Feather Boy

infobox Book |
name = Feather Boy


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Nicky Singer
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series =
genre = Children's
publisher = Collins
pub_date = 1 January 2002
pages = 288
isbn = ISBN 978-0007120260

"Feather Boy" is a novel by Brighton-based novelist Nicky Singer, which was first published in 2002 by Collins. The story is about Robert Nobel, a boy who despairs of his newly divorced parents. Robert is the butt of classroom jokes and a victim of Niker, the classroom bully. Robert is haunted by dreams that seem to tell the future as well as the past. His life changes when a storyteller invites some of his class to Mayfield House, a place Robert has already dreamed about.

A strange old lady sends him on a quest to solve the mystery of the derelict house, which has a ghoulish legend attached to it.

Reception

"Feather Boy" was Nicky Singer's first novel for children. It won the Blue Peter "Book I Couldn't Put Down" Award, and the overall Blue Peter "Book of the Year" Award in 2002.

The book is now published in 18 countries.

Adaptations

"Feather Boy" was adapted by the BBC into a children's series, directed by Dermot Boyd, and starring:
Thomas Sangster, Sheila Hancock, Aaron Johnson and Lindsey Coulson. The first episode was broadcast on CBBC on BBC 1 on 16 March 2004.

In late 2005 Peter Tabern and Nicky Singer adapted the book, into a musical with music and lyrics by Don Black and Debbie Wiseman. It was adapted for the 2006 cycle of plays for the Shell Connections Festival. The musical features such songs as: "Old People", "It's Still Me In Here", "Bold And Fearless Dot Com", "You're Not Going Anywhere" and "Feathers". Youth Groups involved in the Shell Connections competition will perform this play early 2006 and one group was chosen to perform the play at London's National Theatre, July 2006. In March 2008 Worthing High School gave four performances of the musical.On May 25th 2008 a Welsh language adaption of the musical Hedfan was featured as the Senior School showpiece at the Urdd National Eisteddfod held in Penrhyn Bay, Conwy County.

hell Connections

Blatchington Mill Secondary School and Sixth Form College won the Shell Connections competition and got to perform their version of the show at The National Theatre, in London's West End.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/13/bp_bookawards.shtml Blue Peter Book of the Year 2002 press release]