Chris Smith

The New Famous Five: Five and he Forgotten Treasure

By Chris Smith

Illustrations by James Lancett

What’s it about?

When Maddy, Fran, Tom and Gilbert the dog are sent to Kirrin to stay with a mysterious professor, they never dream of the adventurous turn that their summer holiday is about to take. Soon the kids are caught up in a robbery, and they discover that the prof was once part of a legendary mystery-solving team more than fifty years ago. They’re going to have to find out all about one of the Famous Five’s lost cases if they’re going to save the forgotten treasure!

How did I write it?

I absolutely loved the Famous Five when I was growing up. My mum would take me to the library in Raunds each week and I’d scour the shelves in case there was one of their adventures I hadn’t read yet. I always used to wonder what happenned to the Five when they finally grew up, and in these new stories I’m imagining what they might have ended up doing.

• I love the idea that George has grown up to be just like her dad Uncle Quentin! In one of the original books he thinks how similar they are
• Fran in this book is named after her distant relative, the legendary Aunt Fanny
• This story is set between 1943 and 1998 – more modern kids gave me a chance to comment in a fun way on some of the language and plots of the original books

The Kid Who Fell Through Time

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrations by Erica Salcedo

What’s it about?

Angus absolutely hates doing his history homework. But that all changes one Tuesday night when he accidentally falls into a time-travelling shopping trolley and ends up hanging out in Roman Britain. The trolley is owned by Marge who works at the local supermarket – and Angus quickly discovers that there’s more to her than just running the cheese counter. Together they have to embark on an amazing adventure throughout history – making friends in ancient Egypt, storming a medieval castle and even hanging out in the far future. History homework will never be the same again!

How did we write it?

We both really loved the idea of a time travel story and we had a load of fun doing the research for this, including a visit to the British Museum to find out about Egyptian hieroglyphs. We’ve both got a lot more interested in learning about the past as grownups, so we wanted to try and bring some of those periods alive in a fun way.

• Teachers might like to know that by an amazing coincidence, the periods that Marge and Angus visit also feature on the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Who knew?!
• Hattie, the amazing AI time travel computer who controls the trolley, was inspired by the computer Holly from the TV show Red Dwarf
• The book was originally simply called Time Trolley – we laughed at the idea that shopping trollies never steer properly so it would keep going to the wrong period of history. Anything can inspire a story – even s trip to the supermarket!

The Twits Next Door

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Emily Jones

What’s it about?

Mr and Mrs Twit, as we know, are the world’s most awful people. They spend their days playing horrible tricks on each other and failing to wash. But then something unexpected happens. A removal van turns up next door, carrying Mr and Mrs Lovely and their two children, Ruff and Tumble. They’re the nicest people ever and live by the Lovely Code. But how will they cope living next door to such dreadful people? Will they all live happily ever after? (Spoiler alert: NO!)

How did we write it?

Obviously it was pretty scary stepping into such large BFG-sized shoes. We decided that we’d add our own new characters so we could enjoy playing about with them and keep the original Twits just as they were. Enter Mr and Mrs Lovely. We had loads of fun inventing their Lovely Bus and all the things inside.

Trivia

• Roald Dahl used to write letters to his friend using characters called Slobgollion and Lady Eurydice Hislop Pomfret Pomfret
• The paragraph about Mrs Lovely’s workshop is actually Dahl’s writing – its from an unfinished story found after he died
• Pomfret’s Lemon Whisps are a delicious biscuit. The very first story we worked on before Kid Normal was about a biscuit factory

Frankie Best Hates Quests

By Chris Smith

Illustrations by Kenneth Anderson

What’s it about?

Frankie Best is none too happy when she’s sent to spend half term with her strange old grandfather in his strange old house. She’s even more annoyed that her nerdy little brother is coming too, and she’s absolutely furious when she finds out there’s no wifi or phone signal. But that all pales into insignificance when she discovers there’s a doorway to a magical fantasy kingdom called Parallelia in the attic and she needs to go on a quest. Frankie absolutely hates fantasy – please don’t tell her that she’s going to have to rely on her little brother to guide her. Worst. Holiday. Ever.

How did I write it?

Like all the best tales, this one started with a map. I knew I really wanted to write a fantasy story. I wanted it to be funny, but also be properly grounded in a wonderful kingdom where a serious adventure could have taken place too. So I spent ages drawing a map of Parallelia and designing its guardian spirits. Then I gave the story a funny, sarcastic narrator in Frankie, hoping that some non-fantasy fans might come along for the adventure as well.

