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SYNOPSIS
When a storm sweeps through the country, Asa wakes up the next day to find that his town is almost unrecognisable - trees have fallen down, roofs have collapsed and debris lies everywhere. But amongst the debris in his back garden Asa makes an astounding discovery - the body of a small winged creature. A creature that looks very like a fairy. Do fairies really exist? Asa embarks on a mission to find out. A mission that leads him to the lost journals of local eccentric Benjamin Tooth who, two hundred years earlier, claimed to have discovered the existence of fairies. What Asa reads in those journals takes him on a secret trip to Windvale Moor, where he discovers much more than he'd hoped to...
WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE 2012
The Windvale Sprites has now been nominated along with 17 other children's book titles for the prestigious Waterstones Children's Book Prize having been shortlisted in the fiction category for readers aged 5 to 12.
Read the full shortlist and more details at Waterstones's Website
You can also order a copy of the Windvale Sprites from Waterstones here.
REVIEWS
"[A] charming, finely produced little treasure, told with clarity, wit and lightness."
-Nicolette Jones, Sunday Times
"Throughout this short and lovely book there are clues Crook knows exactly what he is doing...There are each and every one of the author's own illustrations, which are nigh-on outstanding...Then there's the writing. He uses a style that is perfectly in tune with making an instant classic. Timeless in aspects, it’s warm, brisk, no-nonsense and absolutely clear... A quite beautiful book of charming lightheartedness, fine invention and warm, gripping drama.
I'll close by saying it never fails to satisfy, but there is a strong sense of further stories to come from this...Faber have done Crook proud with a delicious gold-embossed hardback, but he has served us best of all."
-The Bookbag
It is a magical story that is perfect for this time of year.
-Fun Kids Live, Dec. 2011
"The star of The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean has written a cracker for boys and girls aged eight and over... Forget about standard saccharine fairy fare, this compelling mystery is tinged with darkness."
-iVillage
"A little gem of vivid imagination, gentle humour and moral message... An impressive debut which Crook has illustrated himself with atmospheric black and white drawings. Let’s hope there’s more to come."
-The Daily Mail
ORDER ONLINE: Faber Kids | Waterstones | Amazon UK | WHSmith.co.uk
LITERATURE FESTIVALS:
UPCOMING:
Mackenzie will be appearing at the following festivals to talk about writing and illustrating The Windvale Sprites
15 February - Imagine Children's Festival - Southbank Centre, Purcell Room, 2pm
25 March - Oxford Literary Festival - Christ Church Hall, 12pm
5 May - Shrewsbury Book Fest - Shrewsbury School’s Ashton Theatre, 6pm
PAST:
Mackenzie spoke at both the Bath Festival of Children's Literature and the Telegraph Word Up! Family Festival. Images and coverage of these events are linked below:
Bath Festival of Children's Literature
Word Up! Family Festival
The Telegraph: Broadway is a walk in the park compared to writing
