Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Dylan is the only boy living in the tiny Welsh town of Manod. His parents run the Snowdonia Oasis Auto Marvel garage - and when he's not trying to persuade his sisters to play football, Dylan is in charge of the petrol log. And that means he gets to keep track of everyone coming in and out of Manod - what car they drive, what they're called, even their favourite flavour of crisps.

But when a mysterious convoy of lorries trundles up the misty mountainside towards an old, disused mine, even Dylan is confounded. Who are these people - and what have they got to hide?

A story inspired by a press cutting describing how, during WWII, the treasured contents of London's National Gallery were stored in Welsh slate mines. Once a month, a morale-boosting masterpiece would be unveiled in the village and then returned to London for viewing. This is a funny and touching exploration of how Art - its beauty and its value - touches the life of one little boy and his big family in a very small town.

Want to read The Guardian review? Click here...

The screenwriter is amazed that he won the Carnegie medal for his first children's book, Millions, he tells Helen Brown.

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

'A thrilling story that mixes historic realism, credible characters and the dreamy, sometimes violent, dimension of a netherworld. The two blend seamlessly in this gripping and orginal story that abounds with gritty suspense. An excellent read.' Mary Arrigan, SUNDAY TRIBUNE

I am Coriander Hobie.

I was born in the year of Our Lord 1643, the only child of Thomas and Eleanor Hobie, in our great house on the River Thames in London.

Of my early years I remember only happiness. That was before I knew this world had such evil in it, and that my fate was to be locked up in a chest and left to die.

This is my story. This is my life.
The story is told by Coriander, daughter of a silk merchant in 1650s London. Her idyllic childhood ends when her mother dies and her father goes away, leaving Coriander with her stepmother, a widow who is in cahoots with a fundamentalist Puritan preacher. She is shut away in a chest and left to die, but emerges into the fairy world from which her mother came, and where time has no meaning. When she returns, charged with a task that will transform her life, she is seventeen.

This is a book filled with enchantments -- a pair of silver shoes, a fairy shadow, a prince transformed into a fox - that contrast with the heartbreaking loss and cruelty of Coriander's life in the real world. With its brilliantly realized setting of old London Bridge, and underpinned by the conflict between Royalists and Puritans, it is a terrific page turner, involving kidnapping, murder and romance, and an abundance of vivid characters. Coriander is a heroine to love. Her story will establish Sally Gardner as a children's writer of boundless imagination and originality.

About the Author

Sally Gardner trained at art college and went on to work in the theatre, winning awards for her costume designs for some notable productions. After her twin daughters and her son were born she started to illustrate children's books, and then turned to writing. She lives in north London.

Click here to find out more about the Author...

Ever heard of a dyslexic novelist? Sally Gardner changed her name because she couldn't spell it. So how does she manage to write novels?

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

‘This is a fantastic, exciting and completely original novel. From fairies with machine guns to trolls on the rampage, this book will capture the imagination of every child who reads it. It will be a massive hit. I for one cannot wait for the sequel...’ Jo Edwards, Children’s Fiction Buyer, W.H. Smith

Twelve-year-old villain, Artemis Fowl, is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His bold and daring plan is to hold a leprechaun to ransom. But he's taking on more than he bargained for when he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit). For a start, leprechaun technology is more advanced than our own. Add to that the fact that Holly is a true heroine and that her senior officer Commander Root will stop at nothing to get her back and you've got the mother of all sieges brewing!


Eoin Colfer describes his creation as "Die Hard with fairies". He's not far wrong. Artemis Fowl hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, he isn't foolish enough to believe in all that "gold at the end of the rainbow" nonsense. Rather, he knows that the only way to separate the little people from their stash is to kidnap one of their number and wait for the ransom to arrive. But when the time comes to put his plan into action he reckons without Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaisance) Unit--a sort of extra small Clarice Starling with pointy ears and wings--and her senior officer Commander Root, a man (sorry, elf) who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Fantastic stuff from beginning to end, Artemis Fowl is a rip-roaring, 21st-century romp of the highest order. The author has let his imagination run riot by combining folklore, fantasy and a fistful of high-tech funk in an outrageously devilish book that could well do for fairies what Harry Potter has done for wizardry. But be warned: this is no gentle frolic so don't be fooled by the fairy subject matter. Instead what we have here is well written, sophisticated, rough and tumble storytelling with enough high-octane attitude to make it a seriously cool read for anyone over the age of 10.
Susan Harrison

Want to explore the world of Artemis Fowl further? Click here...

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

New York Times #1 Children's Bestseller

When his guardian dies in suspicious circumstances, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider finds his world turned upside down. Forcibly recruited into MI6, Alex has to take part in gruelling SAS training exercises. Then, armed with his own special set of secret gadgets, he's off on his first mission to Cornwall, where Middle-Eastern multi-billionaire Herod Sayle is producing his state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers. Sayle has offered to give one free to every school in the country - but there's more to the gift than meets the eye...

Spies are great currency for exciting storylines, but few authors manage to successfully concoct realistic scenarios for a willing readership expecting chases, gunshots and thrills aplenty. In the first of what could easily become his most memorable series of novels to date, Anthony Horowitz has added a tongue-in-cheek quality to Stormbreaker that lifts it above several others in the same genre.

Horowitz knows that his main character, 14-year-old Alex Rider, is a normal teenager and he never forgets this when he thrusts his young hero into the thick of several truly edge-of-seat scenarios. There is humour alongside the action too--some great characters and cutting one-liners--that helps to ensure that entertainment is high on the agenda throughout.
Orphan Alex thought he knew his Uncle Ian Rider - until the elusive banker is killed in a tragic car accident.
 
