Vincent Shadow: Toy Inventor

Vincent Shadow isn't particularly good at sports - he doesn't have a lot of friends and he is constantly being picked on by his classmates at Central Middle School. But it is Vincent's unusually creative mastermind that truly separates him from other kids his age. With his top-secret attic lab full of tried and tested (and often failed) toy prototypes - from Liquid Superballs to Bullz-I Basketballs and Sonic Snorkelz - and an off-limits sketchbook packed with all of his creative ideas, the toy invention possibilities are endless... So, when a chance encounter with an eccentric toy inventor offers him the opportunity to go from unknown weird kid to toy inventor extraordinaire, Vincent realises that playtime is over: it's time to get serious about toys.

Tim Kehoe is the inventor of numerous toy products, including the world's first colored bubbles, called Zubbles, and he was recently named one of America's 100 Best by Reader's Digest. In 2005, Zubbles was awarded Popular Science's Grand Prize for Innovation. The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow was Tim's debut children's book. He lives with his wife and five children in Minnesota. Visit him online at www.timkehoe.com.

Guy Francis's work has been published in a variety of formats for children. Visit him online at www.guyfrancis.com.