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Author & Illustrators

Alastair Chisholm Books

Sticky Mildred

Picturebooks

For exasperated parents of sticky children comes a hilariously unexpected and surreal cautionary tale on cleanliness to get even the most reluctant kids excited about bath time.

Mildred Honeyfur LOVES being sticky and REFUSES to have a bath. She sets off to find the stickiest things in the world – doughnuts, pond slime, toffees and glue – until she becomes a ball of stickiness, rolling through the town sticking to everything … and everyone! Stuck in the ULTIMATE sticky situation, will Mildred ever be stopped?

Written by the winner of Blackwell’s Children’s Book of the Year and the Queen’s Knickers Award, Alastair Chisholm, with wildly imaginative pictures by Rikin Parekh, illustrator of Greg Jenner’s Totally Chaotic History series.

Blitzers

Alastair Chisholm & Francesca Ficorilli

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Another enjoyable read from the Barrington Stoke team, this story is a welcome addition to the gaming genre and should interest readers who have an interest in any of the major game platforms.

Blitzers are the latest craze: characters in handheld electronic games that fight against each other when their owners join their screens together. Danny is desperate to have one, so when his brother Jay brings one home, he starts to ‘train’ it to become a champion. However, Danny’s Blitzer, Chew Lip, is a bit different to the others and doesn’t want to fight. He is advised to reset it, but Danny takes a different approach, and Chew Lip surprises him. When all the Blitzers suddenly vanish from their screens and the manufacturers declare technical issues, Danny receives a mysterious message, and the hunt is on to find out what is really going on at the Blitzers Inc. headquarters.

There are themes of friendship, self-esteem and celebrating differences, as well as a message of concern regarding ‘big tech’. The story does play with the emotions too: it is genuinely funny in places as Danny tries in vain to make Chew Lip more combative, but there is a sorrowful side to it when the electronic game appears to have feelings and becomes emotional. This book does make you think!

Reek

Alastair Chisholm & George Caltsoudas

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

If you are looking for sci-fi, dystopia or gripping thrillers for Year 6, Alastair Chisholm is a superb author to discover.

Reek tells of an environmental disaster which has polluted the skies, turning clean air into a manufactured luxury that some can afford – and some cannot. Sparrow survives on the edge, taking on dangerous delivery jobs until she is handed a mystery package that plunges her into a race against the system.

Driven by a smart female protagonist who relies on sharp wits and survival skills, this powerful story delivers superb pacing and non-stop thrilling twists. Published by Barrington Stoke, the accessible, dyslexia-friendly format ensures this gripping dystopian thriller can be enjoyed by a wider range of readers. Highly recommended!

I Am Wolf

Alastair Chisholm

Chapter book

Coll is Wolf.

He lives with his clan on a Construct, a huge technological creature driven by the clan’s combined willpower. Together they roam their world, fighting other clans and absorbing them into their own.

But when a new and dangerous Construct attacks them, Coll is thrown clear from Wolf and left behind. Now he must survive life on the ground and get back to his clan. He is helped by Rieka, a ‘Tock’ who makes the Constructs work. She promises Coll a way to return, but can she be trusted? And what is she really trying to do?

When Coll uncovers the truth, it destroys everything he thought he knew about his clan, the world they live in, and even himself. In a world full of danger, and suddenly without meaning, can he find a way back?

Dragon Storm

Alastair Chisholm & Eric Deschamps & Ben Mantle

Chapter book

The first book in a thrilling, magical, and action-packed new fantasy series, illustrated throughout and perfect for 7 – 9 year olds.

In the land of Draconis, there are no dragons.

Once, there were. Once, humans and dragons were friends, and created the great city of Rivven together.

But then came the Dragon Storm, and the dragons retreated from the world of humans.

To the men and women of Draconis, they became legends and myth.

Tomas has always been told that now, dragons are extinct, and so he can’t believe it when a mysterious stranger invites him to join a secret society, the Dragonseer Guild – and tells him that not only do dragons still exist, but also that Tomas has a very special power… he can summon his very own dragon!

But Tomas faces a difficult choice, and he and his dragon, Ironskin, must learn to trust each other – and together, they have to save their home from a deadly threat.

Orion Lost

Alastair Chisholm

Chapter book

Beth is twelve. She and her family, along with lots of other families, are on their way to colonise a new planet in outer space. It is twenty-six light-years away and travelling at normal speed would take them almost 300,000 years to get there – which is why they ‘jump’ through folds in space. During jumps, everyone on board is put into a special sleep, during which the ship copies their memories and replaces them when they wake, because the act of jumping wipes everything.

One day, however, something goes wrong and Beth is woken to be told by the ship’s onboard computer that she’s now Captain. The ship has been damaged and needs repairs, but without any trained crew she needs to make her way to safety (which is seven light-years away).

Orion Lost is a fast-paced sci-fi thriller set in deep space. It has beautiful descriptions of the vastness and loneliness of space. Alastair Chisholm’s writing is so crisp and clear, you can really picture the story as it unfolds.