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Ali Sparkes

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Ali Sparkes
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Southampton, England
OccupationAuthor
Notable works
Website
alisparkes.com

Alison Sparkes (born 1966) is a British children's author. She is best known for her Shapeshifter book series.

Career

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Sparkes previously worked as a journalist for the Southern Daily Echo and for BBC Radio Solent before focusing on writing children's books.[1]

She published her first book, Finding the Fox, with Oxford University Press in 2006. It became the first of the six-book Shapeshifter series. Later, she published Out of this World, originally released as Miganium, as a prequel to The Shapeshifter. Additionall, her five-book Unleashed series serves as a spin-off/sequel to The Shapeshifter, centered on some of the other Shapeshifter characters.

Sparkes has published several books unrelated to The Shapeshifter series, including standalone novels, as well as the Monster Makers, Night Speakers, and S.W.I.T.C.H. series.

Awards and honours

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Awards for Sparkes's books
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2007 Finding the Fox Bolton Children's Book Award Nominee [2]
2010 Frozen in Time Blue Peter Book of the Year Award Winner [3][4][5]
Blue Peter Book Award for "Book I Couldn't Put Down" Winner [4][5]
2011 Wishful Thinking Carnegie Medal Nominee [citation needed]
2017 Car-Jacked Red House Children's Book Award Nominee [6]

Personal life

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Sparkes is from Southampton and attended Bitterne Park School.[1] She is married and has two sons.[7]

Publications

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Standalone books

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  • Frozen In Time. Oxford University Press. January 2008. ISBN 978-0-192-72755-8.[8][9]
  • Dark Summer. Oxford University Press. January 2009. ISBN 978-0-192-71098-7.
  • Wishful Thinking. Oxford University Press. January 2010. ISBN 978-0-192-75611-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  • Freak of Fortune. Franklin Watt. January 2011. ISBN 978-1-445-10556-7.
  • Out of This World. Oxford University Press. June 2013. ISBN 978-0-192-79412-3.
  • Destination Earth. Oxford University Press. June 2014. ISBN 978-0-192-73344-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)[10]
  • The Man in the Water. Illustrated by Nina Lazarski. TMITW. August 2014. ISBN 978-0-956-39671-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  • Car-Jacked. Oxford University Press. June 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-273346-7.[11][12]
  • Thunder Struck. Oxford University Press. March 2017. ISBN 978-0-19-273936-0.
  • Death by Detention. Coven Publishing. July 2018. ISBN 978-0-956-39673-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  • The Great Pebble Puzzle. Illustrated by Chelen Ecija. Collins. January 2020. ISBN 978-0-008-34040-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
  • My Sister is a Dog. Oxford University Press. March 2023. ISBN 978-1-913-43266-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  • 100 Summers. Oxford University Press. January 2024. ISBN 978-1-913-43284-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

Monster Makers

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  1. Electrotaur and Slashermite. Scholastic. February 2008. ISBN 978-1-407-10291-7.
  2. Stinkermite. Scholastic. September 2009. ISBN 978-1-407-10293-1.

Night Speakers series (2018-2020)

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  1. Night Speakers. Oxford University Press. March 2018. ISBN 978-0-192-75000-6.
  2. Night Raiders. Oxford University Press. September 2018. ISBN 978-0-192-74996-3.
  3. Night Walker. Oxford University Press. April 2019. ISBN 978-0-192-74997-0.
  4. Night Terrors. Oxford University Press. September 2019. ISBN 978-0-192-74998-7.
  5. Night Forever. Oxford University Press. January 2020. ISBN 978-0-192-74999-4.

The Shapeshifter series (2006-2016)

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The Shapeshifter series follows the life of a boy named Dax Jones and is primarily set in England, firstly in the Cornwall area and later in the Lake District. During the first book, Finding the Fox, Dax discovers his ability to shapeshift into a fox, and is whisked away from his hated stepfamily by the government. Dax is one of a number of COLAs (Children of Limitless Ability), young people who possess amazing supernatural powers. Some of his classmates are able to heal, move objects with their mind, communicate with the dead, or see into the future. These children attend a school called Tregarren College in Cornwall, which is later destroyed by a tidal wave, and the children move to Fenton Lodge, in the Lake District.

