A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – Winner
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The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming… The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel of coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.
One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotson
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All Hal ever wanted was a dog – but a dog would damage the expensive carpets in his parents’ glamorous home, and they won’t allow it. That’s until they discover Easy Pets, a dog-rental agency. Fleck the terrier arrives on Hal’s birthday, and Hal is overjoyed. But when Hal discovers to his horror that his dog is about to be returned, he runs away… along with a bunch of pedigree hounds, all joyfully escaping from Easy Pets! Soon Hal and his dogs – including Otto the wise St Bernard, and the fierce and excitable Pekinese Li-Chee – are being chased across the country by ruthless pursuers. Helped by a travelling circus and some orphanage children, can they race to freedom? Written in the timeless tradition of 101 Dalmations, this is a tail-wagging grand adventure that every dog-lover will adore.
My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
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Ten-year-old Jamie Matthews has just moved to the Lake District with his Dad and his teenage sister, Jasmine for a ‘Fresh New Start’. Five years ago his sister’s twin, Rose, was blown up by a terrorist bomb. His parents are wrecked by their grief, Jasmine turns to piercing, pink hair and stops eating. The family falls apart. But Jamie hasn’t cried in all that time. To him Rose is just a distant memory. Jamie is far more interested in his cat, Roger, his birthday Spiderman T-shirt, and in keeping his new friend Sunya a secret from his dad. And in his deep longing and unshakeable belief that his Mum will come back to the family she walked out on months ago. When he sees a TV advert for a talent show, he feels certain that this will change everything and bring them all back together once and for all.
The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson
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‘Give me your buns and your biscuits! Give me your chocolate éclairs! For I am the Rat of the highway, and the Rat Thief never shares!’ Life is not safe for the other animals, as the villainous Highway Rat gallops along the highway, stealing their food. Clover from a rabbit; nuts from a squirrel – he even steals his own hose’s hay. Will he finally meet his comeuppance, in the form of a cunning duck? A fabulous, rollicking rhyme, in the style of the famous Alfred Noyes poem, ‘The Highwayman’, from the authors of ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Zog’.
Dead Man’s Cove by Lauren St John
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When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children’s home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she longs for a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels. A real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle’s spooky house . . . Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man’s Cove? What’s the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? Who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover? Mysteries abound and who better to solve them than Laura Marlin, ace detective? Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she’s always wanted, Laura’s adventures begin in this first captivating mystery, winner of the 2011 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award.
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
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Delightful chaos ensues when a young boy gets his kite stuck up a tree in this laugh-out-loud new picture book from award-winning, internationally best-selling author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers!
Floyd gets his kite stuck up a tree. He throws up his shoe to shift it, but that gets stuck too. So he throws up his other shoe and that gets stuck, along with… a ladder, a pot of paint, the kitchen sink, an orang-utan and a whale, amongst other things!
Will Floyd ever get his kite back?
A hilarious book with a wonderful surprise ending.
About the Galaxy National Book Awards
The gala ceremony, recorded at the Mandarin Oriental was hosted by comedian (and author of Tickling the English in 2010) Dara O Briain and actress Helen Baxendale. The Awards showcase the best of British publishing and celebrate titles that boast both wide popular appeal and critical acclaim. Produced by Cactus TV, the Awards are to be broadcast over six weeks of national TV programming, BOOKED – Stars of the Galaxy National Book Awards will air on 13th November and run until 18th December on More4. Each show will include features on each of the winners and in-depth interviews with the season’s biggest celebrity authors, including Katie Price, Rob Brydon and Jason Manford.
From Saturday 5th November, the public are invited to vote online for the Galaxy Book of the Year, the nominees of which comprise winners of all eleven categories. Last year’s winner of the overall accolade, One Day, by David Nicholls recorded over 300% sales growth during December 2010, going on to become the biggest selling paperback of 2011 along with a Hollywood film release. Who will triumph this year?
Vote for your favourite book here and win £100 in National Book Tokens!
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