Ross Montgomery
Ross Montgomery started writing stories as a teenager, when he really should have been doing homework, and continued doing so at university. After graduating, he experimented with working as a pig farmer and a postman before deciding to channel these skills into teaching at a primary school. He writes his books when he should really be marking homework. His first novel, Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door, was published to huge critical acclaim, and was shortlisted for the Costa Book Award and the Branford Boase Award.
Books
Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door
Author: Ross Montgomery
Publisher: Faber Children's Books
Interest age: 9+
Reading age: 9+
This lively debut novel features a host of eccentric but immensely likable characters.
Christmas Dinner of Souls
Author: Ross Montgomery Illustrator: David Litchfield
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Interest age: 9-12
Reading age: 9-12
Although it has an overarching narrative, Christmas Dinner of Souls is also a collection of hair-raising and spine-tingling short stories. Some of these are deliciously, deliriously ghoulish, and if your child is the sort that hungers for chills and thrills, they will lap this up.
Max and the Millions
Author: Ross Montgomery
Publisher: Faber
Interest age: 8-11
Reading age: 8+
When a school caretaker mysteriously disappears, leaving behind a small pile of sand, a student is drawn into an extraordinary adventure. Alongside the delightfully daft plot, Montgomery successfully touches on topics such as assumptions about deafness.
Perijee and Me
Author: Ross Montgomery
Publisher: Faber
Interest age: 7+
Reading age: 7+
When 11-year-old Caitlin discovers a shrimp-like alien creature on the shores of her island home, she takes responsibility for teaching it about the world. Perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Studio Ghibli films.
The Building Boy
Author: Ross Montgomery
Illustrator: David Litchfield
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Interest age: 5+
Reading age: 4+
The boy loves his grandmother dearly. Best of all, he loves the stories about her life as a prize-winning architect. One day, she promises she'll build him an extraordinary house. Now his grandmother's gone, and he's heartbroken. But in her garden there are bricks and girder and he begins to build….
The Tornado Chasers
Author: Ross Montgomery
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 8+
While this is an engaging, humorous story, with lively characters; it is also substantial in its reflection on what is more frightening: risking our lives or wasting them.