Jeremy Strong

Jeremy James Strong (18 November 1949 – 4 August 2024) was an English writer known for his children's books. Strong wrote and published over 100 novels for children and young adults and is best known for his children's series The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog. His work were known for humour, wordplay and has been described as encouraging "reading amongst ordinary children." Strong won the Children's Book award in 1997 and his books have been adapted for television including the BBC's There's a Viking in My Bed.

Early life and career Jeremy James Strong was born in New Eltham in London on 18 November 1949. His parents were Charles Strong, a pharmacist and Una, a primary school teacher and he has two brothers, Michael and Aidan and a sister, Jenny. He attended Wyborne Primary School, east London, Haberdashers Aske's Boys' School and the University of York where he first studied music before changing courses to English.

After he graduated university, he became a primary school teacher whilst still pursuing his ambition to become a writer. His first teaching position was at Sevenoaks, Kent in 1976. He became deputy head teacher at Birchwood primary and then headteacher of Culverstone Green primary. He also wrote books for teens and non-fiction.

Children's novels

The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog

Viking series

Pirate School

Pharaoh series

My Brother's Famous Bottom series

The Indoor Pirates series

Cartoon Kid series

Romans on the Rampage

Giant Jim and the Hurricane (1998) Dinosaur Pox (1999) I'm Telling You, They're Aliens! (2000) The Shocking Adventures of Lightning Lucy (2002) The Beak Speaks (2003) My Mum's Going to Explode! (2007) My Granny's Great Escape (2007) My Dad's Got an Alligator! (2007) Krazy-Kow Saves the World - Well, Almost (2007) Chicken School (2007) Beware! Killer Tomatoes (2007) Weird (2008) The Battle for Christmas (2008) Invasion of the Christmas Puddings (2008) Krankenstein's Crazy House of Horror (2009) We Want to be on the Telly! (2010) Doctor Bonkers! (2010) Batpants! (2010) Batpants and the Vanishing Elephant (2011)

His humorous writing often makes use of his childhood and primary teaching experiences. His story There's A Viking In My Bed was made into a BBC children's TV series and he has won several awards including the prestigious "Children's Book Award 1997" for The Hundred Mile an Hour Dog, the "Manchester Book Award" for his teen novel Stuff and the "Sheffield Book Award" for Beware, Killer Tomatoes.

Strong's final novel, Fox Goes North was published posthumously by Scholastic in October 2024. The story tells of a band of animal companions who travel northwards in a topsy-turvey caravan on their quest to see the Northern Lights. For the elderly fox, it will be her final journey. In an interview with Nikki Gamble, Strong said that as he was writing the story, he became aware that he was writing the story of his own journey too.

Personal life Strong married his first wife Susan Noot, a teacher, in 1973 and they had two children together, Daniel and Jessica. They divorced and in 2006 Strong met Gillian Dean and they married two years later. Strong has two stepdaughters, from his second marriage, Rosa and Isabel. He lived in Bradford-on-Avon, with his wife and their two cats and four hens.

Strong died from bone cancer on 4 August 2024. He was 74 years old.