SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.karenmccombie.com
CITY: North London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: SATA 384
RESEARCHER NOTES:
[Personal was changed from “children: Amelia (“Milly”)” to “children: Eddy (originally Amelia)” signaling that, as the author herself signals on her website, her child is transgender. If this is considered non-PC use of a “deadname,” as I’ve seen it called, then the “(originally Amelia)” part can be deleted.]
PERSONAL
Born August 28, 1963, in Aberdeen, Scotland; married Tom Doyle (a journalist and musician); children: Eddy.
EDUCATION:Studied graphic design and communication.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Worked as an editor and writer for magazines, including Just Seventeen and Sugar.
AVOCATIONS:Reading, watching DVDs, belly dancing.
AWARDS:Highland Children’s Book Award shortlist, 2006, for Are We Having Fun Yet (Hmm?).
WRITINGS
Author’s works have been translated into French.
Several of McCombie’s works have been adapted as audiobooks.
SIDELIGHTS
A Scottish-born author, Karen McCombie writes primarily for middle-grade readers and is based in London, England. Before becoming a writer of books, she worked as an editor and journalist. In an interview with a contributor to the Guardian, McCombie discussed her career aspirations when she was a child, stating: “I LOVED books, but I didn’t think I could ever be a writer back then. When I was small, I wanted to be a ballet dancer, then I fancied the idea of being a window-dresser (someone who does the displays in huge department store windows). Other jobs I daydreamed about: interior designer, graphic designer, primary school teacher, magazine journalist. I became the last one on the list.” After writing short fiction pieces for magazines, McCombie decided to begin writing novels. She submitted her first manuscript to a publisher and received a contract for the book. Since then, McCombie has released dozens of books.
McCombie is perhaps best known for her popular “Ally’s World” series of middle-grade novels about a sensitive thirteen year old and her eccentric family. McCombie has also earned recognition for her “Stella Etc.” and “Indie Kidd” novels, which focus on the trials and triumphs of engaging young protagonists. According to Eva Langlands in the London Sunday Times, while “humour is key,” “family and friendship play a key role in her books, which blend social reality and wit in a safe, protective world.” Remarking on “’tween” readers, her target audience, in a Glasgow Herald interview with Calum Macdonald, McCombie stated, “I just love that age group: the girls are starting to think about things like boys, but they still really like animals.”
McCombie’s “Ally’s World” books follow the adventures of Ally Love, who lives with her easygoing father, near-flawless older sister Linn, fairy-obsessed sister Rowan, and animal-loving brother Tor while their mother travels the world. “I wanted to do a series about a real, normal family, and nowadays the nuclear family isn’t that typical,” the author told Macdonald. Janet Tansley, writing in the Liverpool Echo, applauded the “lovely, chatty style” in series installment Tattoos, Telltales, and Terrible, Terrible Twins, which focuses on Ally’s efforts to cooperate with her father’s estranged brother and his meddling wife.
In McCombie’s “Angels Next Door” series, she tells stories of magical friendships. The first installment in the series, also called Angels Next Door, introduces a twelve-year-old girl named Riley, who is struggling with school bullies. Her situation improves when three angels in training move into the house next door. Annike Dase, reviewer in School Librarian, described Angels Next Door as “a wonderful, funny, heartwarming and comforting tale.” Other books in the series include Angels in Training and Angels Like Me.
A twelve-year-old model named Meg is the protagonist of The Girl with the Sunshine Smile. In this volume, Meg deals with her single mom’s new relationship with Danny, who lives with his four sons on a houseboat. Meg and her mom move in with Danny and the boys when a pipe in their house bursts, causing major damage. Though Meg is skeptical of the relationship at first, she recognizes that her mom and Danny are a good match. Elizabeth Baskeyfield, critic in School Librarian, noted that the book was “written in a very simple and easy to follow style” and called it “a feel-good read.”
Technology is at the center of the narrative of the 2016 novel, The OMG Blog. In the book, a middle school competition inspires Jessie to recruit new friends Zarah, Shanice, and Rose to help her create a blog. The four girls find that they have little in common aside from their embarrassment about aspects of their mothers’ behavior. They decide that the blog should focus on that. Though they always express love for their moms, their words could still be hurtful if their moms happened to discover the blog. Writing in School Librarian, Ellen Krajewski described the volume as “an entertaining book, greatly enhanced by the inclusion of online safety tips.”
