Shortlisted for Bolton's Children's Book of the Year.

Fergal is a self-confessed nerd with an eccentric hobby: tin collecting. He likes the lucky dip aspect of buying tins that have their labels missing - after all, you never know what might be inside. It's Fergal's idea of living dangerously. That is, until the day he innocently opens up a tin to find . . . a bloodied human finger. Everyone thinks it's a joke. But not Fergal - and when his next tin discovery is a note with the word 'Help' scribbled on it, he feels compelled to track down the factory responsible for these mysterious and macabre products. Fergal might be hungry to play detective, but has he opened a can of worms . . . ? This Dahl-esque black comedy will have readers squirming on the edge of their seats. Funny, frightening and totally gross - Alex Shearer taps into the repulsive-but-appealing tradition of urban myths that are perennial playground fodder.

Even when you have received a death sentence, you still have to live... This is the story of Louis, who never quite fitted in, and of his younger brother who always tagged along. Two brothers on one final journey together, wading through the stuff that is thicker than water. Tender-hearted, at times achingly funny, this is a moving testimony to both the resilience of the human spirit and to the price of strawberries.

Literary Strengths: Alex Shearer's trademark fast pace and high suspense A heady mixture of genres Multiple text forms Themes: Forced child labour Friendship Evil adults! Perfect for teaching! Explore genre Study the craft of suspense Analyse writing styles that suit different purposes Longlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Children's Book Award 2007.

The Great Blue Yonder by Alex Shearer is the quirky, gentle journey of a boy stuck between looking back, and moving on. 'You'll be sorry when I'm dead.' That's what Harry said to his sister, before the incident with the lorry. And now he is just that - dead. And he wishes more than anything that he hadn't said it. He wishes he could say sorry. And say goodbye to everyone he left behind - his mum, his dad, his best friend Pete. . . even Jelly Donkins, the class bully. Now he's on the Other Side, waiting to move on to the Great Blue Yonder. But he doesn't know how to get there - until he meets Arthur, a small boy in a top hat who's been dead for years, who helps him say goodbye. . .