When a German refugee moves to a small English town in the aftermath of World War II, he is an outsider. The gang decide to take Klaus under their wing, but their increasingly hateful pranks under the leadership of new lad Joe cause Klaus to question their actions.

An International Research Society for Children's Literature (IRSCL) Honour Book for 2023 This book is a comprehensive and thorough introduction to children's and young adult literature in English language education. Reading is promoted as central to language education in order to experience perspectives from around the world, and the book demonstrates the many opportunities for teaching with compelling story, encouraging an active and engaged community of second language readers through challenging picturebooks, motivating graphic novels, dynamic plays, enchanting verse novels and compelling young adult fiction. Using many examples of literary texts that are well suited to the primary or secondary classroom, the book focuses on the advantages of deep reading and the vital importance of in-depth learning. In-depth learning is an approach that involves the students as motivated participants, working collaboratively and with empathy while preparing for and confronting the challenges of the 21st century. Illustrating the approach with a Deep Reading Framework based in research and theory, Janice Bland guides the reader to discover and learn how to make use of literary texts in a way that challenges students to become involved in interculturality, creativity and critical literacy. Throughout the book the emphasis is on an approach that puts the reader and language learner in the centre – not a study of literature but a study of how readers learn through compelling story.

Master storyteller David Almond presents a beautiful collection of short fiction, interwoven with pieces that illuminate the inspiration behind the stories. May Malone is said to have a monster in her house, but what Norman finds there may just be the angel he needs. Joe Quinn’s house is noisy with poltergeists, or could it be Davie’s raging causing the disturbance? Fragile Annie learns the truth about herself in a photograph taken by a traveling man near the sea. Set in the northern English Tyneside country of the author’s childhood, these eight short stories by the incomparable David Almond evoke gritty realities and ineffable longings, experiences both ordinary and magical. In autobiographical preludes to each story, the writer shows how all things can be turned into tales, reflecting on a time of wonder, tenderness, and joy.

In recent decades, age studies has started to emerge as a new approach to study children’s literature. This book builds on that scholarship but also significantly extends it by exploring age in various aspects of children’s literature: the age of the author, the characters, the writing style, the intended readership and the real reader. Moreover, the authors explore what different theories and methods can be used to study age in children’s literature, and what their affordances and limits are. The analyses combine age studies with life writing studies, cognitive narratology, digital humanities, comparative literary studies, reader-response research and media studies. To ensure coherence, the book offers an in-depth exploration of the oeuvre of a single author, David Almond. The aesthetic and thematic richness of Almond’s works has been widely recognised. This book adds to the understanding of his oeuvre by offering a multi-faceted analysis of age. In addition to discussing the film adaptation of his best-known novel Skellig, this book also offers analyses of works that have received less attention, such as Counting Stars, Clay and Bone Music. Readers will also get a fuller understanding of Almond as a crosswriter of literature for children, adolescents and adults.

Children's literature can be a powerful way to encourage and empower EFL students but is less commonly used in the classroom than adult literature. This text provides a comprehensive introduction to children's and young adult literature in EFL teaching. It demonstrates the complexity of children's literature and how it can encourage an active community of second language readers: with multilayered picturebooks, fairy tales, graphic novels and radical young adult fiction. It examines the opportunities of children's literature in EFL teacher education, including: the intertexuality of children's literature as a gate-opener for canonised adult literature; the rich patterning of children's literature supporting Creative Writing; the potential of interactive drama projects. Close readings of texts at the centre of contemporary literary scholarship, yet largely unknown in the EFL world, provide an invaluable guide for teacher educators and student teachers, including works by David Almond, Anthony Browne, Philip Pullman and J.K.Rowling. Introducing a range of genres and their significance for EFL teaching, this study makes an important new approach accessible for EFL teachers, student teachers and teacher educators.

Master storyteller David Almond presents a beautiful collection of short fiction, interwoven with pieces that illuminate the inspiration behind the stories. May Malone is said to have a monster in her house, but what Norman finds there may just be the angel he needs. Joe Quinn’s house is noisy with poltergeists, or could it be Davie’s raging causing the disturbance? Fragile Annie learns the truth about herself in a photograph taken by a traveling man near the sea. Set in the northern English Tyneside country of the author’s childhood, these eight short stories by the incomparable David Almond evoke gritty realities and ineffable longings, experiences both ordinary and magical. In autobiographical preludes to each story, the writer shows how all things can be turned into tales, reflecting on a time of wonder, tenderness, and joy.

David Almond’s Printz Honor–winning novel celebrates its 10th anniversary! Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage. . . . What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever. . . .