Coinciding with publication
Shanville Monthly #108 - July 2009
Welcome to the special BIRTHDAY issue of the Shanville Monthly!!!!! Not only does July mark my 37th birthday (July 2nd, for those of you who are interested), it also marks the 9th birthday of the Shanville Monthly!! Yes, for nine years now I have been bringing you all the latest news, gossip and updates from the world of Darren Shan. 108 issues, every single one designed and created exclusively by... ME!!!
selected by Nicolette Jones
Fever Crumb by Philip Reeeve
Reading Fever Crumb made me nostalgic for the days when books and music talked to each other a bit more. Lord of the Rings, for instance, was surprisingly influential in rock music (T Rex, Led Zeppelin, and so on), board games (Dungeons and Dragons), the hippy press (Gandalf's Garden) and computer games. That doesn't really happen nowadays, when successful books are filmed - and therefore trussed up in copyright law - much more quickly. Even though they are so cinematic, there don't seem to be any immediate plans to film Mortal Engines. Good. It'll be interesting to see what happens to these astonishing, important images if they're allowed to float around in the culture for a while, like pop songs.Fever Crumb is a terrific read, a sci-fi Dickens, full of orphans, villains, chases and mysteries. There's even a balloon-chase climax. I worry that if you read it before reading the others, you'll miss out on the electric shock I had when I was plunged straight into that jungle of predator cities. Like The Magician's Nephew, or the story of how your parents met, it's a beginning better told at the end. FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE
We have in Britain some of the best picture book makers in the world, and I want to see their books appreciated for what they - works of art. ANTHONY BROWNEThe latest issue of Carousel has a guest editorial by the new Children's Laureate.
As well as the usual reviews the issue contains a full-page profile of Peter Usborne; a feature on David Tazzyman, illustrator of the Mr Gum books, by Rowan Stanfield; an overview of the Children's Book Award; and a 5-page feature titled Sense OF Place, recommending books set in different parts of the UK.
Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week
was...
Eating Things On Sticks by Anne Fine
Lauren Child Feature - Observer Magazine
Lauren Child talks to Geraldine Bedell about growing up, sudden wealth and the secret of writing her utterly and really completely best-ever books...
Recommended
Well worth reading - not just another feature with well-worn facts... Did you know for example that 'Lauren' was originally 'Helen' ?
Frank Cottrell Boyce Interviewed
by Noga Applebaum for Write Away
LOSING THEIR RELIGION (a slightly-edited News briefing released by Penguin to help promote the new novel Kevin Brooks, Killing God)
Nearly two thirds of teenagers don't believe in God, new research revealed today (Mon)...
Continue reading Killing God.
Keven Brooks at Cape Town Book Fair
A blog posting summarising Keven Brooks' appearance at the Cape Town Book Fair
fiction about fairies
In an occasional series on illustrators, Joanna Carey assesses the work of Bruce Ingman
Mary Hoffman's blog reports that Philip Ardagh has been expelled from Facebook...
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