Boy Who Swam with Piranhas

David Almond is the winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most prestigious award in international childrens literature. He is known worldwide as the multi-award-winning author of Skellig, Clay, and many other novels, stories, and plays. With Candlewick, he is the author of My Dads a Birdman and The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon, both illustrated by Polly Dunbar, as well as The Savage, Slogs Dad, and Mouse Bird Snake Wolf, all illustrated by Dave McKean. David Almond lives in England.

Oliver Jeffers is the author-illustrator of The Incredible Book Eating Boy, which was named a Bisto Book of the Year Honor book, as well as Lost and Found, the recipient of a Nestlé Childrens Book Prize Gold Medal, among several other picture books. He was born in Australia, grew up in Northern Ireland, and now lives in New York City.

"A buoyant, delightfully Almond-ine coming-of-age novel about fish, fate, and family; moonlight, madness, and myth; runts, "Rackanruwin" and, finally, redemption." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

When Stanley Potts's guardian, Uncle Ernie, develops an unhealthy obsession with fish, Stan has no choice but to strike out on his own. Far from the life he knows, he's welcomed by a carnival of eccentric characters, including the legendary Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims with piranhas. Will Stan, too, be bold enough to dive into the churning waters and choose his destiny? Full of wry wordplay and visual whimsy, David Almond's quirky tale is richly matched by Oliver Jeffers's black-and-white illustrations.