Jalopy is a brand new, shiny red car won in a competition by Mrs Ethel Thomas, but Mrs Thomas can't drive, so sadly she puts Jalopy up for sale. Before she can sell Jalopy, petty crooks Masher and Spud, who need a get-away car for their next bank robbery, steal the car.
Geraldine McCaughrean is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide. She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.