The Mystery of Me focuses on a girl named Ketty, who is recovering from an accident. As she regains her physical strength, Ketty also examines the life she was leading before the accident and recognizes that changes need to be made. Meanwhile, she develops a friendship with a boy named Otis. In an interview with a contributor to the Golden Books Girl website, McCombie discussed the origins of The Mystery of Me, stating: “Teenage years can be tricky. … Some people can be pretty mean to others without thinking of the consequences of their actions, how deep words can wound. This was the starting point of the story, and everything else just slotted in around it really quickly, once that spark took hold.” Reviewing the book in School Librarian, Mary Crawford asserted: “This is a highly recommended and welcome addition.”
Set in McCombie’s native Scotland, Little Bird Flies follows a twelve-year-old girl called Bridie (nicknamed “Little Bird”) as she goes about her life on the small island where she lives. Because Little Bird lives during the 1800s, is female, and has a disability, her options for development and mobility are limited, though she still dreams to go explore other locations. In an interview with a writer on the Reading Realm website, McCombie discussed the inspiration behind the story, stating: “My mum was in my mind a lot when I wrote this book. She was so smart and sharp, but grew up in a very poor family. She had such hopes and dreams which had to be shelved, and I always wonder what she could have accomplished if she’d had opportunities when she was young. I’m just so aware that historically, there was such a waste of talent amongst working class people—especially girls and women. Little Bird Flies is my chance to give one such girl a voice!” McCombie continued the story of Little Bird in the follow-up novel, Little Bird Lands.
[open new]In her later chapter books, McCombie draws from far-off cultures for adventure and rebirth. In The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch, restless student Seth must prepare for punishment after dressing as a mummy for a prank during an assembly on ancient Egyptians. But touching his teacher’s scarab sends him back in time to Akhenaten’s reign in Egypt, where he makes friends and learns about the culture—and his strength and agility come in handy. In School Librarian, Ingrid Spencer enjoyed the “humor and strangeness” of this “brilliant” tale with “much to enjoy.” The Broken Dragon finds Tyra, who just moved in with grandmother Nan, trying to adapt to life there and at her new school. Her spirits are boosted by a dragon figurine Nan gives her. When it gets smashed at school, Tyra learns the Japanese art of kintsugi, mending porcelain with gold. School Librarian reviewer Alison King affirmed that The Broken Dragon “has a warm, easy tone and compelling characters” and praised it for “celebrating empathy, resilience and being yourself.”[close new]
One of the reasons for her literary success, McCombie believes, is her ability to create characters that contemporary readers can easily relate to. “Emotionally, being a teenager today is no different to when I was adolescent,” she told Langlands. “Circumstances might have changed. But basic emotions remain. Adolescence may have changed superficially, but not inside. I’m not sure it ever will.”
In an interview with a writer on the A Day Dreamers World website, McCombie offered this advice for aspiring authors: “Keep a notebook in your bag at all times, and scribble random notes to yourself whenever you see, hear or think of something interesting.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Birmingham Evening Mail (Birmingham, England), December 11, 2004, review of Marshmallow Magic and the Wild Rose Rouge, p. 48.
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), June 5, 2003, Samantha Paisley, review of My Funny Valentine, p. 40.
Herald (Glasgow, Scotland), July 31, 2004, Calum Macdonald, “Ally’s Army Is Making Tracks,” interview with McCombie, p. 7.
Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England), September 14, 2002, Janet Tansley, review of Tattoos, Telltales, and Terrible, Terrible Twins, p. 29; August 14, 2007, Janet Tansley, review of An Urgent Message of Wowness, p. 24.
Publishers Weekly, May 7, 2007, review of How to Be Good(ish), p. 59.
School Librarian, fall, 2014, Annike Dase, review of Angels Next Door, p. 168; spring, 2015, Elizabeth Baskeyfield, review of The Girl with the Sunshine Smile, p. 38; fall, 2016, Ellen Krajewski, review of The OMG Blog, p. 184; spring, 2018, Mary Crawford, review of The Mystery of Me, p. 56; summer, 2023, Alison King, review of The Broken Dragon, p. 47; fall, 2023, Ingrid Spencer, review of The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch, p. 52.
Sunday Times (London, England), June 10, 2007, Eva Langlands, “She Gets inside Teenage Heads,” author interview, p. 3.
ONLINE
A Day Dreamers World, http://a-day-dreamers-world.blogspot.com/ (December, 2012), author interview.
