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The first in a brand new series from the award-winning Simon Philip!

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Fred may look ordinary, but sometimes people who look ordinary turn out to be not very ordinary at all ... because it just so happens that Fred is a Wizard!

Sounds pretty great, right? Except that Fred is absolutely, completely, mind-boggingly TERRIBLE at magic. At school, he´s stuck in a class of wizards half his age, feeling like a twit among tots. At home, he´s endlessly teased by his siblings and always a disappointment to his parents. All Fred wants is to become a better wizard....

So when he hears about a competition to meet Merlin (yes, THE Merlin!) Fred knows it´s his one chance to prove to his family that he´s not the worst wizard in town. The catch? To win the competition he has to capture the tail of a terrifying, fire-breathing lizard...

From Simon Philip, author of You Must Bring a Hat and I Really Want the Cake , and Sheena Dempsey, illustrator of Dave Pigeon, comes a tale full of magic and fun.

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Philip, Simon
Simon was born in Chichester in 1988 and has lived there ever since, although he occasionally leaves to buy milk. After gaining a 1st class degree in History at Exeter University, he immediately put his skills to good use working as a barman at a local pub. He soon grew tired of the owner calling him Andy, and so, naturally, decided to become a primary school teacher. Teaching rekindled his love of children´s literature, particularly picture books, so much so that he had a go at writing his own. Deciding he was better at writing stories for children than he would ever be at teaching them, he made a swift exit from education to live the cliché of the writer who works in a bar. He hopes that one day he´ll be able to give up writing stories and become a barman full-time.

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