Immediately, Alex's life starts to get stranger by the day as his guardian's friends and colleagues start showing up and contradicting everything Alex thought he knew about the man he'd called Dad for so long. Maybe Ian Rider was not a banker after all? Surely the bullet holes in his Uncle's totalled car reveal that he had not died in an accident, but was murdered? Everything is explained when Alex decides to track down Ian Rider's real employers, but Alex is in for a surprise when they decide to contact him. The truth is hard to take, but maybe by following in his uncle's secret footsteps he might get the chance for revenge.
 
Stormbreaker is a refreshingly energetic yarn that is required reading for fans of the contemporary thriller.
John McLay

Watch the trailer for the recent Stormbreaker film here...

Want to explore the world of Alex Rider? Click here...

SilverFin by Charlie Higson

'Charlie Higson shakes up the familiar elements to produce a most satisfying cocktail in his story of the young 007.' Philip Ardagh, The Guardian

Meet Bond...James Bond...

James Bond is, without doubt, the daddy of all literary spies. His name is synonymous with intrigue and adventure, action and old-fashioned derring-do. So Silverfin, the first in a series of Charlie Higson’s fully authorised prequels to the most famous of all British Secret Service agents, has mightily big boots to fill.

Fortunately, Higson is a genuine Bond aficionado who has remained true to the style of Ian Fleming’s creation, and his legend, to create an authentic story featuring a teenage Bond that should not disappoint other equally appreciative fans.

After a supremely scary opening sequence featuring some terrifying mutated eels and a gruesome death, Bond’s early days at Eton in the 30’s as a thirteen-year-old are the focus for the first third of the book. Since the death of his parents in a climbing accident, James had previously been educated at home by his aunt. The alien world of this infamous public school is a new world for him and he makes enemies immediately. But young James is not without a backbone of his own, and he soon begins to win small victories against those who choose to bully him.
 
It is, however, when James is in Scotland for the rest of book, at the remote home of his Aunt Charmian and Uncle Max, that his first great adventure, and mystery to solve, truly takes shape. A local Laird, in his ominous castle nearby, is conducting horrific scientific experiments that prove he is very mad indeed and a threat to society who must be defeated. Before this excitement is over, James has a date with some killer eels...

Want to read Philip Ardagh's Guardian review in full? Click here...

Find out more about the Young Bond series of books at their website by clicking here...

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Music and Silence by Rose Tremain

Tremain interlaces her characters' colourful parallel lives with all the dexterity of the composer of a great symphony. The Independent

King Christian IV of Denmark is, in the year of 1630, living in a limbo of fear and rage for his life, his country's ruin, and his wife's not-so-secret adultery. He consoles himself with the weaving of impossible dreams and with music played by his Royal Orchestra in the freezing cellar at Rosenborg while he listens in his cosy Vinterstue above. Music, he hopes, will create the sublime order he craves. Kirsten, his devious wife, is a continual maker of Beautiful Plans to outwit, avenge, feed her greed. And she detests music.
The awkward duty of assuaging the King's miseries falls to his English lutenist, Peter Claire, his "Angel", whilst Emilia Tilsen must bend to Kirsten's every whim. Yet what Peter and Emilia seek is each other, largely in silence both necessary and cruelly imposed.
Palpable with desire and longing, this extraordinary narrative builds its grand themes in storytelling that is both profound and wonderfully satisfying.

To read a review in The Guardian and to find out more about Rose Tremain click the link below

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/may/10/featuresreviews.guardianreview5

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

'The best piece of fiction in English I've read in years'

Financial Times

'Masterful...a rich and compelling work of fiction'

Don de Lillo

'The English Patient wears the triple crown: it is profound, beautiful and heart-quickening'

Toni Morrison

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as the second world war ends.

The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of sheet lightning.

In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

The final curtain is closing on the Second World War, and Hana, a nurse, stays behind in an abandoned Italian villa to tend to her only remaining patient.

Rescued by Bedouins from a burning plane, he is English, anonymous, damaged beyond recognition and haunted by his memories of passion and betrayal. The only clue Hana has to his past is the one thing he clung on to through the fire - a copy of The Histories by Herodotus, covered with hand-written notes describing a painful and ultimately tragic love affair.

Click here to read The Independent review of the novel from 1992...

For some information about Michael Ondaatje click here...

Here's the trailer for the 1997 film that won 9 Oscars including Best Film...

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Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières

'An emotional, funny, stunning novel which swings with wide smoothness between joy and bleakness, personal lives and history…it's lyrical and angry, satirical and earnest'Observer

'Among de Bernieres's skills are an archaeologists's eye for place, a historian's feel for time and a musician's ear for tone and tempo - the novel has everything, including a happy ending (of sorts). If Captain Corelli's Mandolin does not hold you in its thrall, it might be worth checking to see if your heart is made of stone.' Daily Telegraph

Beginning in 1940, as Italy prepares to attack Greece and enter the Second World War on the side of the Germans, Captain Corelli's Mandolin tells the story of Pelagia, the beautiful young daughter of Dr Iannis.

Engaged to Mandras, a handsome young fisherman, Pelagia is left alone when war intervenes and Mandras enlists. Following the invasion of the island by the Italians, Captain Antonio Corelli, a young and far from fanatical artillery captain with a passion for music, is billeted with Pelagia and her father.

As the Italian occupiers and Greek islanders begin to come to terms with each other, so Pelagia's love for Mandras falters and her affection for the charming and civilised Corelli grows. As an increasingly bestial war comes closer and closer, Corelli and Pelagia find themselves united by their love but divided by their nationality and by the savagery of war.

British author Louis de Bernières is well known for his forays into magical realism in such novels as The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman. Here he keeps it to a minimum, though certainly the secondary characters with whom he populates his island - the drunken priest, the strongman, the fisherman who swims with dolphins - would be at home in any of his wildly imaginative Latin American fictions. Instead, de Bernières seems interested in dissecting the nature of history as he tells his ever-darkening tale from many different perspectives. Captain Corelli's Mandolin works on many levels, as a love story, a war story and a deconstruction of just what determines the facts that make it into the history books.

