Summary
Set on a New Zealand Navy frigate during the Korean War, Boy Seaman Russell Purchas is determined to prove he can be brave when it comes to battle with the Communists. But he is about to find that courage isn’t just about being a conquering hero…
Featured on the New Zealand Listener’s 50 best children’s books 2013
“Something in the water, a hundred yards or so away. Russell jerked the binoculars back, trying to find it again. He had to be sure; mustn’t make a fool of …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780143307570 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0143307576 |
| Author: | David Hill |
| Publisher: | Penguin Group (NZ) |
| Imprint: | Puffin |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 224 |
| Release Date: | 21 August 2013 |
| Weight: | 212g |
| Dimensions: | 17mm x 130mm x 199mm |
| Audience Age: | 9-12 |
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David Hill
David Hill is a prolific and highly regarded New Zealand writer, playwright, poet, columnist, and critic. He is best known for his highly popular and award-winning body of work for young people, ranging from picture books to teenage fiction. His novels have been published all around the world and translated into several languages, and his short stories and plays for young people have been broadcast both in New Zealand and overseas.
Born in Napier, New Zealand, David studied at Victoria University of Wellington and became a high-school teacher, teaching in both New Zealand and the UK. In 1982, he became a full-time writer. His first novel for teenagers, See Ya, Simon (1992), about a boy with muscular dystrophy, was shortlisted for major awards in New Zealand and the UK and won the 1994 Times Educational Supplement Award for Special Needs. An enduringly popular novel used as a class text in high schools all over New Zealand, it was awarded the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-loved Book in 2002.
David has published more than 40 titles over the past three decades. His recent middle-grade novels include My Brother’s War (2012), which in 2013 won the Junior Fiction Award and the Children’s Choice Junior Fiction Award in the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, the LIANZA Librarian’s Choice Award, and was listed as a Storylines Notable Junior Fiction book, a White Raven, and an IBBY Honour book. This was followed by novels Brave Company (2014) – also a Storylines Notable Junior Fiction book; The Deadly Sky (2015); Enemy Camp (2016), which won the 2016 HELL Children’s Choice Award for Junior Fiction; Flight Path (2017), a Storylines Notable Book; and Finding (May 2018).
David is also the author of a number of critically acclaimed picture books with illustrator Phoebe Morris. First to the Top (2015) is their bestselling story of the life of Sir Edmund Hillary, which won the 2016 Children’s Choice Award for non-fiction and was a 2016 Storylines Notable Picture Book. Speed King (2016), about the world-record-breaking achievements of Burt Munro, and Sky High (2017), recounting the life of the daring aviator Jean Batten, were both presented with Storylines Notable Picture Book awards. Hero of the Sea: Sir Peter Blake’s Mighty Ocean Quests was published in 2018, and Dinosaur Hunter: Joan Wiffen’s Awesome Fossil Discoveries was published in 2019.
In 2004, David was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and in 2005, he was awarded the Storylines Margaret Mahy Medal, acknowledging his significant contribution to children’s literature in New Zealand.
In November 2021, David was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement - Fiction in recognition of his outstanding contribution to New Zealand Literature.
He lives in New Plymouth with his wife Beth and juggles his many writing projects with numerous school visits, leading professional development for teachers, mentoring new and emerging writers, and tutoring creative writing.
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