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Dermot O’Leary, Author
Claire Powell, Illustrator
Series: Dermot's Animal Heroes
Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
Publication date: September 14, 2023
Category: Animal stories (Children's / Teenage)
ISBN: 9781444961621
Series: Dermot's Animal Heroes
Imprint: Hodder Children's Books
Publication date: April 25, 2024
Category: Animal stories (Children's / Teenage)
ISBN: 9781444961638
Join one tiny bird on a hilarious adventure to save his sister – and his country!
An action-packed tale of courage, adventure and a smattering of bird poo, from the bestselling children’s author of Toto the Ninja Cat, Dermot O’Leary, with glorious illustrations throughout by Claire Powell.
Royal Bird Force recruit Linus can’t wait for his big adventure. He’s out to prove that swifts can be just a brave as falcons, with a combination of teamwork, talons and of course poo!
But with his sister missing and rumours of a spy amongst their ranks, can Linus become the hero he dreams of?
Featuring courageous loop-the-loops, top-secret plans and a smattering of bird poo, this heroic tail will keep young readers entertained and giggling from start to finish.
“A wonderful, heartwarming read that captures the feel of camaraderie” Parent of a reader aged 8 (Toppsta)
“I loved this book about Linus who is a very brave tiny bird… [it] is very exciting and made me laugh at the poop bits.” Reader aged 7 (Toppsta)
Dermot O’Leary is the bestselling author of the five books in the Toto the Ninja Cat series.
He started his career on T4 for Channel 4 and has also presented shows for both ITV and the BBC.
Dermot presents a Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2, ‘Saturday Breakfast with Dermot O’Leary’. The show is produced by Ora Et Labora, the production company Dermot co-founded in 2008.
Ora Et Labora also produces Rylan’s BBC Radio 2 show, a number of podcasts and the TV show ‘Reel Stories’ for BBC2, looking back at iconic singers’ lives on screen.
In 2019, he launched a podcast, ‘People, Just People’ with Audible, featuring guests including Stephen Graham, Ed Miliband and Eni Aluko.
He lives in London with his wife Dee, their son Kasper and their cats Socks and, of course, Toto.
You can find Dermot on Twitter and Instagram: @radioleary
Claire is an illustrator, writer and designer who lives and works in London. She has spent several years as a design director in the world of channel rebranding working for clients such as Nickelodeon, BBC Three, CBBC and BBC One. Claire has a tendency towards humour and bright, bold use of colour and she loves creating strong typographical layouts to help tell a story.
Related Book: Wings of Glory
Book Creator: Dermot O’Leary, Claire Powell
Set during the Battle of Britain in 1940, Dermot O’Leary’s brand new book, Wings of Glory, tells the story of the war effort from the point of view of the animal kingdom, in an accessible, child-friendly way with lots of action-adventure, humour and bird poo! Perfect for KS2 classrooms and those studying World War Two and the Battle of Britain.
Watch a video of Dermot reading an extract here: https://youtu.be/I6G8iuQD_Bg
Download our fun activity sheet pack, including quizzes, extracts, wordsearch and more here.
Themes: WW2, Battle of Britain | History | Courage | Animals
Age Range: 7-11
Related Book: Wings of Glory
Book Creator: Dermot O’Leary, Claire Powell
Set during the Battle of Britain in 1940, Dermot O’Leary’s brand new book, Wings of Glory, tells the story of the war effort from the point of view of the animal kingdom, in an accessible, child-friendly way with lots of action-adventure, humour and bird poo! Perfect for KS2 classrooms and those studying World War Two and the Battle of Britain.
This postercard features a fun poster on one side with activities on the other, including a wordsearch, colouring, quiz, fun facts and an extract.
Watch a video of Dermot reading an extract here: https://youtu.be/I6G8iuQD_Bg
Download our curriculum-linked teaching resources here.
Themes: WW2, Battle of Britain | History | Courage | Animals