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David Almond was our Guest Editor in September 2011 CLICK HERE to see his choices.
David Almond is the acclaimed author of many award-winning novels for children such as Skellig, Kit's Wilderness and My Name Is Mina, and has collaborated with artists Polly Dunbar, Dave McKean and Oliver Jeffers on fiction for younger readers. David's books sell all over the world, and in 2011 he was the recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in Hexham, Northumberland.
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Julia Eccleshare on David Almond:
One of the best-loved and finest writers of today, David Almond made an immediate impact with Skellig, his first book. The moving story of a boy’s discovery of a strange creature in the shed which can be interpreted in many ways introduced some to the recurrent themes of David Almond’s writing. Infused with a touch of magic or the supernatural or ‘belief’, David Almond writes sensitively about the inner complexities of growing up. Much influenced by the landscape of Tyneside where he was brought up and still lives, David Almond’s books have a strong sense of place especially in titles such as Heaven’s Eyes, The Fire-Eater and Kit’s Wilderness. Although often clearly set in some particular time, there is a timeless quality to David Almond’s stories which give them enduring appeal.
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2020 | On the day before the valley is to be flooded to form a reservoir, a girl and her father play and dance in the deserted houses, remembering the people who have lived there. This is an exquisite book in which words and pictures interweave to evoke wild beauty and a deep mystery. You’ll want to want to keep this one for ever.
Lyrical writing exploring the ordinary and extraordinary in one day in the life of a young boy.
UKLA Longlist Book Awards - 2019 | Shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award 2018 | “The day is long, the world is wide, you’re young and free,” Davie’s mam announces at the start of a sweltering day. But Davie doesn’t feel that way. He recently lost his dad and “he hates this dead-end place, where nothing seems to happen, nothing seems to change. Sometimes he just wants to walk out of it and keep on walking and leave it all behind”. Then this morning, as Davie walks through his hometown, David discovers that something has happened - a local lad has been killed, and Davie thinks he knows who’s responsible. Amidst the speculation of his Tyneside neighbours, Davie embarks on a pilgrimage of sorts, encountering a cast of wisdom-imparting folk along the way. There’s wooden-legged Wilf who shares advice and fruit gums; the openhearted priest who makes a confession; the girls creating a “world of wonders” garden. While walking, Davie feels the flutter and ache of grief as “bleak, black memories” surface but, as a friend of his father says, “sometimes a memory or a dream is a fine place to be”. “What is lost might be discovered again, but in a different form”, counsels another character. And as he continues on his way, watching out for the murder suspect, Davie seems to find his father in another form. Wise and soulfully unexpected, this is truly a book for all ages, by an author who exudes the uncanny elegance of a master conjurer.
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month April 2018 | Award-winning David Almond’s new story for younger reader is a delightfully lightly told, warm-hearted story perfect for all those who are willing believe in a little bit of something special. When a little angel turns up in Bert’s pocket as he drives the bus all kinds of remarkable things begin to happen. Bert takes Angelino home to Betty and he brings great happiness into their lives. When Betty takes Angelino to school he delights the children too. Only the acting Head Teacher Mrs Mole, her horrible side-kick Professor Smellie and the imposter of a school inspector are untouched by his magical qualities. But who is Angelino? David Almond inspires readers’ imagination and raises questions about definitions of good and bad. It is a Wonderful book.
Longlisted for the UKLA 2018 Book Award May 2017 Book of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month May 2017 Award-winning David Almond’s new story for younger reader is a delightfully lightly told, warm-hearted story perfect for all those who are willing believe in a little bit of something special. When a little angel turns up in Bert’s pocket as he drives the bus all kinds of remarkable things begin to happen. Bert takes Angelino home to Betty and he brings great happiness into their lives. When Betty takes Angelino to school he delights the children too. Only the acting Head Teacher Mrs Mole, her horrible side-kick Professor Smellie and the imposter of a school inspector are untouched by his magical qualities. But who is Angelino? David Almond inspires readers’ imagination and raises questions about definitions of good and bad. It is a Wonderful book. ~ Julia Eccleshare. Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for May 2017 The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue King of the Sky by Nicoloa Davies A Story Like the Wind by Gill Lewis King Coo by Adam Stower The Tale of Angelino Brown by David Almond Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman The Big Bird Spot by Matt Sewell
Longlisted for the UKLA 2017 Book Award | Award-winning David Almond tells a lively story which captures the exuberance of a trio of lads and one girl who set off one hot summer morning to run from their homes in Newcastle to South Shields. There’s no training, no special kit, no crowds – just the gang enjoying the freedom to run and the kindness of many who keep them fed and watered along the way. And it is a distance of thirteen miles so exactly half a marathon. Old Harry, now walking with a frame and on his way to a care home, tells young Liam, a boy in the present who has just got a place in the junior Great North Run, all about the trip and the magic of it. In doing so he shows a slice of a different kind of childhood set in David Almond’s home ground of Newcastle and the surrounding area. In this beautifully produced new edition, Salvatore Rubbino’s illustrations also capture the period and the sense of place brilliantly. ~ Julia Eccleshare
In a nutshell: finely told stories of family, joy, love | David Almond is one of our very finest, and in some ways most daring authors for young people, and the stories in this collection, beautifully told and quite profound, are typical of his work. They are firmly rooted in the North-East, and in his own childhood. His voice is distinctive, and so too is his extraordinary ability to weave together dreams, myth and faith in stories that are so closely inspired by his own experiences. Among those experiences are the deaths of his sister, father and his mother, yet even so this remains a joyful and a life-affirming collection. It’s a book to read and read again and, as the years pass, each new reading will reveal more truths. ~ Andrea Reece This new edition of a much-loved book includes a number of previously unpublished stories, and an afterword that explains and explores the roots of Almond's work.