About the Author

Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American literature, particularly 'magic realism'.

In 1993, he was selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists 2' promotion in Granta magazine. His fourth novel, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, was published in the following year, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book). It was also shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War, the novel tells the story of a love affair between the daughter of a local doctor and an Italian soldier. It has become a worldwide bestseller and has now been translated into over 30 languages. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001, and the novel has also been adapted for the stage. In 2001, Red Dog was published - a collection of stories inspired by a statue of a dog encountered on a trip to a writers' festival in Australia in 1998.

He wrote the introduction to The Book of Job, one in a series of books reprinted from the Bible and published individually by Canongate Press in 1998 and his play, Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World, set in South-West London, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999, and published in 2001. He is also a regular contributor of short stories to various newspapers and magazines. His novel Birds Without Wings (2004) was shortlisted for the 2004 Whitbread Novel Award and the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize.

His latest novel is A Partisan's Daughter (2008), shortlisted for the 2008 Costal Novel Award. In 2009, he published a collection of short stories, Notwithstanding.

Or click here to go to Louis de Bernieres home page.

The Random House Reading Group page for this novel can be found here...

Here's the trailer to the not entirely successful or critically well-received 2001 film version. At least it will give you an idea of what the island of Cephallonia looks like.



Treasured island? Click to read how a change of holiday destination led to the writing of Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

"Without this child, we shall all die."

Lyra Belacqua and her animal daemon live half-wild and carefree among scholars of Jordan College, Oxford. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bearsfight. Her extraordinary journey will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...

Lyra's life is already sufficiently interesting for a novel before she eavesdrops on a presentation by her uncle Lord Asriel to his colleagues in the Jordan College faculty, Oxford.

The college, famed for its leadership in experimental theology, is funding Lord Asriel's research into the heretical possibility of the existence of worlds unlike Lyra's own, where everyone is born with a familiar animal companion, magic of a kind works, the Tartars are threatening to overrun Muscovy, and the Pope is a puritanical Protestant.

Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all ages. The world-building is outstanding, from the subtle hints of the 1898 Tokay to odd quirks of language to the panserbjorne, while determined, clever Lyra is a strong role-model for any aspiring adventurer.

Watch the trailer to the film version of the novel...




To celebrate the launch of The Guardian children's books website, they invited Philip Pullman's young fans to ask him questions...click here to see what he had to say...

About the Author

Philip Pullman was born in Norwich on 19th October 1946. The early part of his life was spent travelling all over the world, because his father and then his stepfather were both in the Royal Air Force. He spent part of his childhood in Australia, where he first met the wonders of comics, and grew to love Superman and Batman in particular. From the age of 11, he lived in North Wales, having moved back to Britain. It was a time when children were allowed to roam anywhere, to play in the streets, to wander over the hills, and he took full advantage of it. His English teacher, Miss Enid Jones, was a big influence on him, and he still sends her copies of his books.

After he left school he went to Exeter College, Oxford, to read English. He did a number of odd jobs for a while, and then moved back to Oxford to become a teacher. He taught at various middle schools for twelve years, and then moved to Westminster College, Oxford, to be a part-time lecturer. He taught courses on the Victorian novel and on the folk tale, and also a course examining how words and pictures fit together. He eventually left teaching in order to write full-time.

His first published novel was for adults, but he began writing for children when he was a teacher. Some of his novels were based on plays he wrote for his school pupils, such as The Ruby In The Smoke. He is best known for the award winning His Dark Materials series, consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

To find out more about the author and the other books in this trilogy click here...

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Pete Boland was busy doing nothing that summer. Long, stiflingly hot, lazy days stretched ahead of him. Then she called. 'Listen, Pete . . . you know that funfair, up at the recreation ground . . . I thought we could all meet up . . . You know, for old times' sake.' But, where there are old times, there are old tensions. And as secrets, bitterness and jealousies resurface, five old friends are plunged into the worst night of their lives . . . Teenage readers will find it impossible to tear themselves away from this dark, tense and gripping new novel from award-winning Kevin Brooks.

Praise for Kevin Brooks

'He's an original. And he writes one hell of a story' - Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now - 'Watch this guy, he's good' -- Melvin Burgess, author of Junk... you want to tell everyone how good it is' - Sunday Times - 'A masterly writer, and this book would put many authors of "grown up" detective fiction to shame' Mail on Sunday 'A compulsive, atmospheric mystery' Sunday Times 'Gripping, disturbing ... brilliant' Sunday Express 'A cracking story ... grips like a vice' Guardian.

Click here to read The Guardian review by Charlie Higson...

This is the author discussing his new book...





Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah

Alem is on holiday with his father for a few days in London. He has never been out of Ethiopia before and is very excited. They have a great few days togther until one morning when Alem wakes up in the bed and breakfast they are staying at to find the unthinkable. His father has left him. It is only when the owner of the bed and breakfast hands him a letter that Alem is given an explanation. Alem's father admits that because of the political problems in Ethiopia both he and Alem's mother felt Alem would be safer in London - even though it is breaking their hearts to do this. Alem is now on his own, in the hands of the social services and the Refugee Council. He lives from letter to letter, waiting to hear from his father, and in particular about his mother, who has now gone missing...A powerful, gripping novel from the popular Benjamin Zephaniah.

