The Fourteenth Summer of Angus Jack
Written by Jen Storer and published by ABC Harper Collins, 2015
** CBCA Notable Book – The Book of the Year: Younger Readers 2016
“The Fourteenth Summer of Angus Jack is a classic adventure mystery which skilfully weaves Norse myth into a tale that is fresh and utterly compelling…Jen Storer’s trademark wit, rich language, depiction of colourful larger-than-life characters and outlandish villains, and her empathy for her protagonists’ dilemmas are all in fine form here. Peppered with line drawings and wonderful full-page images, this is a book children are sure to love… Highly recommended.”
Back in 2014 I was approached by Harper Collins to illustrate a marvellous, mysterious and as yet un-named middle-grade novel by Jen Storer. Here’s an extract from Jen’s early description of the book:
“With my new Goblin/Viking obsession I began to think about a boy named Angus Jack. But no matter how hard I tried to place Angus somewhere in Scandinavia he kept popping up in Australia—in a city that appeared to me like a Sydney/Brisbane hybrid—verdant, humid, ramshackle, with lots of old houses on stilts and the scent of frangipani in the air….” “ … The goblins (and perhaps the Vikings) would have to come to Angus …”
Goblins and Vikings – in subtropical Australia! Who wouldn’t want to work on this? I received the manuscript, read it with delight, and got drawing. Here are some of the results.
