(December 2003)



HAVE YOU DISCOVERED ARTHUR KING YET?

Dean Wilkinson has written for many shows including SMTV Live with Ant & Dec and is the creator and writer of BBC TVs Bad Penny!
Now hes written
THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR KING
and a second title in the series
ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN
both available from Scholastic Childrens Books prices £4.99 each.

THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR KING - Arthur and his friend Lawrence are about to discover that they are the spirit of King Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table reborn! Our noble heroes must save Albion Wood and a rare species of "White bird fingies" from destruction! Are they up to the challenge? The first book in the series also has a cool foreword by TV favourites, ANT and DEC.

ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN - Odd things are afoot again. Rips in the very fabric of time are leaving bewildered people hours out of sync with their lives, Lawrence gets mugged by cavemen! Then theres the strange nightly rumblings beneath the town - some say its the sound of a ghost train.

We all know how us Dandy fans like a good fun read and these great books by Dean Wilkinson get a good old Dandy thumbs-up! Those cool guys at Scholastic have given us 25 sets of the first two Arthur King books to give away in this competition. To be in with a chance of winning a set, simply answer this question -
WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTHUR KING BOOKS?
A)WAYNE DILKINSON
B)WILKIE DEANKINSON
C)DEAN WILKINSON

Send your answers, name and address to-
Arthur King comp.,
The Dandy, P.O. Box 305,
London, NW1 1TX.
VISIT www.scholastic.co.uk/zone
CLOSING DATE -16/12/03

(April 2004)


New Zealand Libraries

This is what Jake had too say about. The Legend of Arthur King
Arthur King and the Curious Case of the Time Train By Dean Wilkinson

Arthur King is your average 13 year old with an imagination the size of a planet (I wish I could say the same about his logic).

While digging in Albion Wood, he discovers a sword. After long discussion with his best friend Lawrence A Lott, Arthur decides that he is the reincarnation of King Arthur.

While trying to 'get off' with his mate's older sister, Gwen, Arthur must stop Barry Guthries from destroying Albion Wood, the home to a magical bird.

In The Curious Case of the Time Train, Arthur and Lawrence now believe they are Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson.

After defeating Guthries and saving Albion Wood, they now have to solve the mystery of the Neanderthals in the boys' bathroom and the strange rumbling under the streets.

The Arthur King books are extremely well written, and very funny. I hope there'll be more of these.

(October 2003)



BOOK WORM

The Legend Of Arthur King by Dean Wilkinson, £4.99 (Scholastic)
According to Ant and Dec (they do get around dont they) its his best comedy creation to date. "I know the books will be bigger than the Harry Potter books, by at least quarter of an inch" says Ant of his former scriptwriter from SMTV.
So what more can I say?
Well, I can tell you the storyline. A series of astonishing coincidences leads 13 year old oddball Arthur King to believe he is the reincarnation of the legendary King Arthur.
With his equally impressionable new friend Lawrence, Arthur finds a sword buried deep in the condemned Albion Wood and what follows is a story, nay legend, of bravery, honour - and trying to get off with his mates older sister.

(January 2004)



Cant Get Enough Of Books :

THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR KING
BY DEAN WILKINSON

"Funny and futuristic" - Natasha
Thirteen year old Arthur King believes he's King Arthur reincarnated. "He dipped Excalibur in the water and fished out a crisp packet." Written by TV comedy writer Dean Wilkinson and with a foreword by Ant and Dec, this book could appeal to boys with a quirky sense of humour.
Published by Scholastic at £4.99

ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN
BY DEAN WILKINSON

"Funny and futuristic" - Natasha
Arthur and Lawrence, as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. Quirky books for boys.
Published by Scholastic at £4.99

(November 2003)



Childrens authors bookstore signing

He has written for hot television shows including SM:tv Live, penned scripts for Ant and Dec and Zig and Zag and created his own BBC kids series, Bad Penny.

