Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010, Keith Gray's hit novel features a group of three friends who embark on a remarkable journey from Cleethorpes to Scotland with a stolen urn containing the ashes of their best friend... Now adapted for the stage by Birmingham Rep for a production by their Youth Theatre in 2011, Ostrich Boys is ideal for KS3 and KS4 English and will appeal strongly to boys as well as girls.
This educational edition in Methuen Drama's Critical Scripts series has been prepared by national Drama in Secondary English experts Ruth Moore and Paul Bunyan. Building on a decade of highly effective work and publications endorsed by national organisations and supported by teachers and consultants across Britain, each book in the series:
meets the new requirements at KS3 and GCSE (2010)
features detailed, structured schemes of work utilising drama approaches to improve literary and language analysis
places pupils' understanding of the learning process at the heart of the activities
will help pupils to boost English GCSE success and develop high-level skills at KS3
will save teachers considerable time devising their own resources.
Keith Gray has written a number of award-winning novels for teenage readers including The Runner, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award); Hunting the Cat (1996), a story based on the legends of big cats; From Blood: Two Brothers (1997), about two 18-year olds; Dead Trouble (1997), about two teenage boys who find a gun; and Malarkey (2003), shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
Recent books include Warehouse (2002), set in the docklands of a small northern town, also shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction Prize and Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award, and winner of the 2003 Angus Book Award; The Fearful (2005), shortlisted for the 2005 Catalyst Book Award; Ghosting (2008); and Ostrich Boys (2008), shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book Award, the 2009 Carnegie Medal, and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. In 2011 Carl Miller's adaptation of Ostrich Boys premiered at the Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham.
Carl Miller was the Artistic Director of the Young People's programme at the Royal Court Theatre from 1997to 1999. Since 2002, he has been the Literary Manager of the Unicorn Theatre.He was textual advisor on Phyllida Lloyd's production of Webster's The Duchess of Malfi at the National Theatre in 2003.
Paul Bunyan is a Drama Education consultant with many years of school and local authority experience across all phases.
Ruth Moore is a Deputy Headteacher with many years of Leadership and Drama and English teaching experience.
