Ali Sparkes Explained

Ali Sparkes
Birth Place:	Southampton, England
Occupation:	Author

Alison Sparkes (born 1966) is a British children's author. She is best known for her Shapeshifter book series.

Career

Sparkes previously worked as a journalist for the Southern Daily Echo and for BBC Radio Solent before focusing on writing children's books.

She published her first book, Finding the Fox, with Oxford University Press in 2006. It became the first of the six-book Shapeshifter series. Later, she published Out of this World, originally released as Miganium, as a prequel to The Shapeshifter. Additionall, her five-book Unleashed series serves as a spin-off/sequel to The Shapeshifter, centered on some of the other Shapeshifter characters.

Sparkes has published several books unrelated to The Shapeshifter series, including standalone novels, as well as the Monster Makers, Night Speakers, and S.W.I.T.C.H. series.

Awards and honours

Awards for Sparkes's books!Year!Title!Award!Result!

2007	Finding the Fox	Bolton Children's Book Award	Nominee	^[1]
2010	Frozen in Time	Blue Peter Book of the Year Award	Winner	^[2] ^[3] ^[4]
		Blue Peter Book Award for "Book I Couldn't Put Down"	Winner
2011	Wishful Thinking	Carnegie Medal	Nominee
2017	Car-Jacked	Red House Children's Book Award	Nominee	^[5]

Personal life

Sparkes is from Southampton and attended Bitterne Park School.^[6] She is married and has two sons.^[7]

Publications

Standalone books

• Book: Frozen In Time . January 2008 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-72755-8. ^{[8] [9]}
• Book: Dark Summer . January 2009 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-71098-7.
• Book: Wishful Thinking . Oxford University Press . January 2010 . 978-0-192-75611-4.
• Book: Freak of Fortune . January 2011 . Franklin Watt . 978-1-445-10556-7.
• Book: Out of This World . June 2013 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-79412-3.
• Book: Destination Earth . Oxford University Press . June 2014 . 978-0-192-73344-3. ^[10]
• Book: The Man in the Water . TMITW . Illustrated by Nina Lazarski . August 2014 . 978-0-956-39671-6.
• Book: Car-Jacked . June 2015 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-273346-7. ^{[11] [12]}
• Book: Thunder Struck . March 2017 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-273936-0.
• Book: Death by Detention . Coven Publishing . July 2018 . 978-0-956-39673-0.
• Book: The Great Pebble Puzzle . Collins . Illustrated by Chelen Ecija . January 2020 . 978-0-008-34040-7.
• Book: My Sister is a Dog . Oxford University Press . March 2023 . 978-1-913-43266-9.
• Book: 100 Summers . Oxford University Press . January 2024 . 978-1-913-43284-3.

Monster Makers

1. Book: Electrotaur and Slashermite . February 2008 . Scholastic . 978-1-407-10291-7.
2. Book: Stinkermite . September 2009 . Scholastic . 978-1-407-10293-1.

Night Speakers series (2018-2020)

1. Book: Night Speakers . March 2018 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75000-6.
2. Book: Night Raiders . September 2018 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-74996-3.
3. Book: Night Walker . April 2019 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-74997-0.
4. Book: Night Terrors . September 2019 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-74998-7.
5. Book: Night Forever . January 2020 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-74999-4.

The Shapeshifter series (2006-2016)

The Shapeshifter series follows the life of a boy named Dax Jones and is primarily set in England, firstly in the Cornwall area and later in the Lake District. During the first book, Finding the Fox, Dax discovers his ability to shapeshift into a fox, and is whisked away from his hated stepfamily by the government. Dax is one of a number of COLAs (Children of Limitless Ability), young people who possess amazing supernatural powers. Some of his classmates are able to heal, move objects with their mind, communicate with the dead, or see into the future. These children attend a school called Tregarren College in Cornwall, which is later destroyed by a tidal wave, and the children move to Fenton Lodge, in the Lake District.

1. Book: Finding The Fox . January 2006 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75465-3.
2. Book: Running The Risk . January 2007 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75466-0.
3. Book: Going To Ground . January 2007 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75467-7.
4. Book: Dowsing The Dead . January 2007 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75468-4.
5. Book: Stirring The Storm . January 2008 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75469-1.
6. Book: Feather And Fang . May 2016 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-74605-4.

S.W.I.T.C.H. series (2011-2012)

The Switch books are illustrated by Ross Collins.

1. Book: Spider Stampede . January 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-1-4677-0710-7. ^[13]
2. Book: Fly Frenzy . May 2013 . Oxford University Press . 978-1-4677-0711-4. ^[14]
3. Book: Grasshopper Glitch . January 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-72934-7.
4. Book: Ant Attack . May 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-72935-4.
5. Book: Crane Fly Crash . December 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-72936-1.
6. Book: Beetle Blast . December 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-72937-8.
7. Book: Lizard Loopy . February 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73236-1.
8. Book: Chameleon Chaos . February 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73237-8.
9. Book: Turtle Terror . February 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73238-5.
10. Book: Gecko Gladiator . February 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73239-2.
11. Book: Anaconda Adventure . March 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73240-8.
12. Book: Alligator Action . March 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-73241-5.
13. Book: Frog Freak Out! . April 2014 . Oxford University Press . 978-1-4677-2111-0. ^[15]
14. Book: Newt Nemesis . January 2014 . Darby Creek . 978-1-467-73233-8.

Unleashed series (2011-2014)

1. Book: A Life And Death Job . January 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75606-0. ^[16]
2. Book: Mind Over Matter . December 2011 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75607-7.
3. Book: Trick Or Truth . May 2012 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75608-4.
4. Book: Speak Evil . May 2013 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-79327-0.
5. Book: The Burning Beach . January 2014 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-192-75610-7.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chadwick . Edward . 2007-06-25 . Pupils select winning author . 4 September 2021 . The Bolton News.
2. Web site: 2010-03-05 . Awards: Blue Peter Book Prize; Atlantic Book Award Finalists . 2024-07-20 . Shelf Awareness.
3. News: Irvine . Lindesay . 2010-03-03 . Ali Sparkes wins Blue Peter Book of the Year award . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
4. Web site: 3 March 2010 . Ali Sparkes wins Blue Peter book of the year award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20100925020008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8548002.stm . 25 September 2010 . 22 September 2010 . BBC.
5. Web site: Morpurgo and Crossan compete for Children’s Book Award The Bookseller . 2017-11-07 . www.thebookseller.com . en.
6. News: Donovan . Sion . Bright Sparke - Ali Sparkes interview . 31 May 2020 . Hampshire Life . 22 June 2010.
7. Web site: About . 2024-07-20 . Ali Sparkes.
8. Web site: 2010-08-23 . Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes . 2024-07-20 . Publishers Weekly.
9. News: Booktuation . 2014-09-05 . Frozen in Time by Ali Sparkes - review . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
10. News: arrow . Katniss . 2015-03-28 . Destination Earth by Ali Sparkes - review . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
11. News: Norriss . Andrew . 2016-04-21 . Top 10 guardian angels in children’s books . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
12. News: The Book Bunch (Robo) . 2015-10-09 . Group reviews: a selection . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.
13. Web site: 2013-03-01 . Spider Stampede . 2024-07-20 . Kirkus Reviews.
14. Web site: 2013-03-01 . Fly Frenzy . 2024-07-20 . Kirkus Reviews.
15. Web site: 2014-02-01 . Frog Freakout . 2024-07-20 . Kirkus Reviews.
16. News: Rachie . 2013-02-12 . Unleashed: A Life and Death Job by Ali Sparkes - review . 2024-07-20 . . en-GB . 0261-3077.