David Maybury | Blog

I was off being festive and finding my Christmas spirit and such over the weekend - so I managed to miss a few bits in the resulting unwellness on Sunday. Thanks to the Very Hungry Caterpillar and Sarah for pointing out two extras:

The Independent on Sunday featured a young reviewers round up:

This is a moving book which has sad bits and funny bits, especially when Johnny’s friend Elizabeth Stanton (whose mother eventually adopts him) calls him “Johnny Rot”. My dad says this is a joke about punk rock. - Leo Taylor (aged 8 ) reviewing Michael Morpurgo’s Kaspar Prince of Cats.

And the other is, of course, Sarah Webb’s Christmas round-up in the Irish Independent last Saturday.

There’s an embarrassment of riches for readers of 9+ who like their fiction fast, furious and above all, fun. Action-fest masters Eoin Colfer, Derek Landy and Michael Scott hit bullseye yet again. Landy’s skeleton detective, Skulduggery Pleasant is back in Playing with Fire (HarperCollins, £6.99) and Colfer’s urbane young hero returns in Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox (Puffin £12.99). The Magician by Michael Scott (Doubleday, £10.99) is another cracking action-adventure tale. - Sarah Webb.

Right, back to the parties and homemade cures for self inflicted festive cheer.