Brilliant

Description

When Uncle Ben's Dublin business fails, it's clear to Gloria and Raymond that something is wrong. He just isn't his usual cheerful self. So when the children overhear their granny saying that the Black Dog has settled on Ben's back and he won't be OK until it's gone, they decide they're going to get rid of it. Gathering all their courage the children set out on a midnight quest to hunt down the Black Dog and chase it away. But they aren't the only kids on the mission. Loads of other children are searching for it too, because the Black Dog is hounding lots of Dublin's adults. Together - and with the help of magical animals, birds and rodents - the children manage to corner the Black Dog . . . but will they have the courage and cleverness to destroy the frightening creature?

Bestselling author Roddy Doyle is acclaimed across the world. He was born in Dublin in 1958 and still lives there today. Much of his work, including Brilliant, is set in the city and is about the unexpected, and often challenging, lives of ordinary Irish people - but it appeals to readers all over the world. Roddy Doyle has won many prizes for his writing. These include the Booker Prize (for which he has also been shortlisted), and a BAFTA for Best Screenplay. He has also won the Irish Children's Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the prestigious 2013 CILIP Carnegie Medal. His novel The Commitments was turned into a blockbuster film directed by Alan Parker and opened as a musical in Dublin and in London in 2013, directed by Jamie Lloyd. His latest adult novel, The Guts, a sequel to his renowned Barrytown trilogy, was published to critical acclaim in summer 2013. Brilliant is his seventh children's book.

The children of Dublin battle a terrible malaise through the use of a special word, and a good dose of magic realism. * The Bookseller * This novel is simply brilliant, without wanting to say that I had to say it. Roddy Doyle's trademark dialogue with some really great, entertaining characters for children works wonderfully. . . I expect nothing less from one of Ireland's finest and am so pleased his children's fiction is as wonderful as his adult's. * plasticrosaries.com * A sensitive and excellently written portrayal of depression and the effects on not just the individual but those around them. Would be great paired with Levi Pinfold's Black Dog and used as a discussion point. * NetGalley * In a word? Brilliant! Of course. * NetGalley * Quite simply, the greatest children's book I have ever read. -- Dubray Books * Dubray Books * A profound story about the effect of despair on society is touched with magic and humour by best-selling Roddy Doyle. -- Julia Eccleshare * LOVEREADING4KIDS.CO.UK * An uplifting book with lots of fine Doyle wit -- DAILY TELEGRAPH * DAILY TELEGRAPH * A lovely, hopeful story. Took me a while to decide on the target audience and then realised: everyone. * Caroline Fielding, Librarian and 2014 Chair of the CILIP YLG London * This book lives up to its title. . . told with Doyle's characteristic humour. * Tracey McHardy, NetGalley User & Waterstones Bookseller *