2007 shortlist

9-11 category

Shadow Forest by Matt Haig (Bodley Head)

Samuel and Martha's parents are killed when a log falls on the family car. Traumatised, the children go to live with strange, sad Aunt Eda in Norway, close to a forest full of dangerous creatures.

Martha ignores warnings not to enter the forest – she already knows how horrible life can be. Samuel follows her to bring her back. This prompts Aunt Eda to try to rescue them both, even though she had lost her husband in the forest years before.

In the forest they find the creatures are not as wicked as they seem; an evil professor rules and keeps its inhabitants in thrall.

Sad, macabre, touching and hopeful by turns, this is an engrossing story with rounded characters and a satisfying, uplifting conclusion.

Matt Haig was born in Sheffield in 1975 and grew up in Nottinghamshire. He has lived in London and Ibiza, where he worked for the Manumission club and has run his own Internet marketing firm. He now lives in Leeds with his girlfriend, the writer Andrea Semple.

His writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Face. His first adult novel, The Last Family in England, the story of the Hunter family as told by their pet Labrador, was published in 2004 and has sold over 150,000 copies. Both The Last Family in England and The Dead Fathers Club are to be made into films. SHADOW FOREST is his first children's book.

For more information about Matt go to www.matthaig.com

Catcall by Linda Newbery (Orion Children’s Books)

Josh and Jamie have always been the two J's and have got used to Mum and Dad living apart and having new partners but when Baby Jennie is born and they become the three J's, Jamie's inability to cope manifests itself in a bizarre and disturbing way.

After a visit to the wildlife park, Jamie loses his ability to speak and becomes possessed by the spirit of 'Leo' who dictates when and what he eats and controls his every move.

Only big brother Josh really understands Jamie's complex anxieties but trying to save him from himself proves more dangerous than anyone could have guessed.

An interesting and unusual exploration of the complexities of step-families and the changing face of the family in today's world. Newbery treats a difficult subject with respect and sensitivity.

Linda Newbery always wanted to be a writer, filling exercise books with stories which she hid in her wardrobe, but only began submitting her work once she became a secondary school teacher. She had her first novel published in 1988 and is now a full-time writer. Linda writes for various age groups and has twice been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, for The Shell House and Sisterland and in 2006 won the Costa Children’s Book Award for Set in Stone.

Linda lives in a Northamptonshire village with her husband and three cats. She is an active member of the SAS and on the committee of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group of the Society of Authors.

For more information about Linda go to www.lindanewbery.co.uk

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve (Scholastic Children’s Books)

Reeve has woven his own electrifying version of the Arthur legend in poetic, visceral language reverberating with alliteration and internal rhymes.
Myrdinn, the storyteller-magician, tells tales of noble Arthur, a high-minded warrior dedicated to uniting war-torn Britain against the Saxons, but servant-girl Gwyna, rescued by Myrdinn and woven into his stories, knows another Arthur, driven by greed, power and desire.

The violence is darkly terrifying, the sense of landscape immediate and haunting and Gwyna/Gwyn's shifting gender permits Reeve to cast a unique, strikingly vivid glimpse into dark-age Britain.

Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for years. Introduced to the world of publishing initially as an illustrator, Philip's work has earned critical acclaim and a host of literary awards. Mortal Engines was released in 2001 and was the Gold Award winner at the Nestle Prize in 2004 and the winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year in 2003. The following books in the series are Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices and Darkling Plain, which won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2006. He lives on Dartmoor with his wife and son.
For more information about Philip go to www.philipreeve.co.uk