About the Author

It’s a hard life being labelled ‘political’. It seems that because I’m constantly ranting about the ills of the world I’m expected to have all the answers, but I don’t, and I’ve never claimed to, besides I’m not a politician. What interests me is people. When I hear politicians saying that we are being ‘flooded’ by refugees, I always remind myself that each ‘refugee’ is a person, a person who for some reason has left everything they know and love to find safety in a strange, and sometimes hostile country. I wrote ‘Refugee Boy’ because I realised that every day I was meeting refugees, and each one of them had a unique, and usually terrifying story to tell. I have seen refugee camps in Gaza, Montenegro and other places around the world but when I met Million and Dereje Hailemariam, two teenagers who were being denied asylum in Britain, I knew that I had to write a story that would illustrate the suffering and the struggles that many asylum seekers have to endure. Million and Dereje’s parents feared for the lives of their boys, they did not want them to grow up in an environment where they would witness war on a daily basis. I have also met children whose parents were executed in front of them, or who themselves had been kidnapped and tortured. For ‘Refugee Boy’ I borrowed from the many stories that I have heard and created a story that I believe many refugees would recognise. I would like to know that anyone who reads the book would think before they accuse refugees of looking for a free ride. We all want to live in peace, we all want the best for our families. The Celts, the Angles, the Saxons, the Jamaicans are all refugees of one sort or another. What kind of a refugee are you? And what are you scared of?

Find out more about Benjamin Zephaniah here...

Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo

Michael's parents buy a yacht, and take him off to sail round the world. Washed overboard in a fierce storm, Michael finds himself on the shore of a remote island - and soon discovers he's not alone. Kensuke, a former Japanese soldier, survived the war and the bombing of Hiroshima, but his family perished. As an extraordinary bond forms between the two, Kensuke faces a heart-breaking choice: can he give up the secluded life he's built for himself to help reunite Michael with his parents? Knowing the pain of losing his own family, Kensuke knows which way he has to decide...

It would be foolish to think that Michael Morpurgo, author of the award-winning When the Whales Came, could create something that would prove to be anything less than stunning and here, in Kensuke's Kingdom, he certainly proves he has not lost his magic touch.

When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parent's yacht, the Peggy Sue, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death after being stung by a poisonous jelly fish, the mysterious someone - Kensuke - allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.

Morpurgo here spins a yarn which gently captures the adventurous elements one would expect from a desert-island tale, but the real strength lies in the poignant and subtle observations of friendship, trust and, ultimately, humanity.

Beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman, Kensuke's Kingdom is a stylish, deceptively simple and magical book that will effortlessly capture the heart and imagination of anyone who reads it, ensuring that Morpurgo continues to stand tall amid the ranks of classic children's authors. Susan Harrison

The 39 Steps by John Buchan

Richard Hannay has just returned to England after years in South Africa and is thoroughly bored with his life in London. But then a murder is committed in his flat, just days after a chance encounter with an American who had told him about an assassination plot which could have dire international consequences.

An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the killers, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland where he will need all his courage and ingenuity to stay one step ahead of his pursuers.

About the Author
John Buchan (1875-1940) was born in Perth, Scotland and educated at Oxford where he published five books and won several awards, including one for poetry.

He went on to be a barrister, a member of parliament, a soldier, a publisher, a historical biographer, and - in 1935 - he became the Govenor-General of Canada.

John Buchan's hero, Richard Hannay, was a patriotic precursor of James Bond whose appeal is undiminished nearly a century after he was created. Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, celebrates this most gentlemanly of spies...click here...

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17-, and go back to the time when my father kept the "Admiral Benbow" inn, and the brown old seaman, with the sabre cut, first took up his lodging under our roof.

The story grew out of a map that led to imaginary treasure, devised during a holiday in Scotland by Stevenson and his nephew.

The tale is told by an adventurous boy, Jim Hawkins, who gets hold of a treasure map and sets off with an adult crew in search of the buried treasure.

Among the crew, however, is the treacherous Long John Silver who is determined to keep the treasure for himself. Stevenson's first full-length work of fiction brought him immediate fame and continues to captivate readers of all ages.

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

'A plot too exciting to put down. Sheer pleasure.' The Times

'A splendidly suspenseful, richly characterised drama.' Children's Book of the Week, Sunday Times

Journey to the River Sea, Eva Ibbotson's tale of an orphaned London schoolgirl and her formidable governess's journey to South America will touch the hearts of generations of children. Thanks to a thrilling story-line, a cast of richly drawn characters, and a voyage through the emotions of childhood, it is destined to join the A-list of children's classics, perennial stories undiminished by the passage of time and the changing world in which children grow up.

Set at the turn of the 20th century, this is an adventure story full of magic and discovery--without a witch or a wizard in sight! It's about real people, good and bad, and a journey to another world. Maia, accompanied by the straight-backed Miss Minton, leaves the familiar comforts of her boarding school to start a new life with distant relatives who live 1000 miles from the mouth of the Amazon. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences beyond their imagination. More importantly, they learn one of life's hardest lessons--to conquer their fears and embrace the unknown. And along the way they learn about tolerance, acceptance and trust.
 
Ms Ibbotson has put together a fine assembly of characters that all children will warm to. From gentle, trusting Maia, intelligent and mature beyond her years to her stern but caring governess with her hat-pin shaped like a Viking spear, her trunk full of books and a few secrets hidden up her sleeves--there are the good, the bad, the peculiar and the downright wicked. While Maia's new family are not at all what she was expecting, she finds friendship in the most unlikely places, with the most unusual people. Clovis, a child actor roaming the world with a travelling theatre troupe, yearns for cold weather and stodgy puddings, while Finn, a half-English, half-Indian boy, would do anything to avoid his aristocratic English destiny.
 
An intricate, cleverly paced plot, with plenty of clues for children along the way, makes this a real page-turner--exciting enough to appeal to boys and girls alike. Journey to the River Sea is an inspiring read. Ms Ibbotson's beliefs that children need challenges, that they need to think big and that they must be encouraged to believe in themselves, shine through in this enchanting book. Carey Green

One Thousand-and-One Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean

A completely original version of the Arabian Nights Stories by award-winning author Geraldine McCaughrean.

