If you’ve started to read books
for yourself, then what about trying these? 
'The Perfect Monster',
‘The Giant Postman’, ‘Captain Pepper’s Pets’
and
'Friends Forever' all
use humour and repetition to help readers along, and
they are illustrated through
in full colour. The 'Max' books are slightly
more challenging, but
they are broken down into manageable chunks in the form
of letters and have quite
a few black-and-white line drawings. 'Feather Wars’, my
first novel, is for fluent
readers aged around 7 and upwards, and Hurricane Wills
is similarly straightforward
to read. My other novels are for a slighly older age
group, and their interest
level makes them suitable for all pre-teens.
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FEATHER WARS
As a picture-book writer of seventeen years standing, it was
a real challenge to write my first children’s novel. This
is it. The year is 1940, and Sam is growing up with the threat
of war on his doorstep. He is also being bullied at school,
not because of who he is, but because of who his father is.
In the absence of his older brother, who has gone to fight overseas,
Sam draws closer to his father and comes to realise that he
needs to face his bullies, as well as his own fears, if he is
to help his family through the coming war-shadowed months.
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SPILLED
WATER
Winner
of the 2004 Smarties Prize Gold Award
Winner
of the 2005 Lincolnshire Young People's Award
Winner
of the 2007 West Sussex Book Award
I was inspired to
write this story about a young girl sold into slavery by an
article in a newspaper. Lu Si-yan is only eleven when
her uncle takes her to market and sells her to a cold and
calculating couple. She escapes, but her plight worsens
when she is forced to work in appalling conditions in a factory.
The friends she makes there, and her determination to be reunited
with her mother and little brother, are the only things that
keep her going.
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HURRICANE
WILLS
A librarian told
me about a boy who came to her library to do his homework
because it was impossible at home. I started to think
about the things that could make working at home so difficult,
and Hurricane Wills was born. He has behaviourial problems,
and younger brother Chris bears the brunt of them especially
when their parents split up. But, in spite of it all,
Chris loves Wills and is there for him even when things get
truly out of control... I'm proud of this book, which has
been really well reviewed.
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SAVING
FINNEGAN
Shortlisted
for the 2009 Hounslow Children's Book Award
I read about a newspaper
article about a whale that had beached off a Scottish island
and how the islanders dealt with it. This story is about
how I imagined events might have unfolded. Holly is
a fiesty young girl who discovers the whale and is at the
forefront of efforts to save it. When her tiny island
community becomes divided over what course of action to take,
she finds herself involved in a battle in which she has some
unlikely friends and foes.
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BROKEN
GLASS
Shortlisted
for the Rotherhan Children's Book Award (July 2009)
Shortlisted
for the John Lewis Solihull Book Award (July 2009)
Shortlisted
for the West Sussex Children's Book Award (2009/10)
Two images inspired
this story. The first was of a family - mother and several
children - living on a traffic island in the middle of a busy
Indian town. The second was of street children climbing
over a tip collecting rubbish. My story follows the
lives of two young boys, who wind up on the streets of India
when they are forced to leave home because of their violent
father. It's a story of tragedy, triumph, the value
of friendship and moral choices.
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Times Book of the Week 10/2/08 More>
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TORN
PAGES
The AIDS epidemic
is devastating many parts of Africa and leaving children to
struggle on their own. Here I tell the story of the
hardships a family of three children might face when they
are orphaned and have nobody else to turn to for help.
Lydia is the eldest and is determined to look after her brother
and sister. She draws strength from the memory book
her mother has left her.
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DEAR
MAX
illustrated
by Tony Ross
Shortlisted
for the 2006 Hounslow Book Award
Shortlisted
for the 2006 Nottingham Book Award
Shortlisted
for the 2005 Stockport Book Award
Max is a little
boy with a big imagination, who is also having trouble at
school. He writes to his favourite author, DJ Lucas,
because he wants to be a writer when he grows up. So
begins a touching and humorous correspondence, with Max gradually
revealing his problems and DJ gently encouraging him to deal
with them. Yes, I'll admit it, this is one of my favourite
books, and now there's a second!
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BRAVO
MAX
illustrated
by Tony Ross
After seeing a Christmas
show, Max decides he'd like to write a play, so he asks DJ
Lucas to help him. At the same time he is having to
cope with a bossy, talkative babysitter and a new man in his
mother's life. Little by little Max comes to terms with
sharing his mother, and his play reveals some of the turmoil
in his life.
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RELAX
MAX
illustrated
by Tony Ross
In this third collection
of letters, Max is having to come to terms with some major
changes in his life, including the prospect of having a baby
brother or sister and having to move house. At school
he is learning all about poetry, and he expresses his feelings
about what is happening to him through a number of sometimes
funny, sometimes sad poems to DJ Lucas.
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CAPTAIN PEPPER’S
PETS
illustrated by David Parkins
I had enormous fun writing this ‘I am Reading’
book. Pirates are the perfect subject for a story because
you can do anything with them. Here, you’ll meet a truly
hapless (or do I mean hopeless?) crew whose mission is to
find an unusual pet for their mean and nasty captain.
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THE
PERFECT MONSTER
illustrated
by Erica-Jane Waters
Shortlisted
for the 2006 Nottingham Book Award
Mungus Bigfoot is
The Perfect Monster, a star pupil at monster school.
He knows all the best rude words, he can pull the scariest
faces, and the other pupils look up to him. One day
he is given a mission: to turn goody-goody Emily Twinkletoes
into a perfect monster... I had so much fun writing
this and dreaming up all the awful things that Mungus could
do to make him perfect!
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THE GIANT POSTMAN
illustrated by Wendy Smith
Imagine being too scared to open the door when the postman comes,
even if he’s carrying a parcel for you. Another title
from the ‘I am Reading' series, this one stars a boy called
Billy who is determined to stop the giant postman from terrorising
his village.
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FRIENDS
FOREVER
illustrated
by Penny Dann
Two stories about
Figgy Twosocks and Jefferson Bear have been put together in
this 'I Am Reading' edition for young readers. Both
stories explore friendship and what it means, with Figgy facing
many days alone when Jefferson settles down for his long winter
sleep
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MOULDYLOCKS
AND THE THREE CLARES
illustrated
by Nathan Reed
Mouldlocks the giant
wants a wife. So he climbs down his beanstalk and sets
off to look for one. He is delighted when he finds not
just one but three Clares living in a nearby wood. But
will any of the Clares fall for a mouldy giant? This is one
of the 'Chameleons' series for children who have kust begun
to enjoy reading.
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CAT-A-WALL
illustrated
by Deborah Allwright
Cat-a-Wall is convinced
that he can sing, and that if only his owners would appreciate
him he could become the greatest singer in the world.
One night, when they have put him out through the catflap
as usual, he decides to show them just what he can do - with
surprising results. MIAOOOOW!
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