Agency website, https://theagency.co.uk/ (April 6, 2022), author profile.
Golden Books Girl, https://goldenbooksgirl.wordpress.com/ (October 26, 2017), author interview.
Guardian (London, England), https://www.theguardian.com/ (January 20, 2015), author interview.
Karen McCombie website, https://karenmccombie.com (April 18, 2024).
MinervaReads, http://www.minervareads.com/ (January 18, 2017), article by author.
Reading Realm, https://thereadingrealm.co.uk/ (November 8, 2019), author interview.
Walker Books website, http://www.walker.co.uk/ (February 1, 2013), author profile.
About the author
“One of children's fiction's most accomplished authors" – Waterstones
Highly-acclaimed and much-loved children's author Karen McCombie has had more than 100 books published since the runaway success of her 'ALLY'S WORLD' series in the early 2000s.
Her latest novels for 2023 are 'THE BROKEN DRAGON' and 'THE MYSTERY IN FLAT 6B'. Other recent books include 'HOW TO BE A HUMAN' and 'HOW TO HIDE AN ALIEN', 'FAGIN'S GIRL', 'THE GIRL WITH HER HEAD IN THE CLOUDS' and 'GRANNY'S LITTLE MONSTERS'.
Karen's Scottish Victorian adventure 'LITTLE BIRD FLIES' was Carnegie-nominated, and was both a 'Sunday Times' and 'Times' Children's Book of the Week. Her heroine Bridie's adventures concluded in pioneer-era America with 'LITTLE BIRD LANDS'. and its partner novel 'LITTLE BIRD LANDS' ("'Little Bird Flies' and 'Little Bird Lands' are one of the most beautiful duologies to grace the sphere of children's books" - Aimee Bratt, bookseller).
In a past life, Karen worked as a journalist on teenage girls' magazines such as 'Just 17' and 'Sugar'. Her hobbies include scribbling random observations in notebooks, brushing cat hair from the keyboard of her laptop, walking her scruffy dog and posting nonsense on Instagram.
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Karen McCombie
(Karen Grace McCombie)
Scotland (b.1963)
Karen Grace McCombie is an author of children and young adult novels. Currently, she lives in London with her husband Tom, and their 9-year-old daughter Milly. and Indie Kidd. She has also written several stand-alone novels. Her newest series, Sadie Rocks, was released in February 2008. Allys world's character Rowan Love also stars in 'The Raspberry Rules'
Genres: Children's Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Series
Ally's World
1. The Past, the Present and the Loud, Loud Girl (2001)
2. Dates, Double Dates and Big, Big Trouble (2001)
3. Butterflies, Bullies and Bad, Bad Habits (2004)
4. Friends, Freak-outs and Very Secret Secrets (2002)
5. Boys, Brothers and Jelly-belly Dancing (2002)
6. Sisters, Super Creeps and Slushy, Gushy Love-songs (2002)
7. Parties, Predicaments and Undercover Pets (2002)
8. Tattoos, Telltales and Terrible, Terrible Twins (2002)
9. Mates, Mysteries and Pretty Weird Weirdness (2002)
10. Daisy, Dad and the Huge, Small Surprise (2003)
11. Rainbows, Rowan and True, True Romance(?) (2003)
12. Visitors, Vanishings and Va-va-va Voom (2003)
13. Crushes, Cliques and the Cool School Trip (2004)
14. Hassles, Heart-pings! and Sad, Happy Endings (2004)
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Ally's World specials
Angels, Arguments and a Furry, Merry Christmas (2002)
A Guided Tour of Ally's World (2003)
My V. Groovy (2004)
Sunshine, Sunburn and Not-So-Sweet Nothings (2006)
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Stella Etc
1. Frankie, Peaches and Me (2004)
2. Sweet-talking TJ (2004)
3. Meet the Real World, Rachel (2004)
4. Truly Madly Megan (2005)
5. Amber and the Hot Pepper Jelly (2005)
6. Twists, Turns and 100% Tilda (2006)
7. For Ever and Ever And Evie (2007)
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Indie Kidd
1. How to Be Good(ish) (2005)
2. Oops, I Lost My Best(est) Friends (2005)
3. Being Grown-up Is Cool (Not!) (2005)
4. Are We Having Fun Yet? (Hmm?) (2006)
5. Wow, I'm a Gazillionaire (I Wish!) (2006)
6. My Big (Strange) Happy Family! (2007)
My (Most Excellent) Pet Project (2008)
7. Me and the School (Un)fair (2008)
My (Most Excellent) Guide to Best Friends (2009)
