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To celebrate our 48 new Reading Planet Cosmos books for ages 7-9, we’re giving schools the chance to win a visit from Jane Elson, author of the Digby and Marvel Detective Agency series. Enter the competition for your school here.
This four-part series follows a duo of young detectives Digby and Marvel, who solve mysteries in their local village of Ashton (a village also depicted in Jane’s book Swimming to the Moon).
But the stories are more than detective stories. They are stories about friendship, acceptance and overcoming personal challenges. Author Jane Elson explains more:
‘I wrote the Digby and Marvel Detective Agency books as a celebration of the neurodiverse brain. As 
a dyslexic, I am passionate about promoting alternative thinking. Solving mysteries seems to be the perfect device for showing young people that children who think differently because they are neurodiverse have their own special gifts.
Marvel has autism which gives her the gift to notice the minutest details, a skill vital in solving mysteries!
Digby has dyslexia, giving him the superpower to be able to look at a mystery from all angles to solve ‘Who dunnit?’
Together their brains are dynamite – there is no stopping the Digby and Marvel Detective Agency.
I made Digby a ballet dancer, as I wanted to reach out to boys who do ballet. I know that many of them get bullied, and some keep it a secret because they're scared of being teased, even pretending they're going to football instead of dance class.
Marvel’s passion is for the greatest illusionist and escape artist who ever lived: Houdini. He is her inspiration as she sets forth with Digby to solve the mysteries.
I do hope you enjoy entering the garden-shed headquarters of the Digby and Marvel Detective Agency and helping this neurodiverse duo solve mysteries with their amazing alternative thinking.'
Take a quick look inside the Digby and Marvel series here.
How to enter the competition
One lucky school will win a visit from Jane Elson which will take place this academic year. This will include a talk and writing workshops.
To enter, all you need to do is tell us why your school would like to win the author visit. Entries must be submitted via this form by Friday 3rd November at 6pm (BST). We’ll notify the winner by Friday 17th November 2023.
View full terms and conditions here.
Good luck!
About Jane Elson
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After performing as an actress and comedy improviser, Jane fell into writing stories and plays. Her books have won many awards including Peters Book of the Year two years running. Her debut novel A Room Full of Chocolate was longlisted for the Branford Boase Award and she has twice been nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Jane is loud and proud about her dyslexia and when not writing likes to mentor Neurodiverse young people and promote the gift of alternative thinking.
Follow Jane on X and Instagram
About Reading Planet Cosmos
Reading Planet Cosmos includes 144 fiction and non-fiction reading books (including the Digby and Marvel Detective Agency series) for ages 7-11. Created by a diverse team of authors and illustrators, Cosmos books explore global themes and relevant topics across a variety of genres.Learn more here.
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