2009 Royal Mail Award Younger Readers Nominees

1. Can you tell us a little about your book?

Lari Don: First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts is about a vet's daughter who heals an injured beast from ancient legend, then gets involved in the quest that caused his injury, and finds out that not all the fabled beasts hiding in the folds of maps are friendly. The book is set in some of my favourite bits of Scotland (like Orkney and Edinburgh) and has all the things I love reading in books - fights, chases, riddles and sneaking away from your parents...

Joan Lingard: Ma and Pa Bigsby, proprietors of a public house in Stoke Newington in London called the 'Pig and Whistle', take in orphans and give them a home and an education. The time is 1900 and poor people did not have the social services to  help them that exist today. Orphans often lived rough on the streets, cold, half starving, begging for food and sleeping under bridges. On the first day of the new millennium Constable O'Dowd turns up at the 'Pig and Whistle' with a ragged,  eleven year-old orphan, a girl called Elfie.
Elfie's mum died when she was born but she left behind her a bag that contains a number of intriguing things, amongst them part of a torn letter, a man's signet ring with the initials A.T., a dancehall ticket and  - a watercolour painting of the 'Pig and Whistle'. Elfie is hoping that these items might help her to track down her father whose name she does not even know. When Ma Bigsby sees the painting of her very own pub she scents a mystery and says, 'You'd better come in, girl!' For Elfie it is the first step forward on her quest.

Charlie James: OK.  Here's a question for you:
An egg hatches into a dinosaur on your kitchen table.  Do you:
a) Scream for help and run for the hills as fast as you can?
b) Hide it from your mum under a pile of dirty socks and try to keep it as a pet?
Unlucky for Ned, his little brother Bill goes for option B!  Oh dear … this can only mean one thing: Trouble with a Capital T!
Dino Egg is the second story about the Dino Egg is the second story about  the Finn family – Stacey (12), Ned (10) and Bill (6). But don’t worry if you haven’t read the first story (Fish!).  This one works just as well on its own.
The book tells the hilarious tale of what happens when Ned and his little brother (dino-mad Bill), try to hide their new pet from their parents and their friends at school! Not an easy task as you can imagine, especially as a dinosaur who has been trapped inside an egg for squillions of years is VERY hungry indeed! He doesn’t mind what he eats - the contents of the fridge, the larder, the bin, the bin itself, not to mention dad's notebooks, mum's knitting, the cushions and the neighbour's smart new stone sundial.  He even escapes to the supermarket and eats their entire fruit and veg section.   And if that isn't bad enough, the children are about to start a new term at school and Ned's teacher has decided that he is likely to have a good influence on the school bully Joe Blagg.  To top it off, if sitting together wasn't enough, the boys are chosen to take part in a swimming competition at Loch Ness.
The Finn family have a lot of fun - their house is always full of chaos and if you have any brothers and sisters, you'll understand exactly where Ned is coming from when he describes his annoying little brother and his bossy big sister.  The book is really easy read and is packed full of fabulous drawings, differentiated fonts, short chapters and loads of fascinating facts .. including some truly disgusting info about DINO POO. 
But if there is ONE lesson you can learn from this book it is this: if you ever find an egg with a bright pink kiss mark on it side, going CHEEP, never EVER take it home with you!

2. Are you looking forward to the ceremony in November?

Lari: To be honest, not really, because I'll probably be very nervous!  But being in a big hall with lots of children all passionate about the books they've read and the votes they've cast will be really exciting.  Once the result has been announced (whatever it is!) I'm sure I'll have a great time. 

Joan: I am sure it will be a great event.

Charlie: Can't wait!  I am SO excited and thrilled to have been nominated as all the authors are soooooooo good.  It also means that between now and then I get to meet a lot of readers, which is fantastic.

3.Did you enjoy meeting the readers at your shortlist launch events in May?

Lari: Yes, I had a great time at both events.  I love talking to children about books and stories - my favourites and their favourites - and answering all their questions.  And knowing that ALL the pupils at the events will be getting the chance to read my book, and make up their own minds about it, made reading the very first few pages out loud to them very special.  Because they will ALL find out what happens next!

Joan: Very much. I always enjoy meeting my readers and hearing their reactions are to my writing.

Charlie: I absolutely LOVED meeting the readers.  I loved their questions, their enthusiasm and their interest.  Writing can be quite a lonely task sometimes (though I think it is the best job in the world) and so it is enormously rewarding to meet people who have enjoyed reading your books  and are curious to know how or why you dreamt up the ideas  and what might happen to the characters after the book has ended.

4. Can you describe your book in 3 words?

Lari: Magical Scottish Adventure
 
Joan: I found I could not so I asked my publisher to do it. This is what they said:
Exciting, intriguing, compelling!