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Mal Peet (June 1947 – 2 March 2015), winner of the Nestle Bronze Medal Award and the Branford Boase Award grew up in North Norfolk, and studied English and American Studies at the University of Warwick. Later he moved to south-west England and worked at a variety of jobs before turning full-time to writing and illustrating in the early 1990s. With his wife, Elspeth Graham, he wrote and illustrated many educational picture books for young children, and his cartoons appeared in a number of magazines. He and Elspeth lived in Exmouth, Devon.
Tamar won the Carnegie Medal and is a multi-layered tale of love and betrayal. He wrote three other linked novels, Keeper, The Penalty and Exposure, all featuring the football obsessed Paul Faustino, a sports journalist in South America who is reluctantly drawn into murders and mysteries.
Exposure won the 2009 Guardian Award for Children’s Fiction. On his award win, Mal said, “I’m totally thrilled to win the Guardian prize. I’ve been buying the newspaper for 35 years, so I’ve worked for it! In fact, if you subtract the prize money from what I’ve spent at the newsagents, the Guardian is way ahead on the deal! I don’t mind – the Guardian prize is very special. It’s judged by other writers so it’s pretty likely that if you win it, you deserve it.”
He also wrote a critically acclaimed adult novel, The Murdstone Trilogy
June 2018 Book of the Month | | Mal Peet, who died in 2015, wrote with extraordinary sensitivity and insight and this novella, freshly published by Barrington Stoke, is testimony to his talent. Benjamin finds himself by accident outside his old home and revisits memories of the garden and treehouse that 20 years ago were such a key part of his childhood. His father built the treehouse for him but it quickly changed from being a place of shared stories to something less happy – a hideaway from his mother, a hiding place for his father as he turned away from the outside world. The story is a painful one, years on Ben is still torn by conflicting loyalties, still angry with his father, still guilty for abandoning him. His return brings some new perspectives, but no happy resolution. Emma Shoard’s new illustrations equal the text for rawness, depth and resonance. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 14+
This is the second novel from Mal Peet that features Paul Faustino (the first was Keeper) South America’s top sports journalist. It’s a brilliant thriller, beautifully written and the author’s passion for football shines through in the writing. If you’re football mad or want to be a journalist, don’t look further than this book for inspiration. Now available in audio CD. The first in the trilogy is Keeper and the final one is Exposure. Shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007.
Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2009. A dramatic, topical novel inspired by Shakespeare's Othello which will appeal to both boys and girls with its themes of football and celebrity culture. Award winning Mal Peet’s Exposure is the third in the gripping trilogy which began with Keeper, about top sports journalist, Paul Faustino. Faustino always has an eye for the good story and when Otello, a national hero with money, an attractive wife and great media profile, makes a sensational club transfer, Faustino is already taking notice. Such high expose puts Otello at risk and when his name is linked to a scandal – all be it wrongly – the power of the press turns against him. As ever, Faustino is an unforgettable character and an excellent commentator on the way the press can both make and destroy reputations. The first in the trilogy was Keeper and the second was Penalty.
This extraordinary, gripping tale pulses with the rhythms of football and the rainforest. Teenagers will love it but football loving adults will as well. It pours with mystery and suspense, will have you riveted to the page and the great twist at the end will come like a bolt out of the blue. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award
Reissued to coincide with the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, this is the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award Click here to link back to a page featuring all of our World Cup selections.
A dramatic, topical novel inspired by Shakespeare's Othello which will appeal to both boys and girls with its themes of football and celebrity culture. Award winning Mal Peet’s Exposure is the third in the gripping trilogy which began with Keeper, about top sports journalist, Paul Faustino. Faustino always has an eye for the good story and when Otello, a national hero with money, an attractive wife and great media profile, makes a sensational club transfer, Faustino is already taking notice. Such high expose puts Otello at risk and when his name is linked to a scandal – all be it wrongly – the power of the press turns against him. As ever, Faustino is an unforgettable character and an excellent commentator on the way the press can both make and destroy reputations. The first in the trilogy was Keeper and the second was The Penalty. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2009.
