January 9, 1906

Barbara Sleigh, (January 9 1906 to February 13, 1982) was a writer of children's books. She was born in Aycocks Green, in Worcestershire and married David Davis in 1935, with whom she had a son and two daughters. She worked at the BBC and taught art. In 1955 her first children's book was published, "Carbonel." This was also her most famous book. She published a number of other children's books, and almost the last of her bibliography was another Carbonel book, in 1978: Carbonel and Calidor.

Carbonel is a black cat, a witch's cat, and has magic powers. 

Geoffrey Trease wrote "In what has proved to be, with Mary Norton, Alan Garner, and many others, something of a golden age of fantasy, Sleigh earned a high place." He wrote this in 20th Century Childrens Writers (1989, 3rd edition).