An anthology of dark, powerful and moving short stories from master storyteller and author of the internationally award-winning Skellig, David Almond, inspired by his childhood in the North-East of England. It features coming of age stories on the theme of closeness to home, deftly interwoven with illuminating autobiographical pieces on the inspirations behind the fiction. It is a beautifully produced jacketed hardback edition with black and white vignette illustrations. David Almond says of this unique collection, “Stories on the page are so beautifully neat. All that lovely black print; those lovely straight lines and paragraphs and pages. But stories are living things, creatures that move and grow in the imaginations of writer and reader. They must be solid and touchable, like the land, and must have fluid half-known depths, like the sea. These stories take place in a real world – but in fiction, real worlds merge with dreamed worlds. Real people walk with ghosts and figments. Earthly truth goes hand-in-hand with watery lies.”
One of our Books of the Year 2015 - Julia Eccleshare's Pick of the Month, November 2015 Award-winning David Almond tells a lively story which captures the exuberance of a trio of lads and one girl who set off one hot summer morning to run from their homes in Newcastle to South Shields. There’s no training, no special kit, no crowds – just the gang enjoying the freedom to run and the kindness of many who keep them fed and watered along the way. And it is a distance of thirteen miles so exactly half a marathon. Old Harry, now walking with a frame and on his way to a care home, tells young Liam, a boy in the present who has just got a place in the junior Great North Run, all about the trip and the magic of it. In doing so he shows a slice of a different kind of childhood set in David Almond’s home ground of Newcastle and the surrounding area. In this beautifully produced new edition, Salvatore Rubbino’s illustrations also capture the period and the sense of place brilliantly. ~ Julia Eccleshare
Winner of the 2015 Guardian Children's Book prize -Winner of the 2015 Peters Book of the Year 'Teen Fiction' Award | Award-winning David Almond is at his lyrical best in this eloquent, tender and ultimately devastating contemporary teenage love story which draws lightly but to great effect on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Camping on a beach near home as a break from school and its pressures, a group of teenagers, minus their friend Ella, come across Orpheus, a wandering musician. No one knows where he comes from or whether he will appear again but his music is so special that Claire plays it down the phone to Ella. And Ella is entranced. But who is Orpheus? The power of love and the terrible danger it can pose drives this exceptionally touching and thoughtful story.
Join a father and daughter as they find their wings together and take to the skies in this funny, tender tale from the master of contemporary storytelling.
Winner of the 2015 Guardian Children's Book prize - One of our Books of the Year 2014 and Winner of the 2015 Peters Book of the Year 'Teen Fiction' Award Award-winning David Almond is at his lyrical best in this eloquent, tender and ultimately devastating contemporary teenage love story which draws lightly but to great effect on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Camping on a beach near home as a break from school and its pressures, a group of teenagers, minus their friend Ella, come across Orpheus, a wandering musician. No one knows where he comes from or whether he will appear again but his music is so special that Claire plays it down the phone to Ella. And Ella is entranced. But who is Orpheus? The power of love and the terrible danger it can pose drives this exceptionally touching and thoughtful story. ~ Julia Eccleshare Judge and author Jenny Valentine described the book as “an absolute masterclass in the transformative power of language. It is fearless, free and full of wonder and I am changed by reading it.” Fellow judge Natasha Farrant said that reading the story of Ella Grey “hasn’t just changed the way I look at Orpheus. It has changed the way I look at the world.” The following titles were longlisted for the 2015 Guardian Children's Book PrizeFive Children on the Western Front by Kate SaundersA Song for Ella Grey by David AlmondMy Name’s Not Friday by Jon Walter Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge An Island of our Own by Sally Nicholls El Deafo by Cece Bell All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven This year’s prize is being judged by authors Piers Torday, Jenny Valentine and Natasha Farrant, and chaired by Guardian children’s books editor and Lovereading4kids editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare. Torday said: “These books are quite simply some of the best writing for children today, from graphic novels to Victorian sequels, Greek myths to the US civil war. Diverse, complex, accessible, experimental, page turning and heart-breaking, they bring young readers the world on a single shelf.” The winner of the prize will be announced on the 19th November.
