How chubby Timmy Tinkle goes from being teased and bullied about his weight to being a superstar football. Helped by his grandfather, Sheriff the parrot and May an absolute fitness fanatic, Timmy surprises everyone by discovering that, far from being useless at almost everything, he too can be a hero. It is a neat tale about self-belief in a series about Magical Children.
When Timmy Twinkle kicks a ball - it's magic! A funny and charming story by award-winning author Sally Gardner, in her MAGICAL CHILDREN series.
Timmy Twinkle gets bullied at school and hasn't any friends. He longs to play football, but he's hopeless at games. He's miserable. And it doesn't help when Gramps tells him about Great-Uncle Vernon, who grew up to be a famous footballer.
Then his gran's friend May comes to stay. May is a fitness fanatic who knocks Timmy and Gramps into shape in no time, and Timmy discovers there's magic in his toes - he can kick a ball just like Great-Uncle Vernon. And when Timmy performs on the football field, everyone wants to be friends with him.
A brilliant story about how determination and love - with a little sprinkling of magic - overturn one boy's loneliness.
Sally Gardner is a multi-award-winning novelist, whose books have sold over 2 million copies in the UK and been translated into more than 25 languages. Sally earned a First-Class Honours degree from Central St. Martin’s Art School and worked for many years as a theatre designer, working on some notable productions. After her twin daughters and her son were born, she started to illustrate children’s books, and then turned to writing. Sally won both the Costa Children’s Book Prize and the Carnegie Medal for Maggot Moon (2012). Sally is an avid spokesperson for dyslexia. Having been branded ‘unteachable’ by some and sent to various schools, Sally was eventually diagnosed at the age of twelve as being severely dyslexic and is passionately trying to change how dyslexia is perceived by society.
Her historical novel for older readers, I, Coriander, won the Smarties Children's Book Prize in 2005. Two thrillers both set at the time of the French Revolution, The Red Necklace and The Silver Blade, which was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2009, followed. Actor Dominic West (The Wire) has bought the film rights to both titles.
Her YA novel,The Double Shadow, was published in 2011 to critical acclaim. Sally Gardner's stories for middle readers includeLucy Willow and the popular Magical Children series of six titles: The Strongest Girl in the World, The Invisible Boy, The Boy with Magic Numbers, The Smallest Girl in the World, The Boy with the Lightning Feet, and The Boy who could Fly, which are also available as audio books. She has also written and illustrated picture books including The Fairy Catalogue, The Glass Heart, The Book of Princesses and Playtime Rhymes. Sally Gardner continues to be an avid spokesperson for dyslexia, working to change the way it is perceived by society. She is dyslexic and argues that it is not a disability, but a gift.
If you'd love to know more about Sally, click here to download a more detailed biography and Q&A.
To see a video of Sally talking about her book Fairy Shopping - CLICK HERE
Or watch a video of her talking about The Silver Blade:
