Literacy Time Author Profi le... Back issues of Literacy Time for Years 5&6 No 42 Cities, containing extracts from Mortal Engines Philip Reeve and Predator’s The May 2006 issue of Gold are available, Literacy Time for Years priced £12 from our Subscriptions 5 and 6 (No 42) Department (call 0845 6039091 or Cities featured email [email protected]). extracts from two Philip Reeve’s gripping adventure A Darkling Plain, stories by author which won the 2006 Guardian Philip Reeve: Children’s Fiction Award, is also Mortal Engines published by Scholastic, ISBN and Predator’s Gold. These were the fi rst 0439943469). two novels in the inspired series known as The Hungry City Chronicles – all set in a fantasy world in which moving cities series, all published by Scholastic. But it trawl the globe. was Mortal Engines which fi rst brought his The stories are so unique that writing talents to the world’s attention. it is perhaps no surprise that, on its Predator’s Gold, the follow-up to Mortal publication, the fi rst title in the series, Engines, was published in September 2003 Mortal Engines, immediately caught the and has been widely acclaimed. It was attention of reviewers and book buyers. also selected for the YA Best Books by the The book was shortlisted for several American Library Association in 2005. The awards and was the Gold Award Winner highly anticipated sequel Infernal Devices at the Nestle Smarties Book Prize in 2002 followed in March 2004, and the fi nal book and won the Blue Peter Book of the Year in the series A Darkling Plain, published Awards in 2003. in March 2006, was awarded the prestigious What might be more surprising is the fact Guardian Children’s Fiction prize. that Mortal Engines was Philip’s fi rst published Philip has also written a series for novel. Born and raised in Brighton, Philip had younger readers called Buster Bayliss about a shown a passion for writing stories since the boy who always seems to attract trouble and age of fi ve. When he grew up he worked for a gets caught up in some far-fetched but hilarious number of years in a bookshop in Brighton and adventures. He has also written and illustrated also became involved in the theatre, co-writing, the defi nitive guide to Nelson for the Dead producing and directing a number of no-budget Famous series and has illustrated the brilliant projects. He then began illustrating and has Urgum the Axeman, published in May 2006. since provided cartoons for around 40 children’s Philip now lives in Dartmoor with his books, including the best-selling Horrible wife and son where he enjoys walking, drawing, Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous writing and reading. Photocopiable philip reeve2.indd 1 24/05/2007, 10:40:26.