Teenage suicide, centaurs and an ingenious baddie

Published on Tuesday 24 November 2009 21:50

MANFRED the Baddie is the baddest baddie of all. He kidnaps brilliant inventors and forces them to build diabolical machines which can steal paintings from the walls of art galleries and scoop diamonds and jewels from the passengers of cruise ships.

John Fardell's boisterous and joyous illustrations give us a gleeful glimpse of Manfred's one-man crimewave – but with no friends to call on when he comes a cropper, Manfred is heading for a fall.

The reviewers called it "a gloriously colourful adventure".

First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts By Lari Don Published by Floris Books

LARI Don's first book is the story of Helen, the music-mad daughter of a vet who gets pulled into a world of magical creatures after a wounded centaur turns up at her door.

One reviewer said the novel was set in "a world where anything can happen – where centaurs roam, dragons fly and evil enemies must be defeated".

George Heriot's School pupil Alana White, 12, who was one of the pupils on the judging panel, said it was a surprise for her. "When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be a book about fairies – but it isn't at all. It is a very easy read – and one boys will like, too."

Ostrich Boys By Keith Gray Published by Definitions

WHEN he was alive, 15-year-old Ross always wanted to travel to Ross, in southern Scotland, so he could say he was Ross in Ross. So after his unexpected death, his three friends, Kenny, Sim and Blake decide to kidnap his ashes and take them there.

There are lots of laughs along the way– but eventually they realise that, like ostriches, they all had their heads in the sand when Ross was alive.

Author Keith Gray said he wanted to write books which could have encouraged him to read more as a child. One reviewer said: "If there were more writers like Keith Gray, more teenagers would read."