In order to delay her inevitable execution, Queen Shaharazad tells her murdering husband, King Shahryar, a wonderfully exciting story every night. The King is used to a new wife every day, only to put her to death the following day, but finds himself so intrigued in the magical stories Shaharazad tells, he can't bring himself to kill her.

Night after night she tells her wonderful stories until the King starts to relaise that he won't be able to live without them...

About the Author

It's 30 years now since I first got published, and 50 since I found out how writing let me step outside my little, everyday world and go wherever I chose - way back in Time, to far distant shores, towards my own, home-made happy ending. Not that all my books are an easy ride. I write adventure, first and foremost, because that's what I enjoyed reading as a child. But since I have published over 150 books now, there are all manner of books in among that number - gorgeously illustrated picture books, easy readers, prize winners, teenage books and five adult novels.

The White Darkness won the Prinz Award in the USA, which, for as Englishwoman, was the most amazing, startling thrill.

Then there was Peter Pan in Scarlet - official sequel to J M Barrie's Peter Pan, written on behalf of Great Ormond Street Hopsital for Sick Children. I won the chance to write that in a worldwide competition, and because Peter Pan is loved everywhere, my book sold worldwide too. I can't say I expected that when, as a child, I dreamed of being like my older brother and getting a book published one day. These days I have a husband (good at continuity and spelling) and a daughter who is an excellent editor. But she's at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art now, studying to become an actor. So, naturally, I have turned my hand to writing plays. (So many actors, so few plays!)

My Mum told me, "Never boil your cabbages twice, dear," which was her way of saying, "Don't repeat yourself." So I have tried never to write the same book twice. You'll find all my novels quite different from one another. The only way you can find out which ones you like and which you don't is to read them, I'm afraid.

I have also done lots of retellings of myth, legend, folk and fairy tales, and adapted indigestible classics such as El Cid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, Moby Dick, Shakespeare and the Pilgrim's Progress.
Something for everyone, you see, my dear young, not-so-young, eccentric, middle-of-the-road, poetical, sad, cheerful, timid or reckless reader.

All they have in common is that they all contain words. If you are allergic to words, you'd best not open the covers.

Geraldine McCaughrean has written 160 books and plays for both adults and children, including Peter Pan in Scarlet, one of the most talked about and successful children's titles of 2006. Geraldine McCaughrean has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Book Award (three times), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Smarties Bronze Award (four times), the Blue Peter Book of the Year award and the Blue Peter Special Book to Keep Forever award.

Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Reacting to an itch common to Midwesterners since there's been a Midwest from which to escape, writer Bill Bryson moved from Iowa to Britain in 1973. Working for such places as The Times, among others, he has lived quite happily here ever since. Now Bryson has decided his native country needs him - but first, he's going on a roundabout jaunt on the island he loves.

Britain fascinates Americans: it's familiar, yet alien; the same in some ways, yet so different. Bryson does an excellent job of showing his adopted home to a Yank audience, but you never get the feeling that Bryson is too much of an outsider to know the true nature of the country.

Notes from a Small Island strikes a nice balance: the writing is whimsical-silly with a British range of vocabulary. Bryson's marvellous ear is also in evidence: "... I noted the names of the little villages we passed through - Pinhead, West Stuttering, Bakelite, Ham Hocks, Sheepshanks ..."

His trenchant, witty and detailed observations of life in a variety of towns and villages will delight Anglophiles.

Traveling only on public transportation and hiking whenever possible, Bryson wandered along the coast through Bournemouth and neighboring villages that reinforced his image of Britons as a people who rarely complain and are delighted by such small pleasures as a good tea.

In Liverpool, the author's favorite English city, he visited the Merseyside Maritime Museum to experience its past as a great port. Interweaving descriptions of landscapes and everyday encounters with shopkeepers, pub customers and fellow travelers, Bryson shares what he loves best about the idiosyncrasies of everyday English life in this immensely entertaining travel memoir.

About the Author

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to America for a few years but have now returned to the UK. His the bestselling travel books include The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There, A Walk in the Woods and Down Under. He is also the author of the prizewinning A Short History of Nearly Everything, and his most recent book is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Tuesday, September 23.

Sometimes it seems like all I ever do is lie.
My mom thinks I'm repressing my feelings about this. I say to her, 'No, Mom, I'm not. I think it's really neat. As long as you're happy, I'm happy.'
 
Mom says, 'I don't think you're being honest with me.'
Then she hands me this book. She tells me she wants me to write down my feelings in this book, since, she says, I obviously don't feel I can talk about them with her.
 
She wants me to write down my feelings? OK, I'll write down my feelings:
 
I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE'S DOING THIS TO ME!
 
Like everybody doesn't already think I'm a freak. I'm practically the biggest freak in the entire school. I mean, let's face it: I'm five foot nine, flat-chested, and a freshman. How much more of a freak could I be?

If people at school find out about this, I'm dead. That's it. Dead.

Oh, God, if you really do exist, please don't let them find out about this.

There are four million people in Manhattan, right? That makes about two million of them guys. So out of TWO MILLION guys, she has to go out with Mr Gianini. She can't go out with some guy I don't know. She can't go out with some guy she met at D'Agostino's or wherever. Oh, no.
She has to go out with my Algebra teacher.
Thanks, Mom. Thanks a whole lot.
Wednesday, September 24, Fifth Period
Lilly's like, 'Mr Gianini's cool.'
Yeah, right. He's cool if you're Lilly Moscovitz. He's cool if you're good at Algebra, like Lilly Moscovitz. He's not so cool if you're flunking Algebra, like me.
 
