Manfred, a magician who summons the spirits of the universe, asking them for knowledge and oblivion. Although he contemplates suicide, mourning his limited powers, he is saved by a chamois hunter. He continues to raise other spirits and refuses the help of the church. Because he does not give his loyalty to the church or the powers of evil, he dies conquered by nothing but death. Whether an author’s words are seen, touched or heard, the skill and feeling conveyed in the story can still be enjoyed by all.” Julie Morrison, head of external relations for Royal Mail, the main sponsors of the award, adds: “Helping to promote literacy is a fundamental goal of Royal Mail. Not only is good literacy vital for society in general, it is crucial to the future of our business. If the next generation can read, write and send letters, cards and postcards, the future for us all is very bright indeed.” John Legg, director of RNIB Scotland, says: “2009 is the bicentenary of the birth of Louis Braille, so we are delighted that young people with sight loss were able to fully participate in this year’s awards. Don’t judge a book by its cover, counsels Olivia Steven, 13, from Uddingston Grammar in South Lanarkshire, who reviewed the older readers’ category (age 12-16), won by Keith Gray’s Ostrich Boys. “Judging solely by the title, blurb and front cover - and the fact it varies somewhat from books I usually choose,” I would have overlooked it, she says.

The Spirit of Air, who asks Manfred what he wants to forget, a question the magician cannot answer. Then Manfred the Baddie turns into Manfred the Goodie when he realises that he has no friends. But as in some of the best books, there is a final twist in the story - Manfred can’t resist being naughty again and rings a doorbell at the dead of night. Home> Children's> Young Children's and Early Learning> Picture Books> Manfred the Baddie Manfred the Baddie By (author) John Fardell The participation levels are a matter of real pride for the organisers, the Scottish Book Trust, says Anna Gibbons, its children’s programme manager.

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He is a regular contributor to the adult comic Viz, and has created and drawn two of the most popular and long-running strips, The Modern Parents[1] and The Critics, as well as the more recent (and rather less popular) additions of Ferdinand the Foodie and Desert Island Teacher. His work for Viz often tends to satirise various types of self-important or self-righteous middle class people. The Modern Parents, for example, portrays the way a mother and father insist on bringing up their young sons following a doctrine of what they term as 'ethical awareness', much to the detriment of their children. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Book Trust teamed up with the Royal National Institute of Blind People Scotland, which transcribed all nine shortlisted books into Braille, audio and large print. This allowed hundreds of blind and partially-sighted children to take part in the judging for the first time.

Winner of the young readers’ category (age 8-11) was First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts. This is Lari Don’s first children’s novel, and what a debut!Now he can be credited with introducing the word “henchmen” to the vocabulary of his young readers. What a wonderful word for a five-year-old - and just about every young reviewer of his book had the word liberally scattered through their text. However, it defied all my expectations,” she adds, describing its plot of three boys who steal their friend Ross’s ashes and take them from Cleethorpe in England to the Scottish village, Ross, as “enthralling”. On this “road book” with a difference, the friends eventually confront the truth they have desperately tried to avoid - that Ross committed suicide.

The Spirit of Manfred’s Destiny, summoned by Manfred. It takes on the bodily shape of a beautiful woman who eludes the magician’s embrace. Winning reviewers receive book tokens worth pound;25, pound;15 and pound;10 respectively. The winning author will also visit the school of each category winner.Manfred had henchmen and they were mean like Manfred. Manfred kidnaps inventors and makes them build evil inventions,” explains one of the reviewers, Neve, aged 10. The Witch of the Alps, summoned by Manfred. She offers to share the beauties of nature with the magician and to aid him, if he agrees to obey her. She departs when Manfred refuses. Each of the winning authors receives pound;3,000, but a further reward will be the knowledge that this year, nearly 30,000 children from all over Scotland were involved in the awards, supported by The TESS. The central character, Helen Strang, is the daughter of a veterinary surgeon, who uses her mother’s equipment to treat an injured centaur - an act which leads her into an odyssey of adventures with a group of mythical beasts as they try to solve a series of riddles. This year’s winning authors - John Fardell, Lari Don and Keith Gray - can be proud of their accolade. It has been bestowed by a record number of children voting for their favourite shortlisted book - over 5,000 more than last year.

What do Manfred the Baddie, Helen Strang and Ross’s friends have in common? Apart from being brave and adventurous, they are all main characters in the three books given top votes this week by 15,000 pupils in the Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books. The Chamois Hunter, who saves Manfred from death. Seeing Manfred preparing to leap to his death on the Jungfrau Mountain, the hunter prevents the suicide. He feels sorry for Manfred but cannot help the magician solve his problems.