Joan Marian North (15 February 1920 – 1999[1]) was a UK writer of children's books. Although set in the contemporary real world, North's stories deal with incursions into our world of mysterious powers or influences, which often lead to her young protagonists learning a greater sense of their true selves. As Searles, Meacham and Franklin say in A Reader's Guide to Fantasy, "The mental and spiritual attitudes of her protagonists influence greatly their success or failure."[2]