Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball (The Amelia Fang Series)

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March 2018 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: gothic fun and games with gorgeous cast of characters

Originally appearing in Dodie Smith’s story The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Cruella has become a classic baddie and is guaranteed to give anyone a chill (especially dog lovers!). The Kingdom of the Light is the setting for Amelia’s second adventure Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords, which publishes in March 2018. And I’ve had lots of glittery fun exploring that world and the adventures that await Amelia there. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - In book two, Amelia Fang and the Unicorn Lords, Amelia and her friends must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light to try to find Tangine’s missing mother, Queen Fairyweather. But with unicorns and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark as mortal enemies? Amelia’s family home was another place where I let my imagination run riot. The Fang Mansion has many floors with many doors. But the room behind each door can change when you least expect it. One door may lead you to another floor in the house or even somewhere outside! Amelia has a handy shortcut to the edge of the River Styx, which is where her best friend Grimaldi lives.

In Amelia's second adventure, she and her friends Florence the yeti (DON'T CALL HER BEAST), Grimaldi the Death and Prince Tangine (reformed spoiled sprout), along with her pet pumpkin Squashy, must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light to try to find Tangine's missing mother, Queen Fairyweather. Here’s a fab pic of Laura Ellen Anderson, the author and illustrator of the series, dressed-up as Amelia when we filmed her reading from her first book Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Balllast year in a creepy graveyard.Amelia and friends live in the spooky land of Nocturnia, which means that you can take the Halloween costume box down from the attic 6 months’ early! Where have everyone’s memories gone? And how can Amelia save them when they have all forgotten who she is? But whilst exploring, Amelia and the gang stumble upon an ancient curse – and are shrunk to the size of bugs! How will they make the bloodcurdlingly BIG journey to break the curse when they are all so very TINY? Join Amelia, Florence, Grimaldi, Pumpy and Tangine on the adventure of a lifetime in the fifth book of the series:

Amelia lives with her parents Count Drake and Countess Frivoleeta, and her pet pumpkin Squashy, in Nocturnia - a city in the Kingdom of the Dark, where glitter is terrifying and unicorns and sparkly fairies are the stuff of day-mares. Amelia Fang is the biggest hearted vampiress you'll ever meet. In this adventure, she and her friends Florence the yeti (DON'T CALL HER BEAST), Grimaldi the Death and Prince Tangine (reformed spoiled sprout), along with her pet pumpkin Squashy, must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light to try to find Tangine's missing mother, Queen Fairyweather. But with unicorns, fairies and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark as mortal enemies? But that's not all! The bravest little vampire in the kingdom embarks on a BRAND NEW ADVENTURE discovering new worlds and new characters in the FOURTH book of the series... When Amelia and her friends are invited to Florence's grandmother 350th birthday party, they are very excited! Grand-yeti Clemence lives in the Yeti Pits, a maze of candle-lit tunnels and caves carved into Yeti Mountain. Robert Cullen, founder and creative director at Boulder Media and Director on Amelia Fang added, “Bursting with charm, comedy and adventure, Amelia Fang also carries a wonderful message of acceptance at its heart.”Author and illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson gives us a glimpse into the wonderful world of Amelia Fang, her latest literary creation. But even if Amelia and her friends do find Vincent, will they be able to find their way home? Or will they be trapped in the toad afterlife FOREVER?

Philippa Tsang, Marc Schmidheiny and Christoph Daniels at DCM Pictures and executive producers on Amelia Fang said, “Amelia Fang is joyful, funny and at its heart, it is a show about embracing difference in our society.” In world-building for Amelia Fang, I was able to create a realm inhabited by many strange and spectacular creatures (including cute pumpkin pets), but also a place with LOTS of disgusting food! Inventing repugnant recipes that made even me grimace was fun. Here, have some Toe Jam! Eurrgh! Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball was Waterstones Book of the Month in October 2017. Amelia Fang would rather hang out with her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti (DON’T CALL HER BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents’ annual Barbaric Ball. When the King’s spoiled son Tangine captures Squashy, Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue! But they begin to realise things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem. Get ready to sink your teeth into the fourth book of the spook-tacular series, Amelia Fang and the Half-Moon Holiday.Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball was Waterstones Book of the Month in October 2017. In this fangtastic novel, Amelia Fang would much rather hang outwith her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti (DON’T CALL HER BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents’ annual Barbaric Ball. When the King’s spoiled son Tangine captures Squashy, Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue! In their race against time, they begin to realise things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem. But with unicorns, fairies and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark as mortal enemies? Set in an unusual world full of eccentric characters, the series follows the funny adventures of a young vampire with a big heart, Amelia Fang, and her diverse gang of friends. Here, there are always wrongs that need righting, mysteries that need solving and creatures who need rescuing – but whatever the adventure, Amelia and her pals always manage to save the day in their own way. Watch our interview with Laura Ellen Anderson, celebrating the release of Amelia Fang and the Memory Thief: About The Amelia Fang Books

Will Amelia be able to solve the mystery of the missing yeti treasure? And will she and her friends survive the perils of the crumbling Yeti Mountain and all the booby traps on the way? One reason the Amelia Fang series is so popular is the number of amazing illustrations by Laura Ella Anderson. Try the following books for more wonderful pictures throughout: Loki by Louie Stowell is funny and full of doodles and drawings of Loki’s madcap adventures as a schoolboy. Gary Northfield’s Julius Zebra series is equally madcap and hilariously illustrated, but set in Roman times, and starring a zebra. Joseph Coelho’s brilliant F airytales Gone Bad series, like Frankenstiltskin, are dark twists on fairy tales, all illustrated in full colour by Freya Hartas. Finally, the graphic novel Monster Support Group: The Werewolf’s Tale has colour pictures and a heart-warming story. Unusual Friend GroupWelcome to the world of Nocturnia, where darkness reigns supreme, glitter is terrifying, and unicorns are the stuff of nightmares! Amelia Fang would much rather hang out with her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti (DON'T CALL HER BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents' annual Barbaric Ball. The series is inspired by the fang-tastic books written and illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson, which have sold over half a million copies in the UK and have been translated into 24 languages. Nocturnia, where Amelia lives, is a weird and wonderful place. It’s a city within the Kingdom of the Dark. Beyond the city itself, there are Scary Suburbs and other creepy towns and villages. I loved coming up with names for different areas in Nocturnia; from the post-bat depot to the zombie yoga hall!