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The winner: Jacqueline Wilson
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The Illustrated Mum illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Transworld, £10.99)
Marigold, the highly tattooed "illustrated mum" of the title, is different. Her daughters Star and Dol have for years assured themselves that their strange life with her is special, not mad. But now Star has grown out of the makebelieve and needs to be rid of responsibility for an irresponsible parent. When Star finds a new life with her father, it becomes clear that Marigold needs help; social services, doctors and Star and Dol's different fathers step in. There is no happy resolution, only a new way forward. Wilson's naive narrative is disturbingly perceptive and provocative. |
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From The Illustrated Mum
An extract from Jacqueline Wilson's prize-winning novel |
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In Dol's house
Interview: Julia Eccleshare explains what makes Jacqueline Wilson, the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, so popular with young readers |
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| Interviews and related links |
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| Guardian review of The Illustrated Mum |
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| Interview with Jacqueline Wilson |
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| Interview and article |
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| Biography from BBC Bookworm |
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The shortlist: David Almond
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Kit's Wilderness (Hodder Children's, £4.99)
A landscape of old coal mines riddled with disused tunnels and haunted by the ghosts of those who worked them provides the framework for this sensitive blending of past and present worlds. John is the leader of the boys who play the "game of death", a bizarre ritual that tests and scares. Despite their obvious differences Kit is attracted to this outsider, violent and excluded from school, and an understanding binds the two in fragile, mutual support. Almond grasps how teenagers relate to one another, their need to posture and test each other as well as their need for warmth, protection and, above all, recognition. He evokes a time in adolescence when loyalties become confused that many will identify with.
Buy it at BOL |
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| Interviews and related links |
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The man who came to stay
Guardian interview with David Almond |
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Interview from Achuka
A booklist and bibliographic file can also be found on the Achuka website |
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| Interview from Northern Children's Book Festival |
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Bernard Ashley
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Little Soldier (Orchard, £4.99)
Living in Africa, Kaninda's war is a real one. When his family is killed in front of him, he joins the rebel soldiers and finds out all about fear, brutality, discipline - and, above all, the hatred of war. Nothing is forgotten when he is brought to England by aid workers, and in Bernard Ashley's excellently observed street life of London's docklands, he finds conflicts between local gangs that are less deadly but just as real. Seen through the eyes of Kaninda and his adoptive sister, Laura, and told with sharp and convincing dialogue, Little Soldier gives frighteningly clear insights into the mind of a child soldier. Ashley is sympathetic to, but never sentimental about, this young veteran's vengeful and uncompromising view of life.
Buy it at BOL |
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| Interviews and related links |
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Bernard Ashley homepage
Author's own website containing news, booklist and biography |
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Interview from Achuka
A booklist and bibliographic file can also be found on the Achuka website |
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| Interview from Puffin |
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Susan Cooper
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King of Shadows (Bodley Head, £10.99)
A deep love for Shakespeare and the world around his theatre propels King of Shadows . Nat, an American child actor who comes to Britain to act in the Globe of 1999, slips back in time to the same place 400 years earlier, where he finds himself playing Puck to Shakespeare's Oberon. Revelling in authentic theatrical and Elizabethan detail, Susan Cooper gives a minutely itemised picture of life in the Elizabethan theatre and of Shakespeare himself, whom she invests with enormous charm. She weaves the text of A Midsummer Night's Dream through the novel, which binds the two time zones together, as well as giving her story the injection of magic that makes it so compelling.
Buy it at BOL |
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| Interviews and related links |
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From the Grail to the Globe
Susan Cooper explains the pull of myth and magic in a Guardian interview |
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Susan Cooper homepage
Extensive author site containing biography, profile, book list and characters |
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| Interview from Puffin |
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Jan Mark
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The Eclipse of the Century (Scholastic, £14.99)
Keith's near-death experience in a car crash gives him a glimpse of "heaven": "We'll meet again here, in Kantoom, under the black sun, at the end of a thousand years," a shining golden woman tells him. When Keith discovers that there is a real "Qantum" in Asia, he sets out to substantiate his dream. Hidden in the sands, Qantum has attracted Arabs, British and, most recently, Russian visitors. Most come and go; only the natives are settled, living on the fringes of the town, weaving stories at their "spellings" and waiting for the eclipse that will tell them that it is time to move on. Keith's journey of confusion and discovery through this blend of past and present is funny, subtle and unexpected.
Buy it at BOL |
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| Guardian review of Eclipse of the Century |
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JK Rowling
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Bloomsbury, £10.99)
Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts School is marked by escalating disobedience and an increased threat from the powers of darkness, both of which make an interesting progression in the boy wizard's life. Rowling has successfully allowed Harry to grow up a little, and with the introduction of the Dementors, whose ability to suck out human feelings is chilling, has added a fresh dimension to the familiar and highly successful school setting. The intricacies of the plot, which here include a witty ruse for Hermione to cheat time and so fit in some extra studying, combine persuasively with a broad range of credible - and sometimes not so credible - characters.
Buy it at BOL |
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| Harry Potter online |
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Read a sample chapter |
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Read a sample chapter |
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Read a sample chapter |
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Digested read |
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| Related links |
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The Unofficial Harry Potter Fanclub
Contains the Daily Prophet newspaper, a chat room, the complete rules of Quidditch, the Encyclopedia Potterica, and the latest rumours on Harry Potter - the movie. |
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Scholastic official Harry Potter site
Harry Potter corner on the Scholastic website contains an interview with JK Rowling and transcription of an online chat, games, discussion group, and updates on HP4 |