Now Dean Wilkinson of Ingleby Barwick, has managed to scribble a couple of childrens books amidst his hectic workload. This week the dad of five will see his second novel in the Arthur King series released in the shops. To mark the occasion he will be making a personal appearance at Stocktons WHSmith store tomorrow.

"The first in the series , The Legend Of Arthur King, is doing well," he says. "The rights have already been bought by the BBC." He hopes the second, Arthur King And The Curious Case Of The Time Train, will prove just as popular.

In the story, he explains, 13-year-old Arthur discovers an ancient underground train system. The books stand out from the rest of Deans work as they are based in his home town of Thornaby.

Dean will be signing copies of both his books at WHSmith, Wellington Square, Stockton tomorrow, from 1pm-3pm.

We have five pairs of Arthur King books to give away. For your chance to win, send a postcard with your name, address and daytime telephone number to Arthur King Books Competition, Features Desk, Evening Gazette, Borough Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 3AZ.
Entries must be in by Friday November 21.
Five winners will be picked at random.
Usual Evening Gazette rules apply.
Available on request from all branch offices. No purchase necessary.
The Legend Of Arthur King
Dean Wilkinson, £4.99 (Scholastic)

(November 2003)





Things you cant do without

Things are far from tip-top in Thornaby »» you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to see that.

Of course if you happen to be a "descendant" of the fictional sleuth it does help and when Arthur and Lawrence discover their unlikely lineage they put their imagined powers of detection to good use.

Just what is going on with all this time-travelling malarkey?

What mischief is slimy teacher Mr Toppol up to behind his smooth exterior?

And (most importantly) will Gwen ever give Arthur the time of day?

Find out in Dean Wilkinson's ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN
Published by Scholastic, price £4.99.

(January 2004)



Books for children
ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN
Published by Scholastic, £4.99 pb.

Eccentric Arthur 13, fancies himself as Sherlock Holmes. When Rips start appearing in time and odd people pop out through the holes his deductive powers are taxed.

Could they be connected to ley-lines and the local legend of the time train?

And how is Arthurs physics teacher involved?
Ladish, un PC humour will appeal to most boys (especially those who go on to read FHM.) Some Dads will enjoy it too.

Ages 12+. FRANCES PERKINS

(December 2003)



Arthur On Track For Adventure
ARTHUR KING AND THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE TIME TRAIN
Published by Scholastic, £4.99.

This is the second adventure for Arthur King and sees our hero don his Sherlock Holmes guise in order to find out why the residents of Thornaby are experiencing strange anomalies in the flow of time.

Arthur and his curious collection of friends risk life and limb investigating why the supposedly abandoned railway is still rumbling and more importantly how it's making time travel possible.

The author has written for many successful childrens television shows and it certainly shows in the madcap humour.

Anyone who knows the North-east of England, even a little, will also appreciate the local jokes and references.

One for the teenagers with a theme that promises to bring us more tales of the strange exploits of Arthur King and his native land of North-east Yorkshire.

William Sandison

(December 2003)
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN MAGAZINE
volume 51, No 4, winter 2003

WILKINSON, DEAN The Legend Of Arthur King.

Scholastic, 2003, pp 160, £4.99. 0 439 97835 1

Boys and reading - how to get them together.

The problem goes on and on. Humour has always been a successful hook and this title is an example of tasty bait.

The Legend Of Arthur King is a story loosely woven around the famous tale in English folklore. Arthur King fancies his friend Lawrences sister, Gwen. Together, Lance and Arthur, after daring do, save the local Albion Wood from the developers Mordred Holdings. Are you getting the drift?

An epilogue sows the seed for a second title "coming soon!" There's a certain irreverence about the language and so complex sentences are cleverly disguised. Frequent footnote references to Thornaby slang, I think, are supposed to add to the chuckle factor. Perhaps they will for 10 year old boys.

Janet Sims

(AUGUST 2003)

(AUGUST 2003)







ARTHUR MINUTE!