8. I Spy a (not So) White Lie (2009)
Indie Kidd's (Most Excellent) Guide to Fun for Free (2010)
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Sadie Said
Deep Joy, Or Something Like It (2008)
Happiness, and All That Stuff (2008)
It's All Good (in Your Dreams) (2009)
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You, Me & Thing
1. The Curse of the Jelly Babies (2011)
2. The Dreaded Noodle-Doodles (2012)
3. The Legend of the Loch Ness Lilo (2012)
4. The Mummy That Went Moo (2013)
5. The Great Expanding Guinea Pig (2015)
6. Beware of the Snowblobs! (2016)
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Angels Next Door
1. Angels Next Door (2014)
2. Angels in Training (2014)
3. Angels Like Me (2015)
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St Grizzles School for Girls
1. Goats and Random Boys (2017)
2. Ghosts and Runaway Grannies (2017)
3. Geeks and Tag-along Zombies (2018)
4. Gremlins and Pesky Guests (2018)
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Little Bird
1. Little Bird Flies (2019)
2. Little Bird Lands (2020)
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How To Be A Human
1. How To Be A Human (2021)
2. How To Hide An Alien (2022)
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Novels
My Funny Valentine (2002)
Blissed Out (2002)
My Sister, the Superbitch (2002)
Winter Wonderland (2002)
Love Is the Drug (2002)
In Sarah's Shadow (2003)
Marshmallow Magic and the Wild Rose Rouge (2004)
An Urgent Message of Wowness (2006)
Bliss... (2007)
The Seventeen Secrets of the Karma Club (2008)
Smile! It's Meant to Be Fun (2009)
The Raspberry Rules (2010)
Six Words and a Wish (2011)
Life According to... Alice B. Lovely (2012)
The Year of Big Dreams (2013)
The Girl Who Wasn't There (2014)
Catching Falling Stars (2015)
The OMG Blog (2016)
The Whispers of Wilderwood Hall (2016)
The Pearl in the Attic (2017)
The Girl with Her Head in the Clouds (2021)
Fagin's Girl (2022)
The Mystery in Flat 6B (2023)
The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh's Lunch (2023)
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Chapter Books
Candy Girl (2010)
Running from the Rainbow (2012)
Sweetness and Lies (2013)
When the Tooth Fairy Forgot (2014)
The Girl with the Sunshine Smile (2014)
Honey and Me (2015)
The Mystery of Me (2017)
The Lost Diary of Sami Star (2018)
Granny's Little Monsters (2021)
The Broken Dragon (2023)
Karen McCombie
Karen McCombie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, where the view from her bedroom was of the steely North Sea, dotted with oil rigs. But memories of childhood holidays spent in the heather-covered Highlands are what’s lodged in her DNA and these helped inform Little Bird. Karen now lives in London with her very Scottish husband Tom, English daughter Milly (who’s been taught to say “loch” in the correct way) and a Scottish Wildcat (near enough).
Want to find out some stuff about me? Well, here's my FACTFILE!
Name, please.
Karen McCombie (middle name, Grace, if you're going to get picky).
'McCombie'... your last name sounds suspiciously Scottish. And a little bit odd.
Yes, it IS Scottish, and it IS a little bit odd. The 'Mc' part is very common in Scotland, but there's not a lot of McCombies around. I really hated my surname growing up, but as I got older, I grew to like its oddness – it makes it more memorable. In fact, when I got married, I couldn't bear to give it up, so I stuck with McCombie. (Name fact: when I worked on teen magazine 'Sugar', my nickname was 'Mrs McCrumble', which makes me sound like a nice biscuit.)
So where exactly did you grow up?
Aberdeen, Scotland. Think scenic castles, not-so-scenic oil rigs and plenty of thermal underwear and you get a feel for the place.
Do you still live there?
Nope. I now live in north London, near the amazing Alexandra Palace (Google it).
Who else lives in your house?
A loud, funny person called Tom (who I'm married to) and a lovely, funny person called Eddy (our grown-up kiddo). There's also Dizzy the cat (elderly, beautiful, bitey) and Bonnie the dog (young, scruffy, silly).
How did you get started writing?
