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Ross Montgomery started writing stories as a teenager, when he really should have been doing homework, and continued doing so at university. After graduating, he experimented with working as a pig farmer and a postman before deciding to channel these skills into teaching at a primary school. He wrote his novel when he really should have been marking homework. He lives in Finsbury Park with his girlfriend and many, many dead plants.
Once, in an old rusty bin in an old rusty playground in an old empty park. . there lived a little tortoise. But Tortoise is lonely. He's never seen any other tortoises, and wonders where they could all be hiding. Then, one day, he looks up and the night sky, and sees a million blinking lights winking at him. That must be where the other tortoises are - at the top of the sky! I wish I could join them. But how can a little tortoise get to the top of the sky? And so begins a magical journey...
Max is used to spending time alone - it's difficult to make friends in a big, chaotic school when you're deaf. He prefers to give his attention to the little things in life... like making awesome, detailed replica models. Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: 'Go to my room. You'll know what to do.' There on the floor he finds a pile of sand ... and in the sand is Mr Darrow's latest creation... a tiny boy, no bigger than a raisin, Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy... millions of others - a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization!
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month November 2017 Not for the faint-hearted this is an utterly gripping but also terrifying collection of gruesome stories told round the disgusting dinner table at Soul’s College where young Lewis finds himself trapped on the night of Christmas. Lewis is summoned to be the kitchen boy at the Christmas feast. That’s bad enough as he is missing all the nice things about the night before Christmas but, what makes it worse is that all the monstrous guests at the dinner HATE children, kindness, happiness and above all Christmas. Lewis has to listen to their hideous stories while all the time wondering if he will ever escape as the fate of the kitchen boy is tied up in the story-telling ritual. Ross Montgomery manages the creation of fear deftly and with just the right dollop of humour to make it delicious too. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for November 2017 Christmas Dinner of Souls by Ross Montgomery Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers Katinka's Tail by Judith Kerr Lucky Button by Michael Morpurgo Pick A Pine Tree by Patricia Toht The Stone Bird by Jenny McCartney The Lion and the Unicorn and Other Hairy Tales by Jane Ray The Song from Somewhere Else by A. F. Harrold
September 2016 Debut of the Month There’s an air of fairy tale in this beautiful and touching picture book, but its foundations are firmly in family relationships. A young boy lives with his grandma, who was an architect. She’s old and getting older, until one day she’s not there anymore. The house she was building is now just a collection of rooms, so the boy gets to work himself, creating a giant model of his grandma. True to fairy tale convention, this comes to life and carries him across the countryside to their half-finished home, which it completes. Ross Montgomery’s text subtly leaves gaps for the readers to fill in, and David Litchfield’s illustrations are full of life, humour and light. ~ Andrea Reece
September 2016 Debut of the Month There’s an air of fairy tale in this beautiful and touching picture book, but its foundations are firmly in family relationships. A young boy lives with his grandma, who was an architect. She’s old and getting older, until one day she’s not there anymore. The house she was building is now just a collection of rooms, so the boy gets to work himself, creating a giant model of his grandma. True to fairy tale convention, this comes to life and carries him across the countryside to their half-finished home, which it completes. Ross Montgomery’s text subtly leaves gaps for the readers to fill in, and David Litchfield’s illustrations are full of life, humour and light. ~ Andrea Reece
One of our Books of the Year 2016 | Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award and March 2016 Book of the Month You can rely on Ross Montgomery to put an unexpected twist and an extra helping of humanity into his stories, no matter how zany. Perijee is an alien Caitlin finds on the beach near her home. Though he grows at an alarming rate, eats everything, and sprouts limbs seemingly at will, to Caitlin Perijee is immediately a friend, something to love. Sadly, no-one else has her perspicacity or heart: when the rest of the human world discovers Perijee, the response is fear and aggression. The effect on Perijee is devastating, he’s forced into fight mode too. Only Caitlin can save her friend, and the world. What follows is a mad adventure, funny and exciting in equal parts, and containing an important message about love, kindness and trust. ~ Andrea Reece For more out of this world stories, try Frank Cottrell Boyce’s Cosmic and The Astounding Broccoli Boy.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 This hilarious and liberating story about taking risks and living life to the full. Owen’s parents are anxious to protect him from danger. As they are frightened of almost everything, Owen has few adventures. Right now they are especially frightened by tornadoes with the result that Owen’s whole life has been upheaved by a move from Skirting to Barrow. But Owen knows his grandparents were very different. They were Tornado Chasers. How Owen and his friends face up to danger and become Tornado Chasers themselves is a tremendous adventure.