Books grabbed by Beeb before it goes on sale

By COREENA FORD

The writer behind North comedy favourites Ant and Dec has had his first book snapped up by telly bosses, before it has even hit the shops.

Dean Wilkinson debut book The Legend Of Arthur King, which goes on sale this week, has been bought by the BBC to turn into a kids' show.

Dean, 36, of Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, worked with the Geordie duo for seven years and created madcap sketches like Chums and Dec Says, on SM:tv.

Now he works for the BBC. He said: 'Seeing my book in print for the first time was so exciting. I ran around the house for two days making little woman-like noises! '

'It's all about Arthur King, a 13-year old from Thornaby and he's based on me a bit because his mind doesn't work like a normal teenager's, he watches far too much Star Trek and he's a bit of a bumbling idiot. '

'He finds a sword in a wood and thinks he's King Arthur reincarnated and believes he'll become the king of England because lots of strange things start to happen. '

'Arthur's also infatuated with an older girl at school called Gwen, and that's also based on me. '

'I fancied an older girl right the way through school but never plucked up the courage to speak to her. '

'But I bumped into her 10 years after leaving school while I was on a night out in Middlesbrough, asked her out and Jan is now my wife! '

'Three big companies were after the rights to my book but the BBC won the race and are talking about making it into a feature-length show or maybe even a film. '

The comic plot has many magical characters, battles and twists but Dean says he's not tried to create a new Harry Potter.

'Arthur is much more down to earth than Harry and he doesn't want to use his new found powers, he just wants to get off with Gwen, ' he chuckled.

Dean quit SM:tv in January to join the BBC, who commissioned him to write children's show Bad Penny, but he has fond memories of his days of working with ant and Dec.

Dean said; 'We fell out a couple of times but I still have the utmost respect for them and think they're the best things on TV. '

'When they left SM:tv I did a few projects with them but they wanted to stop doing kids' television and that's all I've ever wanted to do, so we drifted apart. '

The Legend Of Arthur King goes on sale in bookshops on Friday August 15, priced £4.99 and a sequel : Arthur King And The Curious Case Of The Time Train : is published in November.

WIN COPIES OF THE NEW BOOK

THE LEGEND OF ARTHUR KING is a fantastic adventure by comedy writer Dean Wilkinson, who's planning lots more adventures for his new creation. You can find out for yourself by entering our competition to win one of five copies of the book which we've been given by publishers Scholastic.

To stand a chance of winning a copy, send your answer to the following question, including your name and address, to Sunday Sun Arthur King Competition, PO Box 360, Newcastle, NE99 1 AG. Entries must be received by 4pm Thursday.

QUESTION : Where does Arthur King come from? (Competition Now Closed!)

(September 2003)



Reviews of The Legend of Arthur King by Dean Wilkinson

Review by Irsai,
aged 13 from Lugoj, Romania
Rating: Great
What did you think of the Story?
It was another face of the real history about King Arthur.

---

Review by Emma,
aged 10 from Durham, England
Rating: Great
What did you think of the Story?
I thought it was a very good book with funny characters. I hope there will be a sequel

---

The Legend Of Arthur King - Dean Wilkinson

Nerdy Arthur King is amazed to discover that he is the reincarnation of King Arthur. Aided by Lawrence Lott, his right hand man, he embarks on a quest to save his local woods from property developers. This is one of the funniest - and definitely the silliest - stories I have ever read. If you're looking for a laugh this is the one! Age 10-14
Kirsty Mcclymont

(December 2003)







Win a set of Dean Wilkinson books.

Weve got two sets of Dean Wilkinson books to give away. Each includes a copy of "The Legend of Arthur King" and "Arthur King and the Curious Case of the Time Train".

For your chance to win tell us about the bravest thing you've ever done. It might have been eating Brussels sprouts, entering a story in a competition or something else entirely...

The bravest thing I've ever done is:

This competition closes Monday 17th November 2003.