Trivia

• In Chapter One, Joel is playing the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Deathtrap Dungeon
• Joel’s gaming character is called Laideraan Ardvok – the same name I used when I played Dungeons and Dragons as a kid
• A whole section of the book had to be cut because it was too long – Frankie met the head of the Sand Witches, encountered creatures called Mirror Monkeys and climbed to the top of Silknaw Pike where she had a mystical vision in the clouds

Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency

By Chris Smith

Illustrations by Kenneth Anderson

What’s it about?

The great city of Meandermart has almost everything: a castle, a bustling market, beautiful parks and gardens. But it’s never had a detective… until now. A mysterious woman called Clarity Jones is solving crimes, with the help of a magical walking wooden chest, a huge snow gnoblin and a retired assassin. When orphan boy Mutt stumbles across this Magical Detective Agency he gets caught up in their most dangerous and baffling case yet.

How did I write it?

I was keen to write another fantasy story but not a direct sequel to Frankie Best. So this one takes place in Rillia, which is to the south west of Parallelia. Once again I started with a map, and I loved the idea of a detective who uses magic to solve her cases.

Both Clarity and Frankie are reluctant princesses, so I hope they’ll get to meet one day and go on an even bigger adventure together.

• I like the thought that creatures from fantasy sometimes escape into our own world. So the Loch Ness Monster inspired the Maeriona in Frankie – and Mirko is a yeti of course
• Bethcar Pears are being served at the Moaningtide banquet – a little link between the two stories
• Mutt’s upside-down boat house is inspired by Peggoty’s house in Dickens’ David Copperfield

Kid Normal

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

The book that started it all! The bestselling UK debut children’s book of 2017, nominated for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and translated into over 20 languages worldwide.

What’s it about?

Starting a new school is always nerve wracking. But just imagine if, on your first day, you find out that all the other kids have actual superpowers. That’s what happens to Murph Cooper after his mum accidentally enrols him at a top-secret school for heroes. The teachers think he’s useless and he’s friends with the weirdest kids in class. Can the term get any worse? Oh yeah, there’s also an evil wasp guy and his oily sidekick plotting to take over the world. Is it just possible that, together with his misfit mates, Murph will find out that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero?

How did we write it?

It all started with the title – Kid Normal – which popped into Chris’s head on a flight back from Lanzarote. Then we sat in the park one evening discussing that pre-school anxiety feeling – worrying that all the other kids are better or more distinctive than you. And we thought – what if we just blew that idea up a little bit? What if, instead of being good at football or maths or whatever, your classmates could, like, fly? Before we knew it we were designing  lesson plans for this secret school, and wondering what the head teacher might be like.

Trivia

• Mrs Fletcher is named after Greg’s real-life school librarian
• The revolving doors at Ribbon Robotics are the same as the annoying revolving doors at BBC Broadcasting House where we both worked at the time
• Carl is named after the caretaker in the film The Breakfast Club

Kid Normal and the Rogue Heroes

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

What’s it about?

Murph Cooper is now head of his very own team of crime fighters. They are the Super Zeroes, the youngest ever members of the Heroes’ Alliance. But, as in all good sequels, things are about to get a bit darker. In a top-secret undersea prison, the most feared supervillain of all time has started speaking for the first time in thirty years. And his first words… bring Kid Normal to me! Who is Magpie and what has he been plotting in his lonely cell all this time?

How did we write it?

We actually wrote this second book before the original Kid Normal had even been published. We knew we wanted to delve a lot more into the history of the Heroes’ Alliance to find out why Heroes work in secret and what happened to drive them underground.

Trivia

• Sir Jasper Rowntree’s name is based on the rowan tree. Folklore says that its red berries are a protection against evil – which also explains the name of his house, Witchberry Hall
• Shivering Sands is a real place – it’s off the coast of Kent
• The character of Magpie is kind of based on a poem called A Poison Tree by Willian Blake. It was set to music by the band Blur with the title… Magpie!

Kid Normal and the Shadow Machine

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

If someone offered you a superpower, what would you pick? (If you said invisibility, you’re a bit creepy.) That’s the question facing Murph Cooper in his most thrilling adventure yet.

What’s it about?

Magpie has escaped and the Heroes’ Alliance is at war! The Alliance of Evil is causing chaos everywhere, and the Super Zeroes are on the front line against it, together with their new recruit Angel. But things are about to get a lot more complicated. Magpie drags Murph’s family into the battle. And the supervillain has been constructing a dastardly machine that he hopes will ruin the legend of Kid Normal once and for all.

How did we write it?