He's not so cool if he makes you stay after school EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY DAY from 2:30 to 3:30 to practise the FOIL method when you could be hanging out with all your friends. He's not so cool if he calls your mother in for a parent/teacher conference to talk about how you're flunking Algebra, then ASKS HER OUT.
 
And he's not so cool if he's sticking his tongue in your mom's mouth.
Not that I've actually seen them do this. They haven't even been out on their first proper date yet. And I don't think my mom would let a guy put his tongue in her mouth on the first date.
At least, I hope not.
 
I saw Josh Richter stick his tongue in Lana Weinberger's mouth last week. I had this totally close-up view of it, since they were leaning up against Josh's locker, which is right next to mine. It kind of grossed me out.
Though I can't say I'd mind if Josh Richter kissed me like that. The other day Lilly and I were at Bigelow's picking up some alpha hydroxy for Lilly's mom, and I noticed Josh waiting at the check-out counter. He saw me and he actually sort of smiled and said, 'Hey.'
 
He was buying Drakkar Noir, a men's cologne. I got a free sample of it from the salesgirl. Now I can smell Josh whenever I want to, in the privacy of my own home.
 
Lilly says Josh's synapses were probably misfiring that day, due to heatstroke or something. She said he probably thought I looked familiar, but couldn't place my face without the cement block walls of Albert Einstein High behind me. Why else, she asked, would the most popular senior in high school say hey to me, Mia Thermopolis, a lowly freshman?
 
But I know it wasn't heatstroke. The truth is, when he's away from Lana and all his jock friends, Josh is a totally different person. The kind of person who doesn't care if a girl is flat-chested or wears size eight shoes. The kind of person who can see beyond all that, into the depths of a girl's soul. I know because when I looked into his eyes that day at Bigelow's, I saw the deeply sensitive person inside him, struggling to get out.
Lilly says I have an overactive imagination and a pathological need to invent drama in my life. She says the fact that I'm so upset about my mom and Mr G is a classic example.
 
'If you're that upset about it, just tell your mom,' Lilly says. 'Tell her you don't want her going out with him. I don't understand you, Mia. You're always going around, lying about how you feel. Why don't you just assert yourself for a change. Your feelings have worth, you know.'
 
Oh, right. Like I'm going to bum my mom out like that. She's so totally happy about this date, it's enough to make me want to throw up. She goes around cooking all the time. I'm not even kidding. She made pasta for the first time last night in, like, months. I had already opened the Suzie's Chinese take-out menu, and she says, 'Oh, no cold sesame noodles tonight, honey. I made pasta.'
 
Pasta! My mom made pasta!
 
She even observed my rights as a vegetarian and didn't put any meatballs in the sauce.
 
I don't understand any of this.
Things to Do:
1. Buy cat litter.
2. Finish FOIL worksheet for Mr G.
3. Stop telling Lilly everything
4. Go to Pearl Paint: get soft lead pencils, spray mount, canvas stretchers (for Mom).
5. World Civ. report on Iceland (5 pages, double space).
6. Stop thinking so much about Josh Richter.
7. Drop off laundry.
8. October rent (make sure Mom has deposited Dad's cheque!!!).
9. Be more assertive.

About the Author

THE PRINCESS DIARIES series is phenomenally successful having topped the US and UK best-seller lists for weeks and won several awards. Two movies based on the series have been massively popular throughout the world. Meg Cabot is also the author of the bestselling ALL AMERICAN GIRL books, TEEN IDOL, AVALON HIGH, NICOLA AND THE VISCOUNT and THE MEDIATOR series as well as several other books for teenagers and adults.

To find out more about the novel and the other books in the series click here...

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

At thirteen years old, Adrian Mole has more than his fair share of problems - spots, ill-health, parents threatening to divorce, rejection of his poetry and much more - all recorded with brilliant humour in his diary.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ is an unabashed, pimples-and-all glimpse into the troubled life of an adolescent.

Writing candidly about his parents’ marital troubles, the dog, his life as a tortured poet and ‘misunderstood intellectual’, teenager Adrian Mole’s painfully honest diary makes hilarious and compelling reading.

To find out more about the Adrian Mole series of books click here...

Sharpe's Rifles by Bernard Cornwell

'Cornwell describes military action brilliantly. He evokes all the sights and sounds and smells while managing to describe the fluctuations of the battle with enough vim to keep you in suspense!The Sharpe novels are wonderfully urgent and alive.' Daily Telegraph

'The insubordinate, sarcastic...Richard Sharpe returns!Cornwell delivers the usual mix of strategy and strength -- classic battle scenes and plenty of fisticuffs.' Daily Mirror

This is the prequel to the series, describing Sharpe's experiences in India, and is the place to start exploring Sharpe's world...

Throughout the earlier series, there are references to Sharpe's early soldiering life in India. With the same meticulous research and attention to detail that is found in the Peninsular War books, Bernard Cornwell has sumptuously recreated the 1799 campaign against Seringapatam which made the British masters of southern India, a campaign that pitted brutalized soldiers against an ancient and splendid civilization.

Sharpe, the rest of his battalion and rising star of the general staff Arthur Wellesley, are about to embark upon the siege of the island citadel of the Tippoo of Mysore, Seringapatam. The British must remove this potentate from his Tiger Throne, but he has gone to great lengths to defend his city from attack.

 When a senior British officer is captured by the Tippoo's forces, Sharpe is offered a chance to attempt a rescue and infiltrate the Tippoo's forces. Sharpe needs no invitation to get away from the tyrannical Sergeant Hakeswill, but once inside the dangerous world of the Tippoo he realises he will need all his wits just to stay alive, let alone save the British army from catastrophe.

Set against the background of dazzling wealth, ruinous poverty, gorgeous palaces, sudden cruelty and pitiless battles, 'Sharpe's Tiger' is his greatest adventure yet.

