''Thunder and Lightnings'' is a
realistic children's novel by
Jan Mark
Jan Mark (22 June 1943 – 16 January 2006) was a British writer best known for children's books. In all she wrote over fifty novels and plays and many anthologised short stories. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, ...
, published in 1976 by Kestrel Books of
Harmondsworth in London, with illustrations by Jim Russell. Set in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, it features a developing friendship between two boys who share an interest in aeroplanes, living near
RAF Coltishall during the months in 1974 when the Royal Air Force is phasing out its
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...
fighters and introducing the
SEPECAT Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. It is still in service with the Indian Air Force.
Originall ...
.
Mark won the annual
Carnegie Medal from the
Library Association
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...
, recognising the year's best children's book by a
British subject
The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
.
[ She also won a prize for children's novels by new writers, sponsored by ''The Guardian'' newspaper.][
Atheneum Books published the first U.S. edition in 1979, retaining the Russell illustrations.][
]
Origins
Jan and Neil Mark and their daughter Isobel moved to Norfolk in 1973 and lived "directly under a flight-path, with Lightning fighters from RAF Coltishall taking off 200 feet above the roof".[This was not the venerable ]Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...
(1966 to present), which annually recognises a book by someone who has not yet won the award; Jan Mark never won that. Evidently it was co-sponsored by a publisher; 2006 obituaries in ''The Guardian'' and ''The Independent'' named it "Kestrel/Guardian" and "Penguin/Guardian" respectively.
Plot summary
Andrew Mitchell moves to Tiler's Cottage in East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
. He goes to his new school and meets Victor Skelton in General Studies class. The two slowly become friends and do things together, including going to RAF Coltishall to see the aeroplanes, which are English Electric Lightnings. Victor is devastated when he discovers that his beloved Lightnings are to be replaced with Jaguars.
See also
Notes
References
External links
—immediately, first US edition
{{s-end
1976 British novels
Aviation novels
British children's novels
Carnegie Medal in Literature winning works
Novels set in Norfolk
1976 children's books
1976 debut novels