I worked for loads of teen magazines, including ‘J17’ and ‘Sugar’, which aren't around any more but used to be HUGELY popular. Over the years (and magazines), I've been a fashion editor, pet correspondent, quiz writer, features writer and sub-editor (a job where no-one knows what you do – but trust me, if there were no sub-editors, magazines wouldn't come out and websites would be full of mistooks).
OK, so you were a sub-editor and all that other stuff. Then what happened?
Then my friend Marina – the deputy editor of ‘Sugar’ magazine when it first started – asked me to write some short stories for the magazine. So I wrote a few, got the fiction bug, and ended up sending photocopies of my short stories and ideas for full-length novels to loads of book publishers. And loads of publishers wrote back saying, "Thank you, but go away". Luckily, book publishers Scholastic didn't say go away, and actually asked me to write some stuff for a new series of theirs. After that, Marina – the editor of ‘Sugar’ magazine by this time – wanted to develop a series of ‘Sugar’ books (for HarperCollins), and got me involved (I owe her a big hug for that). Next, I was asked to write a series by Scholastic, which turned out to be the best-selling 'Ally's World', way back in the early 2000s. I've been VERY busy writing ever since.
Where do you write your books?
Mostly in a very small bedroom-turned-office (my husband calls it "the writing cupboard") at the back of our house, overlooking the garden. My other 'office' is the local garden centre cafe, which has the added advantage of cake. I write every day, including weekends if a deadline is looming, but sometimes I do end up staring at the clouds, or e-mailing my friends and asking how their weekends/lives/cats are when I should be working.
Are you quite disciplined when it comes to writing?
Yes.
No, honestly.
Oh, right. Well, sometimes. And then there are the days when I get distracted by cleaning the cat litter tray, tidying endless bits of stuff-ness, catching up on oodles of work e-mails and re-arranging drawers.
When you're not cleaning the cat litter tray, tidying endless bits of stuff-ness, catching up on oodles of work e-mails and re-arranging drawers, what are your hobbies?
I like seeing friends, reading, watching box-sets, going to see bands with my husband, eating crisps, patting cats and nagging people to come with me for walks in the park or nearby woods (the dog is ALWAYS up for it - husband and kiddo not so much).
Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
Oh – is this the end of the fact-file?
Yes.
Well, bye, then! *Author scuttles off to pat a cat/find some crisps/write a book.*
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]And while we’re here (you’re still here, right?) I thought I’d share some of the FAQs* and FAWQs** that come my way...
* Frequently Asked Questions
** Frequently Asked WEIRD Questions
"How did you start writing?"
I was a magazine journalist first, which I guess taught me to write quickly and make things interesting (I hope). But writing quizzes etc for magazines is very different from writing a full-length novel, so I was pretty nervous when I first started, and wasn’t sure if I could do it! Still, once I got an idea for a story and characters – and then took my time planning it all out chapter-by-chapter – I felt much more confident.
"When did you start writing?"
I think I was about 34… But that’s the great thing about writing books – you can be any age.
"How many books have you written?"
'Fagin's Girl' (March 2022) is my 98th published novel, and 'How To Hide An Alien' – the follow-up to 'How To Be A Human' (2021) – will be my 99th book when it publishes this July. I've written two more since, but I'm not sure which is going to be published first, ie which will hit the magic number 100!!
BTW, lots of my older books are out-of-print and only available in libraries, or on Amazon as second-hand copies, but for all my more current novels, go to the Books page on this site.
"Can you visit my school?"
Well, if your teacher or librarian would like me to come in person – or do a virtual visit – they can go to my Author Visits page and find out more. Then we'll see what happens!
"How do you think up your characters?"
My diaries from my childhood/teenage years have given me lots of ideas for characters, as well as friends, relatives and people I’ve worked with. The trick is to take a bit of one person, mix in a few different quirks, and make them look like someone else. Hey, presto! – you’ve got yourself a character, and your friend can’t recognise herself reading the book and get cross with you because you made her hair a bit funny or made her say something mean.
"How do you get a book published?"
In the reference section of libraries, there’s a book called 'The Children's Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook'. It lists every book agent in the country (and the kind of books they’re interested in), as well as every publisher, and what they’re into. It’s not easy to get published – every agent and book publisher has a teetering pile of ‘manuscripts’ to read through, and they don’t all get turned into books, sadly. But then again, it can happen, if you do your research, have a great idea, write it really well – and get lucky!
"How much money do you earn?"