A reissue of the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is The Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Keeper was the Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award & Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award.
This is the second novel from Mal Peet that features Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports journalist. It’s a brilliant thriller, beautifully written and the author’s passion for football shines through in the writing. If you’re football mad or want to be a journalist, don’t look further than this book for inspiration. The first in the trilogy is Keeper and the final one is Exposure. Shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007.
This is the second novel from Mal Peet that features Paul Faustino (the first was Keeper) South America’s top sports journalist. It’s a brilliant thriller, beautifully written and the author’s passion for football shines through in the writing. If you’re football mad or want to be a journalist, don’t look further than this book for inspiration. Now available in audio CD. The first in the trilogy is Keeper and the final one is Exposure. Shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007.
Winner of the Carnegie Medal 2006.What the judges said: This is an enthralling and multi-layered novel that traces the story of two men caught up in secret operations in World War Two.It looks at the negative impact that war has on those involved and on succeeding generations.Guilt and its ramifications lie at the heart of this well-written and serious novel that skilfully interweaves past and present.
This is the second novel from Mal Peet that features Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports journalist. It’s a brilliant thriller, beautifully written and the author’s passion for football shines through in the writing. If you’re football mad or want to be a journalist, don’t look further than this book for inspiration. The first in the trilogy is Keeper and the final one is Exposure. Shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize 2007.
This is a brilliant coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Cold War and events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The story is told in flashback by Clem when he is living and working in New York City as a designer, and moves from the past of his parents and grandmother to his own teenage years. Not only the threat of explosions, but actual ones as well, feature throughout in this latest novel from one of the finest writers working today.
This extraordinary, gripping tale pulses with the rhythms of football and the rainforest. Teenagers will love it but football loving adults will as well. It pours with mystery and suspense, will have you riveted to the page and the great twist at the end will come like a bolt out of the blue. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award
Reissued to coincide with the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, this is the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award Click here to link back to a page featuring all of our World Cup selections.
A reissue of the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is The Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Keeper was the Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award & Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award.
Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2009. A dramatic, topical novel inspired by Shakespeare's Othello which will appeal to both boys and girls with its themes of football and celebrity culture. Award winning Mal Peet’s Exposure is the third in the gripping trilogy which began with Keeper, about top sports journalist, Paul Faustino. Faustino always has an eye for the good story and when Otello, a national hero with money, an attractive wife and great media profile, makes a sensational club transfer, Faustino is already taking notice. Such high expose puts Otello at risk and when his name is linked to a scandal – all be it wrongly – the power of the press turns against him. As ever, Faustino is an unforgettable character and an excellent commentator on the way the press can both make and destroy reputations. The first in the trilogy was Keeper and the second was Penalty.
A dramatic, topical novel inspired by Shakespeare's Othello which will appeal to both boys and girls with its themes of football and celebrity culture. Award winning Mal Peet’s Exposure is the third in the gripping trilogy which began with Keeper, about top sports journalist, Paul Faustino. Faustino always has an eye for the good story and when Otello, a national hero with money, an attractive wife and great media profile, makes a sensational club transfer, Faustino is already taking notice. Such high expose puts Otello at risk and when his name is linked to a scandal – all be it wrongly – the power of the press turns against him. As ever, Faustino is an unforgettable character and an excellent commentator on the way the press can both make and destroy reputations. The first in the trilogy was Keeper and the second was The Penalty. Winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2009.
This is the audio CD version of the novel The Penalty from Mal Peet that features Paul Faustino (the first was Keeper) South America’s top sports journalist. It’s a brilliant thriller, beautifully told and the author’s passion for football shines through in the writing. If you’re football mad or want to be a journalist, don’t look further than this book/CD for inspiration.
This extraordinary, gripping tale pulses with the rhythms of football and the rainforest. Teenagers will love it but football loving adults will as well. It pours with mystery and suspense, will have you riveted to the page and the great twist at the end will come like a bolt out of the blue. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award
Reissued to coincide with the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, this is the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award Click here to link back to a page featuring all of our World Cup selections.
