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Synopsis

Help! I'm a Classroom Gambler by Pete Johnson
Harvey thinks school is the most boring place on earth. He and his fellow gamblers start to bet on how many times the supply teacher will give a nervous twitch, how often the Head will blow his nose and lots of other possible outcomes. All of a sudden, school is fun, but then the craze starts to spread and he realises it's getting out of control.

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About The Author

When Pete Johnson was ten, he wrote a fan letter to Dodie Smith – author of The Hundred and One Dalmatians. She wrote back to him and the two began exchanging letters. “She was the first person to encourage me to become a writer,” says Pete, who began sending stories to publishers at the age of eleven.

After studying English at Birmingham University, Pete worked as a film critic for some local newspapers. This led to a plum job as a film critic on Radio One.

It was working as a teacher at a secondary school that inspired Pete’s first published novel, Secrets From The School Underground and his short story collection, One Step Beyond. Pete gained some valuable insight by inviting his students to comment on his writing. “They helped to make me tough on my writing,” says Pete, “I learnt that bad books – and clichés – arise when a writer doesn’t know enough about his world.” Today, Pete still regularly visits schools and libraries to keep in close contact with his readers.

 

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