About the Author

Bernard Cornwell was born in London, raised in Essex, and now lives mainly in the USA with his wife. He has 20 Sharpe adventures behind him, plus a series about the American Civil War, the Starbuck novels; an enormously successful trilogy about King Arthur, The Warlord Chronicles; the Hundred Years War set Grail Quest series; and his current series about King Alfred.

To find out more about the author and his many other adventure books click here...

Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

Haroun's father is the greatest of all storyletters.

His magical stories bring laughter to the sad city of Alifbay. But one day something goes wrong and his father runs out of stories to tell. Haroun is determined to return the storyteller's gift to his father.

So he flies off on the back of the Hoopie bird to the Sea of Stories - and a fantastic adventure begins.

Salman Rushdie is one of the best contemporary writers of fables and parables, from any culture. Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a delightful tale about a storyteller who loses his skill and a struggle against mysterious forces attempting to block the seas of inspiration from which all stories are derived.

Here's a representative passage about the sources and power of inspiration.

So If the water genie told Haroun about the Ocean of the Stream of Stories, and even though he was full of a sense of hopelessness and failure the magic of the Ocean began to have an effect on Haroun. He looked into the water and saw that it was made up of a thousand thousand thousand and one different currents, each one a different colour, weaving in and out of one another like a liquid tapestry of breathtaking complexity; and Iff explained that these were the Streams of Story, that each coloured strand represented and contained a single tale. Different parts of the Ocean contained different sorts of stories, and as all the stories that had ever been told and many that were still in the process of being invented could be found here, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was in fact the biggest library in the universe. And because the stories were held here in fluid form, they retained the ability to change, to become new versions of themselves, to join up with other stories and so become yet other stories; so that unlike a library of books, the Ocean of the Streams of Story was much more than a storeroom of yarns. It was not dead, but alive. "And if you are very, very careful, or very, very highly skilled, you can dip a cup into the Ocean," Iff told Haroun, "like so," and here he produced a little golden cup from another of his waistcoat pockets, "and you can fill it with water from a single, pure Stream of Story, like so," as he did precisely that...

The Blood Stone by Jamila Gavin

Filippo has never seen his father.

Before he was born, his father left their home in Venice to travel to the court of the Great Mogul Emperor Shah Jehan.

He never returned. Twelve years later, a stranger brings a message that Filippo's father is in the hands of bandits, and only the most valuable jewel, his masterpiece The Ocean of the Moon, is worth enough to raise his ransom.

Filippo follows his father's journey, into the intrigue of the Emperor's court, where Prince Aurangzeb plot to overthrow Shah Jehan.

 Filippo travels on into Afghanistan, to the bandit stronghold, and at last rescues his father. But it's too late. His father has been driven mad by his captivity and dies on the journey home. Filippo can hardly bear his loss, but finds his sadness healed when, years later, he returns to Hindustan with his brother.

The Taj Mahal is a replica of The Ocean of the Moon; their father's work has not been in vain.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

One night in the reform club, Phileas Fogg bets his companions that he can travel across the globe in just eighty days. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, he immediately sets off for Dover with his astonished valet Passepartout.

Passing through exotic lands and dangerous locations, they seize whatever transportation is at hand - whether train or elephant - overcoming set-backs and always racing against the clock.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Mark Twain's tale of a boy's picaresque journey down the Mississippi on a raft conveyed the voice and experience of the American frontier as no other work had done before.

When Huck escapes from his drunken father and the 'sivilizing' Widow Douglas with the runaway slave Jim, he embarks on a series of adventures that draw him to feuding families and the trickery of the unscrupulous 'Duke' and 'Dauphin'. Beneath the exploits, however, are more serious undercurrents - of slavery, adult control - which threaten his deep and enduring friendship with Jim.

A seminal work of American literature that still commands deep praise and elicits controversy, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul.

The Land of Green Ginger by Noel Langley

This much loved comic adventure story has magical characters and a gripping plot for all the family to enjoy.

When Prince Abu Ali, son of Aladdin, is born his destiny has already been foretold: he is the one that has been chosen to break the spell of the mysterious land of Green Ginger.

His quest brings him in contact with flying carpets, button-nosed tortoises, magic phoenix birds – and two very villainous princes.

Contains original Edward Ardizzone illustrations throughout.

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

'.... not just the best book so far written for children about the Second World War, but also a metaphor for now.' Aidan Chambers, Times Literary Supplement

'Some bright kid's got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo. And that gun's no peashooter. It'll go through a brick wall at a quarter of a mile.'

Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth, and he desperately wants it to be the best. When he stumbles across the remains of a German bomber crashed in the woods - its shiny, black machine-gun still intact - he grabs his chance. Soon he's masterminding his own war effort with dangerous and unexpected results....

About the Author
 
Robert Westall made a sensational debut with THE MACHINE GUNNERS in 1975. It won the Carnegie Medal and Westall established an international reputation. His books have been translated into ten languages and dramatised for television. He won The Smarties Prize, the Guardian Award and was twice awarded The Carnegie Medal.

"Westall was a writer of rare talent. We shall miss him but he has left us such a wonderful legacy." Michael Morpurgo

Skellig by David Almond

'A story of love and faith, written with exquisite, heart-fluttering tenderness. It is an extraordinarily profound book, no matter what the age of the reader' - THE CHAIR OF THE WHITBREAD JUDGES' PANEL

When a move to a new house coincides with his baby sister's illness, Michael's world seems suddenly lonely and uncertain.

Then, one Sunday afternoon, he stumbles into the old, ramshackle garage of his new home, and finds something magical. A strange creature - part owl, part angel, a being who needs Michael's help if he is to survive. With his new friend Mina, Michael nourishes Skellig back to health, while his baby sister languishes in the hospital.

