Swarm in May (Oxford Children's Library) - Hardcover

William Mayne has been described as one of the outstanding children's authors of this century (Oxford Companion to Children's Lit.). He has won all major awards including the Carnegie and Guardian fiction award. Jan Mark wrote of A SWARM IN MAY: 'elusive, eliptical, uncompromising ... I read and re-read it. I wished I had written it, I began to feel almost that I could write it. It showed me the way I must go.'

What Mayne achieves here is a tour de force of the writer's craft, having the capacity permanently to shift the reader's responsibility * BfK * In sheer artistry, Mayne is still ahead of the game, the most original story-teller of the last half-century. * The School Librarian * He is the most versatile and experienced of writers for children in this country, wise, good and passionately honest. * The Times * If it comes to naming our most prestigious living writer for the young, it has to be William Mayne. * The Observer * ... no one writes as he does. He remains a complete original, a damn-your-eyes individualist ... never less than true to his material. * Jan Mark, TES * Mayne, at his best, is the best children's writer living * The Daily Telegraph * A brilliant and exciting book. * The Observer * Laconic, almost poetic, it is full of warmly human characters, humour, perception and wisdom * The Indpendent * It is pure joy ... * The Sunday Times *