How Hedley Hopkins Did a Dare, Robbed a Grave, Made a New Friend Who Might Not Have Really Been There at All, And While He Was a

Description

Hedley Hopkins has a few problems- he is the new kid at school, straight off the boat from England in the 1950s. The only friends he has made are the kids at the Loony Bin especially bald headed, long armed Victor. But if he could just fulfil a dare and dig out the hideous skull hidden in a grave in the sand dunes, he could impress the bullies at school and become their friend. But Hedley is not so sure. Weird things are happening to his body. Is he being punished for his terrible actions? And if his uptight parents ever found out what he was up to, they might blow up. Full-moon murderers, an open grave, religious conversions and sexual awakening meld sometimes poignantly, sometimes hilariously in this riveting, stunningly original account of growing up in 1950s Australia. This coming of age tale is Paul Jennings at his very best!

The Paul Jennings phenomenon began with the publication of Unreal! in 1985. Since then, readers all around the world have devoured his books. Paul Jennings has written over one hundred stories and has been voted 'favourite author' over forty times by children in Australia, winning every children's choice award. The toprating TV series Round the Twist and Driven Crazy are based on a selection of his enormously popular short-story collections such as Unseen! which was awarded the 1999 Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best Children's Book. In 1995 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to children's literature and was awarded the prestigious Dromkeen Medal in 2001. Paul has sold more than 8 million books worldwide.