Shortlisted for The Branford Boase Award 2014 - One of our Books of the Year 2013 - Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2013 - August 2013 Debut of the Month One boy and one dag embark on a seriously silly adventure to the very heart of the Forbidden Lands. For Alex, it’s a welcome escape from Cloisters Boarding School for Boys where Matthew is the only other person as mad as he is – and he is the Headmaster! As the son of one of the world’s most famous explorers Alex knows something about what he is doing but even so, having left the known world even he has no idea what is in store. He certainly never imagined anything quite as wild as what he finds! A laugh-out-loud story of impossibles and impropbables! __________________________________ The Costa Book Awards honour some of the most outstanding books of the year written by authors based in the UK and Ireland. The full shortlist for the Children's Book Award is... Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door by Ross Montgomery. The Hanged Man Rises by Sarah Naughton Goth Girl: and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein Keep up to date with the Costa Book Awards @CostaBookAwards
Ash and Tabby are hiding out in Aunt Emmy's lighthouse and spying on the alien invaders who have taken over Finney Island. When an opportunity arises to find the robot-making machine which has transformed their parents, there's only one thing to do - gatecrash the Mayor's space party and start fighting back. What could possibly go wrong ...? The Finney Island Files: Disco Disaster is part of the Reading Planet range of books for Stars (Lime) to Supernova (Red+) band. Children aged 7-11 will be inspired to love reading through the gripping stories and fascinating information books created by top authors. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Reading age: 7-8 years
Ash, Tabby and Aunt Emmy have crash-landed in Finney Forest after escaping from Perseon V. They've even found the alien leader's spaceship - but they're not the only ones ... Now an unlikely team has joined together to stop the alien invasion. Can they make it to the Town Hall, find the robot-making machine and get rid of the robots who have taken over Finney Island? The Finney Island Files: Town Hall Terror! is part of the Reading Planet range of books for Stars (Lime) to Supernova (Red+) band. Children aged 7-11 will be inspired to love reading through the gripping stories and fascinating information books created by top authors Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Reading age: 8-9 years
It's time for Ash to take charge and fight back against the robots who have replaced everyone in his home town. Despite being trapped inside the Town Hall with just Tabby, Barry and his gang, and the Mayor to help him, Ash has some tricks up his sleeve to tackle the alien invaders. Will their final stand work? Or will Perseon V defeat the last humans on Finney Island? The Finney Island Files: Alien Attack! is part of the Reading Planet range of books for Stars (Lime) to Supernova (Red+) band. Children aged 7-11 will be inspired to love reading through the gripping stories and fascinating information books created by top authors. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills. Reading age: 8-9 years
Ash leads a quiet, boring life on Finney Island. He keeps his sporty sister and his scatterbrained parents organised, and does his best to avoid Barry Sandwich, the school bully. But when his parents begin to act in a very strange way, Ash realises his world is about to change ... forever! The Finney Island Files: Alien Invasion is part of the Reading Planet range of books for Stars (Lime) to Supernova (Red+) band. Children aged 7-11 will be inspired to love reading through the gripping stories and fascinating information books created by top authors. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and questions to support reading at home and develop comprehension skills.Reading age: 7-8 years
Once, in an old rusty bin in an old rusty playground in an old empty park. . there lived a little tortoise. But Tortoise is lonely. He's never seen any other tortoises, and wonders where they could all be hiding. Then, one day, he looks up and the night sky, and sees a million blinking lights winking at him. That must be where the other tortoises are - at the top of the sky! I wish I could join them. But how can a little tortoise get to the top of the sky? And so begins a magical journey...
Once, in an old rusty bin in an old rusty playground in an old empty park.. there lived a little tortoise.But Tortoise is lonely. He's never seen any other tortoises, and wonders where they could all be hiding. Then, one day, he looks up and the night sky, and sees a million blinking lights winking at him. "e;That must be where the other tortoises are - at the top of the sky! I wish I could join them."e; But how can a little tortoise get to the top of the sky? And so begins a magical journey... A beautiful, moving and heartwarming tale about bravery, kindness and welcoming strangers, from the team behind The Building Boy.
Max is used to spending time alone - it's difficult to make friends in a big, chaotic school when you're deaf. He prefers to give his attention to the little things in life... like making awesome, detailed replica models. Then Mr Darrow, the school caretaker and fellow modeller, goes missing. Max must follow his parting instruction: 'Go to my room. You'll know what to do.'There on the floor he finds a pile of sand ... and in the sand is Mr Darrow's latest creation... a tiny boy, no bigger than a raisin, Luke, Prince of the Blues. And behind the tiny boy... millions of others - a thriving, bustling, sprawling civilization!
It's a dark and lonely Christmas Eve in the dining room of ancient Soul's College. The kitchen boy, 11-year-old Lewis, has helped prepare a highly unusual meal, made with unrecognisable ingredients, cooked by a mysterious chef. And then the guests arrive ... and carnage ensues. They are ex-students of Soul's College, and they are all completely demented. They demand bottle after bottle of wine, flinging their cutlery and howling like banshees until ... silence. The Dean of Soul's College has arrived, and the evening's ceremonies must begin.For this is the annual meeting of a secret club for those who despise children, warmth, happiness, and above all Christmas. Each member must try to outdo the others by telling the most terrible, disgusting story they know.A spooky, shocking, bloodthirsty alternative to festive cheer that will appeal to, fascinate and delight young readers.
September 2016 Debut of the Month There’s an air of fairy tale in this beautiful and touching picture book, but its foundations are firmly in family relationships. A young boy lives with his grandma, who was an architect. She’s old and getting older, until one day she’s not there anymore. The house she was building is now just a collection of rooms, so the boy gets to work himself, creating a giant model of his grandma. True to fairy tale convention, this comes to life and carries him across the countryside to their half-finished home, which it completes. Ross Montgomery’s text subtly leaves gaps for the readers to fill in, and David Litchfield’s illustrations are full of life, humour and light. ~ Andrea Reece
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