What would you do if you found a tunnel beneath your shed? What if you knew it led to a whole other world? And, what if a dragon lived there ... with two heads?Professor Oddney has no doubts, he must find The Two-Headed Firedrake! Armed with his late Uncle Cuthbert's journal of mysterious creatures, the retired naturalist and his loyal friend Magnus, the talking magpie, embark on one crazy adventure in Otherland. Will they find the formidable beast? Not if the mad, the bad and the downright weird buttock-snapping inhabitants of this world have anything to do about it.A beautifully presented hardback. Perfect for readers age 7 plus, this humour-filled fantasy adventure, with 68 stunning illustrations to pour over by internationally acclaimed fantasy illustrator Rodney Matthews, has an undeniable appeal that will satisfy the whole family. A character driven tale with themes of kindness and friendship aplenty.
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What would you do if you found a tunnel beneath your shed? What if you knew it led to a whole other world? And, what if a dragon lived there ... with two heads? Professor Oddney has no doubts, he must find The Two-Headed Firedrake! With his best friend Magnus, the talking magpie, by his side, the pair embark on one crazy adventure in Otherland.
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ContentsAn Appreciation by John Cleese - 7Preface by Rodney Matthews - 8One: Now You See It, Now You Don't - 11Two: Marbles That Were Never Lost - 17Three: There's More to a Teapot Than Tea - 23Four: Let There Be Light - 27Five: Here or Thereabouts - 34Six: Do Not Disturb - 41Seven: The Fun Begins - 47Eight: If Needs Must - 55Nine: There's No Smoke Without Fire - 62Ten: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained - 70Eleven: Seeing Double - 77Twelve: A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed - 88Thirteen: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work - 99Fourteen:The Last Hurrah, 107
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"you will love the illustrations by my favourite artist, Rodney Matthews, and his deliciously zany story, written with his very, very silly wife Sarah" - John Cleese (writer and actor), 2023"Get lost in a deliciously daffy 'otherland' and marvel at a world brought to life with dazzling colour and imagination in a spectacular fantasy adventure from talented husband and wife team, acclaimed fantasy album artist Rodney Matthews and debut children's author Sarah Matthews [...] With a wild and whimsical story - packed with soaraway imagination, madcap antics and buttock-snapping inhabitants, and exploring themes of kindness and friendship - all brought to life by Rodney Matthews' lavish and atmospheric illustrations, this is a book to love and treasure." - Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Post, 2024"Presented as a fancy large-format hardback, each page is resplendent with a detailed illustrative style that melds Arthur Rackham with high fantasy, while the story is driven by Oddney's quest and characterful dialogue that lends itself well to reading aloud. Quirkily comic, there definitely be dragons in Oddney's Otherland, alongside a whole of lot high jinks adventure and themes of friendship, to boot." - Joanne Owen, LoveReading4Kids, 2024"such a lovely book, I just loved it so much, the illustrations and the writing are beautiful" - Bex Lindsay, Fun Kids, 2024"quirky, fun-filled adventure" - Ian Eagleton, The Reading Realm, 2024"Fantastical caricature" - Nicolette Jones (Sunday Times Children's Book Reviewer), Twitter/X, 2024
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781916384316
Publisert
2024-07-09
Utgiver
Vendor
Rodney Matthews Studios
Høyde
260 mm
Bredde
210 mm
Aldersnivå
JC, 02
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
114

Forfatter
Illustratør

Om bidragsyterne

Sarah Matthews has been writing children's stories since she was old enough to hold a pen. Her love for words and their meanings has earned her two degrees in Language & Linguistics and Philosophy. Shelving her doctorate and career in academic writing in 2015, she partnered in business with her now husband, Rodney Matthews, an internationally acclaimed illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Initially his agent and studio manager, Sarah's own creative talents quickly shone through. She edited and redesigned the 2020 publication of Rodney's children's book Yendor - the Journey of a Junior Adventurer and then, in 2021, co-directed the short film adaptation. Among the many awards the animation received, was Best Voice Over at the Vegas Movie Awards for Sarah's narration of the tale, which she delivered in her native Scottish accent. With Rodney's concept and illustrations Sarah has written her debut children's book Oddney's Otherland: Chronicles from Beneath the Shed - In Search of the Two-Headed Firedrake.

Rodney Matthews, regarded as a master of his craft, is an English illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. He found international fame in the early 1970s when Big O Posters began publishing and selling his images in their millions worldwide. Of those posters were a set of twelve Michael Moorcock-inspired illustrations which led to paperback cover commissions for the Elric of Melnibone saga and beyond.

A talented drummer himself, Rodney has a long-standing relationship with the music industry. Since designing Thin Lizzy's first EP, his images have adorned the covers of over 150 rock albums, including those of Asia, Eloy, Magnum, Nazareth, Rick Wakeman and many others.

His rich visions have been sought after for video games, movies and animation. He cites creating an idea for a Gerry Anderson TV series as being one of his greatest working achievements - 'Lavender Castle', the 26-episode children's show aired on CITV in the 1990s. More recently, he and his wife Sarah directed 'Yendor - The Journey of a Junior Adventurer', a multi-award winning children's animated short adapted from his children's book of the same name.

Rodney's workload is busier than ever, having recently completed artwork for a popular trading card game, he is now working on the children's book series Oddney's Otherland with one hand, while with the other he is creating images for use both on and off-screen for John Cleese, a long-time collector of his work.