After the first two books, we were left with two big questions. Will Murph Cooper ever get a superpower of his own? And what happens if everybody finds out that there are Heroes living among us in secret? We decided to answer both those questions in the final two books in the series.

Trivia

• The chapter The Adventure of the Empty House is named after a Sherlock Holmes story. It’s not the only Holmes reference in the series either…
• There’s a brief reference to two Rogues named McNally and Sandford – they’re the names of two of our wonderful friends at publishers Bloomsbury
• Other titles we considered for this book: Kid Normal and the League of Shadows, Kid Normal and the Doom Bandits, Kid Normal and the Hordes of Twilight

Kid Normal and the Final Five

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

The epic conclusion to the Kid Normal series. You don’t need superpowers to be a Hero – but what happens when the world decides it doesn’t want Heroes anyway?

What’s it about?

Magpie may have been defeated, but you’ve always got to keep an eye on the oily sidekick. Nicholas Knox is back – and it turns out he was the one we should have been worrying about all along. He’s declared himself president, taken over Buckingham Palace and outlawed all Heroes. There’s only one team who can prove to the nation that a world without Heroes is totally rubbish. But with a sneaky shape-shifting sidekick infiltrating the Super Zeroes, is Nicholas Knox the enemy that will finally outwit them?

How did we write it?

It was really emotional writing this final book in the Kid Normal series. There were a few tears putting the final chapter together and especially reading it out for the audiobook which you might be able to hear if you listen closely!

Trivia

• Nektar has retired to keep bees on the South Downs – just like Sherlock Holmes. Told you there were lots of Holmes references
• When Angel yells ‘get to the chopper!’ at Shivering Sands, she’s quoting a line from the film Predator. There are tons of other hidden movie quotes in the books, including a load from Star Wars
• In this book we discover how Hilda’s horses first appeared. Artax is named after the horse in The Neverending Story, Epona after Link’s horse in the Legend of Zelda games

The Great Dream Robbery

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Amy Nguyen

What’s it about?

Have you ever wanted to step inside a dream? That’s exactly what happens to Maya Clayton in this story. Her father, a brilliant professor, is asleep and can’t be woken up. But when Maya is contacted by a mysterious team called the Dream Bandits, she discovers his incredible invention which can take you inside someone else’s dream – or bring your own dreams to life! Soon she’s caught up in an adventure full of dancing unicorns, football-playing penguins and a talking cat called Bin Bag.

How did we write it?

Greg had this idea when he was half asleep – so you could say it almost came to us in a dream! He imagined a gang of kids who could get together and have adventures in dreams, so unlike most kids they would be desperate to go to bed every night. We wrote this book during the lockdown of 2020. It was a really scary and unpleasant time so we wanted to write something fun to cheer ourselves – and hopefully some other people – up. We weren’t allowed to be inside together so a lot of it was written sitting on collapsible chairs (author chairs as we called them) on Hampstead Heath in London in the summertime.

Trivia

• Bin Bag was a real cat which we saw on a wall while we were on our way to record the final Kid Normal audiobook
• Maya’s dad is called Clayton after Clara Clayton in the Back to the Future films
• Lilith’s surname Delamere is inspired by the words ‘de la mare’ – suggesting she’s a bit of a (night)mare!

Super Ghost

By Greg James and Chris Smith

Illustrated by Amy Nguyen

What’s it about?

It’s just a regular day at work for super-strong superhero Doctor Extraordinary – saving Paragon City from yet another giant robot attack by Captain Chaos. But today things don’t go quite to plan. In fact, the Doc and his arch-nemesis are both blown up. It’s especially tough for the hero’s number-one fan, young Sonny Nelson, who’s completely devastated. So when Sonny starts to see and hear the ghost of Doctor Extraordinary, what’s going on? Is he just grieving? Or is there something far stranger happening? With the help of his super-smart friend Spot, Sonny has to team up with the Super Ghost and work out how to save Paragon City one last time.

How did we write it?

The title came to Chris while he was on holiday in Wales. It was suggested by the fact that Greg had always wanted to kill off a character in one of our books. He wanted to get rid of Flora in Kid Normal but Chris wouldn’t let him because she was based on his own nanna. So we decided we would kill off a hero – but do it in chapter one. Because lockdown was still going on, we collaborated online quite a lot to write this one: lots of FaceTime and Zoom calls and not so much pizza.

Trivia

• Paragon City is based on Chicago, where we went on our Kid Normal tour
• Spot is named after a real-life girl Chris went to infant school with
• Professor Lana Holliday is partly based on Pepper Potts from the Avengers films – so she’s named after another of Gwynneth Paltrow’s characters, Holly Holliday