  1. Finding The Fox. Oxford University Press. January 2006. ISBN 978-0-192-75465-3.
  2. Running The Risk. Oxford University Press. January 2007. ISBN 978-0-192-75466-0.
  3. Going To Ground. Oxford University Press. January 2007. ISBN 978-0-192-75467-7.
  4. Dowsing The Dead. Oxford University Press. January 2007. ISBN 978-0-192-75468-4.
  5. Stirring The Storm. Oxford University Press. January 2008. ISBN 978-0-192-75469-1.
  6. Feather And Fang. Oxford University Press. May 2016. ISBN 978-0-192-74605-4.

S.W.I.T.C.H. series (2011-2012)

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The Switch books are illustrated by Ross Collins.

  1. Spider Stampede. Oxford University Press. January 2011. ISBN 978-1-4677-0710-7.[13]
  2. Fly Frenzy. Oxford University Press. May 2013. ISBN 978-1-4677-0711-4.[14]
  3. Grasshopper Glitch. Oxford University Press. January 2011. ISBN 978-0-192-72934-7.
  4. Ant Attack. Oxford University Press. May 2011. ISBN 978-0-192-72935-4.
  5. Crane Fly Crash. Oxford University Press. December 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-72936-1.
  6. Beetle Blast. Oxford University Press. December 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-72937-8.
  7. Lizard Loopy. Oxford University Press. February 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73236-1.
  8. Chameleon Chaos. Oxford University Press. February 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73237-8.
  9. Turtle Terror. Oxford University Press. February 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73238-5.
  10. Gecko Gladiator. Oxford University Press. February 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73239-2.
  11. Anaconda Adventure. Oxford University Press. March 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73240-8.
  12. Alligator Action. Oxford University Press. March 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-73241-5.
  13. Frog Freak Out!. Oxford University Press. April 2014. ISBN 978-1-4677-2111-0.[15]
  14. Newt Nemesis. Darby Creek. January 2014. ISBN 978-1-467-73233-8.

Unleashed series (2011-2014)

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  1. A Life And Death Job. Oxford University Press. January 2011. ISBN 978-0-192-75606-0.[16]
  2. Mind Over Matter. Oxford University Press. December 2011. ISBN 978-0-192-75607-7.
  3. Trick Or Truth. Oxford University Press. May 2012. ISBN 978-0-192-75608-4.
  4. Speak Evil. Oxford University Press. May 2013. ISBN 978-0-192-79327-0.
  5. The Burning Beach. Oxford University Press. January 2014. ISBN 978-0-192-75610-7.

References

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  1. ^ a b Donovan, Sion (22 June 2010). "Bright Sparke - Ali Sparkes interview". Hampshire Life. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ Chadwick, Edward (25 June 2007). "Pupils select winning author". The Bolton News. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Awards: Blue Peter Book Prize; Atlantic Book Award Finalists". Shelf Awareness. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b Irvine, Lindesay (3 March 2010). "Ali Sparkes wins Blue Peter Book of the Year award". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Ali Sparkes wins Blue Peter book of the year award". BBC. 3 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  6. ^ "Morpurgo and Crossan compete for Children's Book Award | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. ^ "About". Ali Sparkes. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes". Publishers Weekly. 23 August 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  9. ^ Booktuation (5 September 2014). "Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  10. ^ arrow, Katniss (28 March 2015). "Destination Earth by Ali Sparkes - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  11. ^ Norriss, Andrew (21 April 2016). "Top 10 guardian angels in children's books". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ The Book Bunch (Robo) (9 October 2015). "Group reviews: a selection". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Spider Stampede". Kirkus Reviews. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Fly Frenzy". Kirkus Reviews. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Frog Freakout". Kirkus Reviews. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  16. ^ Rachie (12 February 2013). "Unleashed: A Life and Death Job by Ali Sparkes - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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