Hodder Children’s Books has announced the acquisition of Boyface, a debut young fiction series by children’s stand-up comedian James Campbell. The first Boyface title, Boyface and the Quantum Chromatic Disruption Machine will publish on 05 June 2014 and will be followed by the second title in the series on 07 August with further titles to follow. The books are illustrated throughout by Mark Weighton.
Hodder Children’s Publishing Director Anne McNeil acquired the series from Ian Wilson at IMWP.
Anne McNeil comments: “I have seen James Campbell engage with an audience of five hundred plus children at the Royal Festival Hall, and this understanding of what makes kids tick is something he has brought to his fiction. He is a master of the truly funny; and able, too, to capture the essence of a boy, about to turn ten, who is ready to take over some big, big things! Watch this space – James Campbell is someone who will be on bookshelves for many years to come – and I’m proud that he will be on our Hodder Children’s shelf from the start.”
Ian Wilson says: “For many years, I have watched James weave his magic with words to children all over the world in his Comedy 4 Kids shows. I am delighted that he now has the chance to do the same with the written word courtesy of Hodder and having read the first of these four books, I am very excited for both author and publisher alike.”
Boyface and the Quantum Chromatic Disruption Machine introduces the reader to the world of Boyface Antelope and his family:
“They weren’t antelopes. They were just people. Actual people. But unlike most people, their surname was Antelope.”
Boyface is the son of a stripemonger – someone who rearranges patterns and shapes:
“He longed to get a weasel and make its hair go all fluffy; fiddle with a flatfish; polish a frog; and even fulfil his dream to re-organise the hexagons on giraffes.”
However, it is not until the morning of his tenth birthday that Boyface gets to experience the inside of his father’s shop… does he have what it takes to be a stripemonger himself?
