My favourite children's book ever is probably The Eighteenth Emergency by Betsy Byars. It's funny, it's sad, it's Magical Storytelling. And yet there are no explosions, no flying castles, no aliens plotting to take over Norway. It's just the small story of a cheeky boy who's in trouble with the school bully. But you really care about that boy. You feel you know him. You're right there rooting for him. -- Andy Stanton A beautiful, poignant and funny story of school bullies and how to deal with them. -- Chris Riddell The best bullying story ever, Betsy Byars's The Eighteenth Emergency manages to be very funny indeed without for a moment under-estimating its horrors or significance of the victim's feelings as he struggles for survival. -- Julia Eccleshare Books for Keeps I have read The Eighteenth Emergency many times over the years, and it remains to me wholly contemporary and not dated in any way. I still think this is one of the best children's books ever written. -- Lauren Child Betsy Byars' close perception of children's feelings and brilliant observation of their conversation are evident in all her work Junior Education

Betsy Byars is a Newbery Medal winner and a National Book Award winner, and has written over 60 books for young people. Her books have appeared on the best books lists of the American Library Association, School Library Journal, and American Bookseller, among others. She lives in South Carolina.