Chloe Daykin – författare

SHORTLISTED - BRANFORD BOASE AWARDPeople call me Fish Boy. My skin goes up and down like the waves. My mind goes in and out like the sea. They say I've always got my mouth open, that I ask too many questions. But what's wrong with that?Billy's got a lot on his mind - that he'd rather not think or talk about. So he watches David Attenborough, because Sir David's asked all the questions and got all the answers, and swims in the sea, just letting his mind drift . . .So when new boy and nature fan Patrick Green starts at school with 'fingers like steel, strength of a bear' and a mackerel swims up to Billy's face, blows bubbles into his Vista Clear mask goggles and says: 'Fish Boy', Billy knows he can't keep it secret, because . . . a crazy talking mackerel changes EVERYTHING.Shimmering with almost-magic and adventure, this is an exceptional read.Accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Richard Jones.

Billy is a lonely boy. He's obsessed with swimming in the sea, which is where he goes to wash his problems far, far away. Thanks to his mum's mystery illness, his dad has been forced to work extra hours to make ends meet, so Billy locks himself away with David Attenborough films, and ponders the magic of nature. Meanwhile at school, bullies mercilessly seize on Billy's 'otherness' and make his life as miserable as possible - but then new boy Patrick Green, with "fingers like steel, strength of a bear", joins Billy's class. And when a mackerel swims up to Billy's face, blows bubbles into his Vista Clear Mask goggles and says: Fish Boy - Billy's whole world changes.

'It's time,' I say. 'For ... It. Me. You. Us. The bench. The zoo. The question. Why?'The only thing that Elvis Crampton Lucas knows about where he's from is that he was found on the bench at a zoo. And that his now father took him home in a Stetson hat, and named him after the first three vinyl he picked off his shelf. But now, on his twelfth 'discovery day', it's time for Elvis to find out who left him at the zoo, and why?On an epic adventure that takes Elvis to an island off the coast of Norway, he will finally discover the truth about his past...

'It's time,' I say. 'For ... It. Me. You. Us. The bench. The zoo. The question. Why?'The only thing that Elvis Crampton Lucas knows about where he's from is that he was found on the bench at a zoo. And that his now father took him home in a Stetson hat, and named him after the first three vinyl he picked off his shelf. But now, on his twelfth "discovery day", it's time for Elvis to find out who left him at the zoo, and why?On an epic adventure that takes Elvis to an island off the coast of Norway, he will finally discover the truth about his past...

WINNER OF THE GANDYS CHILDREN'S TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEARMaya has to escape. She's on the run in a country she doesn't know and has no idea who to trust. Raul is escaping too - travelling back to his home where a terrible tragedy happened, ready to stir up trouble.When their paths collide in the middle of the jungle, the sparks begin to fly. As modern world corruption meets the magic and legends of ancient times, can Maya draw on her hidden light to find the way through to the truth?A book about light, about magic and belief, and about unlocking your own potential, from the critically acclaimed author of Fish Boy and The Boy Who Hit Play.'A nail bitingly tense and fast paced adventure. Exciting, inspiring and though provoking' Joy Court, LoveReading4Kids

Maya has to escape. She's on the run in a country she doesn't know and has no idea who to trust. Raul is escaping too - travelling back to his home where a terrible tragedy happened, ready to stir up trouble.When their paths collide in the middle of the jungle, the sparks begin to fly. As modern world corruption meets the magic and legends of ancient times, can Maya draw on her hidden light to find the way through to the truth?A book about light, about magic and belief, and about unlocking your own potential, from the critically acclaimed author of Fish Boy.