A lot less than you probably think! Did you know authors only get a few pence of the book price? As in 7.5% of a full-price, not-discounted book? But if you want a comparison, some years I earn around the same as my teacher friends, some years less... which obviously means, I’m WAY short of being able to buy ruby-encrusted cat collars or personal crisp factories just yet.
"Do you know Roald Dahl/Jacqueline Wilson etc?"
I get asked about Roald Dahl quite often, but he died a looonnngggg time ago, sadly, way before I became an author. I did once shake hands with Jacqueline Wilson. It was a bit embarrassing – she didn’t have a clue who I was (why should she?), so I just got a bit tongue-tied and ran away... The thing is, you have to remember that most of the time, a writer is stuck indoors looking at a computer screen, so it’s not exactly the sort of job where you sit having tea and biscuits with lots of writer chums. Though you do meet up with some at book festivals, which is always fun. We all get a bit giddy when we get together, as if we've come out of our writing caves, blinking into the light! And thank goodness for social media; we all catch up on what each other's doing on Twitter.
"Do you have any kids?"
Yes! Eddy is 20, though they'll always be my kid, no matter how old they are! Eddy is very proud of what I do, and often comes with me to book festivals and events as my sort-of assistant. I pay Eddy in cakes and milkshakes, obvz.
"What job would you do if you weren't a writer?"
Oh, something to do with animals, I reckon. Is there such a job as a professional cat snuggler?
"Do you live in a mansion?"
Er, nope. We live in a little terraced house with a weeny garden.
"What’s your favourite colour?"
Yellow to look at, green to wear. But I’m pretty addicted to looking at colours: from the pink of cherry blossoms to the peach of sunsets to the weird rainbow swirls of oil in a puddle.
"What’s your favourite biscuit?" (Yes, this is an ACTUAL question I was asked.)
Er, ALL biscuits are good biscuits. Especially if they’re chocolate-y. And oat-y. But if you held up a packet of biscuits and a packet of crisps, I’d pick the crisps every time. (And hope you gave me the biscuits too...)
McCombie, Karen
The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh's Lunch
Illustrated by Anneli Bray
Barrington Stoke, 2023, pp88, [pounds sterling]7.99
9781800902015
Humour. Adventure. Time Travel
Another brilliant Barrington Stoke novel, which would appeal to even the most reluctant reader. Seth struggles to concentrate in school and when he dresses as a mummy for a prank during his class assembly on the Egyptians, he is in really BIG TROUBLE. While waiting for his detention, he touches his teachers' scarab decoration and finds himself reed deep in the Nile in the reign of Akhenaten. He is befriended by Mery and her brother who explain to him how they live. He finds himself for once being valued and praised as he is strong and agile, qualities appreciated in children of the time who are not afforded the luxury of education. Although the ending is (perhaps inevitably) a bit corny, there is much to enjoy, not least the illustrations by Annell Bray which really bring out the humour and strangeness of the tale. A great book for key stage 2 pupils who struggle with longer texts or find them lacking humour. Great also for younger confident chapter book readers who have a special interest in Ancient Egypt.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Spencer, Ingrid. "McCombie, Karen The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh's Lunch." School Librarian, vol. 71, no. 3, autumn 2023, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766964487/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=452d142e. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.
McCombie, Karen
The Broken Dragon
4U2read
Illustrated by Anneli Bray
Barrington Stoke
2023, pp.64, [pounds sterling]7.99
9781800901865
Families. Friendship. New
A heart-warming tale about family, friendship, and fitting in. Dragon-mad Tyra has moved in with her Nan and she's worried about starting her new school. Although it's not easy, she makes it through her first day and Nan presents her with a special gift to congratulate her - a china snow dragon.
When she takes the dragon to school, to hopefully make some friends, disaster strikes, and the dragon is smashed. Devastated, Tyra finds herself learning all about the art of Kintsugi, the Japanese tradition of mending broken pottery with gold. It turns out there's a lot more to learn from this ancient art than she first thought.
With short, snappy chapters and delightfully dynamic illustrations, The Broken Dragon explores different family set-ups as well as the use of charity shops and struggles many will associate with the cost-of-living crisis. The story has a warm, easy tone and compelling characters, making it an excellent springboard for discussion, as well as celebrating empathy, resilience and being yourself.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 The School Library Association
http://www.sla.org.uk/school-librarian.php
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
King, Alison. "McCombie, Karen The Broken Dragon." School Librarian, vol. 71, no. 2, summer 2023, p. 47. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A766804568/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5725c5eb. Accessed 20 Feb. 2024.