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Tiger's Railway
Carnegie Medal winner William Mayne entertainingly illustrates the foibles of Tiger, Superintendent of an Eastern European railway line. Twelve short stories detail Tiger's lighthearted lightfingerdness (he steals locomotives as a hobby) as he struggles against the bureaucracy. Illustrated by award winner Juan Wijngaard.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
William Mayne
136 books16 followersWilliam Mayne was a British writer of children's fiction. Born in Hull, he was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. He lived most of his life in North Yorkshire.
He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.
A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.
William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.
He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th Century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal in 1957 for A Grass Rope and the Guardian Award in 1993 for Low Tide. He has written more than a hundred books, and is best known for his Choir School quartet comprising A Swarm in May, Choristers' Cake, Cathedral Wednesday and Words and Music, and his Earthfasts trilogy comprising Earthfasts, Cradlefasts and Candlefasts, an unusual evocation of the King Arthur legend.
A Swarm in May was filmed by the Children's Film Unit in 1983 and a five-part television series of Earthfasts was broadcast by the BBC in 1994.
William Mayne was imprisoned for two and a half years in 2004 after admitting to charges of child sexual abuse and was placed on the British sex offenders' register. His books were largely removed from shelves, and he died in disgrace in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2012
This book is brilliant. Insk to Onsk and Onsk to Insk.
September 7, 2023
Funnily enough I (Eastern European) was recommended this little book by my partner (West European). I was sceptical... I am tired of the prejudiced and privileged humour of the "better side" of Europe when it comes to writing about this upside-down land of pickles and permanent communism.
But this book was funny. Yes, it did play on stereotypes but in a light-hearted manner and with satirical understanding rather than poorly hidden superiority complex. What can I say, I laughed out loud, for all I know Tiger might be a real man and this might be his biography - who knows. Yet I am sure, if not this Tiger then many other Tigers lived and still live and execute their day-to-day just as successfully.
But this book was funny. Yes, it did play on stereotypes but in a light-hearted manner and with satirical understanding rather than poorly hidden superiority complex. What can I say, I laughed out loud, for all I know Tiger might be a real man and this might be his biography - who knows. Yet I am sure, if not this Tiger then many other Tigers lived and still live and execute their day-to-day just as successfully.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews