Its author, Yorkshire novelist Matt Haig had thought there were "cats in hell" with better odds of winning the award for which his book was nominated.
So he was staggered when young readers voted
Shadow Forest their favourite of the year, securing Haig the prestigious Nestle Children's Book Prize.
In this interview the 32-year-old describes his shock at winning, why he never tries to write with adults or children in mind, and why a Labrador is conservative.
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Matt Haig was born in Sheffield in 1975 and grew up in Nottinghamshire. He went to university in Hull, where he met his wife, writer Andrea Semple.
With no clue about what he wanted to make his career, he spent three years working for top club Manumission in Ibiza after Semple was recruited to their marketing team. They later ran their own marketing firm while he turned his hand to writing.
Haig won plaudits for his first book,
The Last Family in England, published in the UK in 2004, and soon to be published in the US as
The Labrador Pact. His second novel,
The Dead Fathers' Club, was published in 2006.
The Shadow Forest, his first book for children, is now out in paperback, while the sequel is due out next year as well as a new novel for adults,
The Possession of Mr Cave.
Haig now lives in York with his wife and their new baby son.
Shadow Forest, £5.99, is published in paperback by Corgi Books, ISBN 978-0-552-55563-0Please use the commenting facility to let us know what you think of this book, using the following ratings:
1) Dull as dishwater
2) Okay, but could have been better
3) Pretty good, decent holiday read
4) Really liked it, can't wait for the next one
5) FANTASTIC - couldn't put it down! The full article contains 420 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