But Skellig is far more than he at first appears, and as he helps Michael breathe life into his tiny sister, Michael's world changes forever . . .

Skellig won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award and is now a major Sky1 feature film, starring Tim Roth and John Simm. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

About the Author

David Almond is twice winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award. His first novel, SKELLIG, won the Whitbread Children's Award and the Carnegie Medal. His second, KIT'S WILDERNESS, won the Smarties Award Silver Medal, was Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal, and shortlisted for the Guardian Award. THE FIRE-EATERS won the Whitbread, the Smarties Gold Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. He is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative children's authors writing today, and his books are bestsellers all over the world.

Find out more about the Sky1 adaptation here...

Find out more about the author David Almond and his other books here...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into a new year and a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving.

Desperate to prove his new found maturity, which only going up a grade can bring, Greg is happy to have his not-quite-so-cool sidekick, Rowley, along for the ride. But when Rowley's star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend's popularity to his own advantage.

Recorded in his diary with comic pictures and his very own words, this test of Greg and Rowley's friendship unfolds with hilarious results.

Find out more about the series of books and the film here...

Find out more about the film here...

Here's a short trailer for the books

Mondays Are Murder by Tanya Landman

Shortlisted for the 2010 Red House Children's Book Award. First in a brand-new series of murder mysteries.

When Poppy Fields goes on an activity holiday to a remote Scottish island, she is looking forward to a week of climbing, hill-walking and horse riding. But things take a bad turn when their instructor has what appears to be a fatal abseiling accident.

When Poppy discovers that his rope was cut, and more of the instructors start to have "accidents", she and best friend Graham suspect foul play and decide to investigate.

"Filled with action and suspense this murder mystery hooked our testers who were desperate to solve the case before the young detective." Red House Children's Book Award Panel

"A gripping murder mystery with a fast moving plot that twists and turns as one gruesome event follows another. Poppy is off to a remote Scottish island to take part in a free action-packed adventure holiday. But right from the first there are some odd and scary things going on.

Can Poppy keep her nerve and can she uncover the mysteries that are going on behind the scenes? Tanya is the author of a number of novels for slightly older readers and this title is the first in a proposed mystery series. It’s spot on." Julia Eccleshare - Children's Book Editor, The Guardian

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

'I read this wonderful story of four 19th century American sisters over and over again, particularly identifying with Jo, the tomboy sister who is desperate to be a writer.' Jacqueline Wilson

Little Women has remained enduringly popular since its publication in 1868, becoming the inspiration for a whole genre of family stories. Set in a small New England community, it tells of the March family: Marmee looks after daughters in the absence of her husband, who is serving as an army chaplain in the Civil War, and Meg, Jo,Beth, and Amy experience domestic trials and triumphs as they attempt to supplement the family's small income.


In the second part of the novel (sometimes known as Good Wives) the girls grow up and fall in love. The novel is highly autobiographical, and in Jo's character Alcott portrays a strong-minded and independent woman, determined to control her own destiny.

Times are hard for the March sisters - but these girls don't dwell on such matters and always look on the bright side. Whether it's performing a play or getting on with day-to-day chores, the sisters can find the fun in any situation - but what fate holds in store for the girls, only time will tell.

About The Author

Louisa May Alcott was born in Philadelphia in 1832. Educated mainly by H. D. Thoreau and her father, Miss Alcott served as a hospital nurse during the Civil War. Her first book, Flower Fables, appeared in 1854, and her next work, Hospital Sketches (1863), consisted of her letters home from the Union Hospital during the war. She first gained a wide reputation with Little Women (1868-69), and her best subsequent work was done in the same genre. Alcott died in 1888.

The 1994 film version starring Winona Ryder, a very young Kirsten Dunst and 'Dark Knight' Christian Bale is also a well adapted, if slightly syrupy, way in...

The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak

Unsettling, thought-provoking, life-affirming, triumphant and tragic, this is a novel of breath-taking scope, masterfully told...A wonderful page-turner.

The Guardian

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak was the best-selling debut literary novel of the year 2007, selling over 400,000 copies.

The book is extraordinary on many levels: moving, yet restrained, angry yet balanced -- and written with the kind of elegance found all too rarely in fiction these days. The book's narrator is nothing less than Death itself, regaling us with a remarkable tale of book burnings, treachery and theft. The book never forgets the primary purpose of compelling the reader's attention, yet which nevertheless is able to impart a cogent message about the importance of words, particularly in those societies which regard the word as dangerous (the book is set during the Nazi regime, but this message is all too relevant in many places in the world today).

Nine-year-old Liesel lives with her foster family on Himmel Street during the dark days of the Third Reich. Her Communist parents have been transported to a concentration camp, and during the funeral for her brother, she manages to steal a macabre book: it is, in fact, a gravediggers’ instruction manual. This is the first of many books which will pass through her hands as the carnage of the Second World War begins to hungrily claim lives. Both Liesel and her fellow inhabitants of Himmel Street will find themselves changed by both words on the printed page and the horrendous events happening around them.

Despite its grim narrator, The Book Thief is, in fact, a life-affirming book, celebrating the power of words and their ability to provide sustenance to the soul. Interestingly, the Second World War setting of the novel does not limit its relevance: in the 20th century, totalitarian censorship throughout the world is as keen as ever at suppressing books (notably in countries where the suppression of human beings is also par for the course) and that other assault on words represented by the increasing dumbing-down of Western society as cheap celebrity replaces the appeal of books for many people, ensures that the message of Marcus Zusak’s book could not be more timely. It is, in fact, required reading -- or should be in any civilised country. Barry Forshaw.

Find out more about the book here...

Or here...

Here's a fan-made trailer for the book that gives you a real feel for the story:

Markus Zusak explains why failure is his best friend (hmmm, sounds like a teacher I know) and why all writers tend to be loners here...