Children’s author publishes book number two

WHEN John Magee emerges from his writing room, dishes smash, kettles squeal and sinks spill over, as local parents drop what they are doing, and turn their attention to whatever lies in the hand of one our finest children’s authors.

Last time out, Mr Magee wrote a book that was adored by children and parents across the county – and, indeed, country!

‘Wisdom for Children’ was loved for its simplicity, creativity, and subtle moral teachings.

This time, however, John has taken on what appears to be a bigger, more ambitious task.

Where ‘Wisdom for Children’ borrowed from the past, playing with and revitalising ancient aphorisms and staple stories, John’s newest work takes place in a lesser known, more unstable setting.

“The inspiration from ‘I Swapped Dad for a Robot’ came from a few different places,” said John, whose most recent novel is now available in most good book stores, including the big ones. “There has been a lot in the media over the last few years about artificial intelligence, and the advancement of robotics.

“Depending on what you watch, this can seem either thrilling and exciting, or perilous and menacing.

“I looked at it and thought: This is exactly the sort of mix that goes into making a good children’s book,” John, whose deep, protracted involvement with the subject appears not have curbed his enthusiasm for the field, added.

In essence, the book is about a young boy with a complicated relationship with his father.

Sam, who is 12, engages in a kind obsessive fault-finding mission against his father.

Some of the weakness and frailties he finds are pretty harsh, but, nevertheless, Sam holds them against his father with the unreasonable spite that is the preserve of angry adolescents.

The plot thickens when Sam enters a mysterious competition to have his father replaced by a robot.

And the plot thickens even further when a fatherless house and heavy set of footsteps tell Sam that he has become the unlikely winner.

“But good children’s books are never two dimensional,” said John. “There has to some depth there.”

Without giving too much away, there is a reason that makes sense of Sam’s wish to have his father replaced: The young boy’s mother has died of cancer. And to shield himself from going through this pain again, Sam begins erecting barriers between himself and his father.

“I know that is heavy for a children’s book, but it does not read that way,” John said.

“Though it may not sound it, the book is full of humour, fun, and, of course, it has a happy, uplifting, and, hopefully, quietly edifying ending.”

The official launch of ‘I Swapped Dad for a Robot’ will be in Omagh Library from 10am on Saturday, August 12.

“It will not be a big boring lecture all about the book, so do not worry,” John said.

“I will be talking a bit about writing, imagination and robots, so if you have a child from around eight-to-12-years-old, bring them along.”