A reissue of the extraordinary debut novel from multi-award winning author Mal Peet. Set in South America, this compelling adventure is told as an interview between a top sports reporter and the world’s greatest goalkeeper. Not just for football fiction fans, this is masterful storytelling at its best. This is the first in this extraordinary football linked trilogy. The second is The Penalty and the final one is Exposure. Keeper was the Winner of the 2004 Branford Boase Award & Winner of the 2004 Bronze Nestle Smarties Book Award.
It's 1945 and Martin Heath, like many men at that time, is struggling to settle, to find his place again after the horrors of war. Then an old comrade sends him a letter and tells him of a position that's just come up in the remote wilds of Dartmoor - working for an elderly fellow called Mr Godley. Are you a good driver, Mr Heath? It's a simple question and a simple task and the doorway to a dark mystery that may just turn out to be the escape he was hoping for - but at what cost?
Sandie has been battling it since childhood: the hulking, snarling black dog of her nightmares. For years, her precious pet dog Rabbie has kept the monster at bay, but when he is no longer there to protect her, the black dog reappears to stalk Sandie in her sleep ... Illuminating the undeniable power of Mal Peet's pared-back prose, Good Boy is an evocative examination of fear and anxiety that will leave you guessing long after its final page. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 14+
It's 1945 and Martin Heath, like many men at that time, is struggling to settle, to find his place again after the horrors of war. When an old comrade sends him a letter, telling of a position that's just come up with an elderly fellow called Mr Godley in the deepest and loneliest part of Devon. Martin travels there and so begins a dark mystery...
June 2018 Book of the Month | | Mal Peet, who died in 2015, wrote with extraordinary sensitivity and insight and this novella, freshly published by Barrington Stoke, is testimony to his talent. Benjamin finds himself by accident outside his old home and revisits memories of the garden and treehouse that 20 years ago were such a key part of his childhood. His father built the treehouse for him but it quickly changed from being a place of shared stories to something less happy – a hideaway from his mother, a hiding place for his father as he turned away from the outside world. The story is a painful one, years on Ben is still torn by conflicting loyalties, still angry with his father, still guilty for abandoning him. His return brings some new perspectives, but no happy resolution. Emma Shoard’s new illustrations equal the text for rawness, depth and resonance. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 14+
*** Suitable for ages 16+ Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2017 | In turns brutal and passionate, Beck is an utterly compelling story of survival and romance which will catch the breath of all readers and inspire them to fight against injustice. And to trust in the power of love. The eponymous Beck’s fate is a bleak one: conceived accidentally, orphaned young and betrayed by all those who might have looked after him, Beck is dispatched to Canada, a country then in the grip of depression. Abused by the Christian Brothers and still a young child, Beck is sent into a life of servitude made worse by prejudice because he is black. Escaping, Beck takes to the road in search of something better. His journey and the experiences on it are harrowing but, when it reaches its end, Beck discovers kindness and love and finds there is a place for him in the world. Award-winning Mal Peet’s final story has been finished by his friend and fellow award-winning novelist Meg Rosoff. Together they have created an unflinching story that tackles the many inequalities of the world head on. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Unusually clever and skilfully told this pirate story has echoes of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt both in the way that the narrative grows and builds from page to page and in its lovely surprise ending. A young boy is on the trail of Pirate Frank’s treasure and there are various obstacles to be overcome; seas to be sailed, mountains to be climbed, a volcano that spits out fire. When he finally reaches the spot, an encounter with the fearsome Frank has him running back the way he came. The rhyming text reads aloud perfectly, Jez Tuya’s illustrations are full of a sense of excitement and wonder, and there’s a great deal of adventure packed seemingly effortlessly into the pages. ~ Andrea Reece The Editor at Nosy Crow says: “This fabulous story, inspired by a traditional rhyme, has everything you could want from a pirate quest, with a wonderfully funny twist. Watch out for the cheeky treasuresnaffling monkeys!”
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