We are in Ireland and it's an awfully long time ago. Centuries and centuries. The country is supposed to have gone Christian, but there's still magic in the air, salmon in the rivers, berries in the bushes, druids in the forest, a Worm in the lake, fairy music in the distance. Manchan's mother wants to make a monk of Manchan. Manchan most emphatically does not want to be made a monk of. He'd rather sing songs with his father, or go fishing with his friend, Pagan-of the-Six-Toes, or go charging through the forest with his pet pig, Muck, or go bare-back riding over the bog on the chieftain's mad ram, Balor. Anything fun or adventurous or magical, and absolutely nothing to do with turnips, penance, prayers, monks and chanting. Poor Manchan! The more he mucks about having fun, the more his mother is determined to tame him.

 

This book was recognised in the Book of the Year category by the Children's Book Ireland Awards. It was recognised by the Literacy Association of Ireland Award.

There are 129 pages in this book. This book was published 2018 by Little Island .

John Chambers writes and draws for a living. He develops concepts and writes scripts for animated series and films. He has written plays and draws comic strips. He also teaches (when he's allowed), and when he was young he won two colouring competitions. Most recently he has written and illustrated two Granny Samurai stories for Walker Books, Granny Samurai, the Monkey King and I and Granny Samurai and the Brain of Ultimate Doomitude. John is originally from Ireland but has lived for many years in Berlin with his family.