUGAR AND SPICE) Tamarind
MISS BUBBLE’S TROUBLES Tamarind
BABY RUBY BAWLED Tamarind
MAN HUNT Orchard Books
OPERATION X Orchard Books
DAD ALERT Orchard Books
Buzz about Books 
A lovely tribute by Marion. I am currently reading Loose Connections. It is of course beautifully written and moving.