Shine on Butter-Finger - Softcover

Cattell, Bob; Agard, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845076265 ISBN 13: 9781845076269

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2007

Synopsis

Calypso and cricket come together in the Island's Carnival week and Riccardo Small is torn between his two loves. He has been chosen to sing in the Calypso Monarch Final, competing with the best singers on the Island. But his team mates at Calypso Cricket Club are playing the most important game in their history on the same day. Amidst the Carnival pan bands, the masqueraders and the stick-fighters Riccardo discovers why the singing competition is called 'Calypso War'. It's tough going on the cricket field too - with injuries, fires and disappearing players producing more than enough puzzles for captain Bashy to solveā?æ

About this title

About the Author

Bob Cattell has been a cricket fan all his life and a supporter of the England team through thick and thin. He also supports Yorkshire, especially for their fast bowlers from Fred Trueman to Tim Bresnan. He is the author of the bestselling Glory Gardens series about cricket, highly recommended by TestMatch Special, and the Strikers series about football, written with David Ross. He also wrote the Butter-Finger cricket books for Frances Lincoln, with John Agard: Butter-Finger, Shine on, Butter-Finger and Big City Butter Finger ("hugely entertaining" - Carousel). Bob describes his own criciketing abilities as 'a left-arm sprin bowler who surprises batters with the lack of spin'. He lives in Suffolk.

John Agard is one of the most popular and highly-regarded poets writing in Britain today.  His poem Half-Caste is on the GCSE syllabus and he performs at Poetry Live events throughout the country.  His adult collection, We Brits, was shortlisted for the 2007 British Book Awards Decibel Writer of the Year Award. His book for teens, TheYoung Inferno, won the CLPE Poetry Prize Award in 2009, was nominated for both the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards in 2010 and shortlisted for the 2010 UKLA Award.  Goldilocks on CCTV, his poetry collection for 11 plus, inspired by fairy tales,  is on the 2012 CLPE Award shortlist. John lives in Lewes, Sussex, with his wife the poet Grace Nichols. 

PAM SMY studied Illustration at Cambridge School of Art, part of Anglia Ruskin University, where she now lectures part-time. Pam has illustrated books by Conan Doyle, Julia Donaldson and Linda Newbury, as well as Bob Cattell's Butter-Finger series for Frances Lincoln. She lives in Cambridge.

Review

Cattell and Agard's sequel to Butter-Finger is great fun, bringing the world of the Caribbean, its language, music, sport, friendship and rivalry, to vibrant life. The central theme of perseverance and triumph in the face of fear and adversity is explored both on the cricket field and the music platform. The novel is short and accessibly written; its tone consistently optimistic and warm-hearted, full of loyalty, friendship and encouragement. At the same time, the book is a celebration of the power of words. Agard interweaves the action with a panoply of Caribbean songs and rhymes, showing how verse can be used to revel in life, cricket and human diversity.

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1845076265
• ISBN 13: 9781845076269
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Smy Pam