Maggot Moon (enhanced e-book)

by Sally Gardner

In an alternate 1950s, Standish Treadwell is growing up in a Britain dominated by the dark, ruthlessly oppressive forces of The Motherland. Gradually, Standish comes to realise that it is down to him to make a stand against the regime, and in a desperate effort to protect the people he loves, he sets out on a heroic mission to expose the truth about a planned landing on the moon.

Combining conspiracy theory and dystopia, this deeply moving and original novel from author Sally Gardner was a deserving winner of the 2012 Costa Children’s Book Award, and is also available as an enhanced ebook.

This innovative multi-touch iBook for the iPad includes the full text of the novel as well as a range of additional interactive content, including interviews with the author, audio clips, videos and images that help to enhance and extend Standish’s story. Political and historical background information, discussion points, quizzes and writing prompts make this an ideal tool for classroom use, as well as being enjoyable to explore in its own right. Taking Standish’s dyslexia as a starting point, the iBook also has a dyslexic-friendly font and background, and specially-designed animated page sequences which aim to give all readers an idea of what the reading experience of some dyslexic people is like.

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Sally Gardner

Sally Gardner grew up amongst the drama of London’s law courts, as both her parents were lawyers. Having been branded ‘unteachable’ by some and sent to various schools, Sally was eventually diagnosed at the age of twelve as being severely dyslexic. Sally is now an avid spokesperson for dyslexia; she sees it a gift, not a disability, and is passionately trying to change how dyslexics are perceived by society.

Sally published her first book in 1993, thus beginning her illustrious career as a writer-illustrator to great international acclaim. The Countess's Calamity won the Smarties Prize in 2003. Her first full-length novel, and a turning point in Sally’s career, was I, Coriander which won the Nestle Children’s Book Prize Gold Award in 2005. Her next novel The Red Necklace was shortlisted for the Guardian Book Prize in 2007, followed by the sequel, The Silver Blade. Her recent book, The Double Shadow, was hailed as ‘an astonishing departure for a writer who has found a new and very distinctive voice’. Sally lives in London.