Philippa Pearce

Philippa Pearce, one of the leading British 20th-century children’s writers, was born in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire. She received her education at Girton College, Cambridge, and then worked as a civil servant, a scriptwriter, and a producer in the Schools Radio department of the BBC. Later, she joined the Oxford University Press as an editor in the Educational Department, and then worked as Children’s Editor with a London publishing house.

The story “Return to Air” is included in the collection of stories about children’s daily experiences entitled “What the Neighbours Did,” published in 1972.