Katipo Joe: Wolf’s Lair by Brian Falkner
About Brian Falkner
Brian Falkner began college intending to study computers, but along the way he decided to shift his focus to something more creative. After gaining a diploma of journalism, he worked as a reporter and advertising copywriter. Other jobs helped pay the bills and also expand the first-hand experiences that would enrich his fiction, among them stints as a motorcycle courier, radio announcer, graphic designer, and an Internet developer.
Brian’s previous books with Scholastic NZ have been the widely acclaimed Shooting Stars, and his World War One novel, 1917 Machines of War, part of the Kiwis at War series. Katipo Joe: Blitzkrieg, released in 2020, and Katipo Joe: Spycraft, released in 2021, are the first two books in the Katipo Joe series. Brian currently lives on the Gold Coast of Australia. For more information, visit Brian’s website.
A Quote from Brian Falkner
“In the words of philosopher George Santayana: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ To understand the events happening now in Ukraine for example, it is necessary to understand the events of the Second World War and its aftermath. Yet in a recent study only around six percent of young people said they had any interest in historical events. These events are ancient history. They happened last century, they happened last millennium! Young people struggle to understand the relevance of historical events to their modern, social-media dominated lives.
For this reason I cannot overstate the importance of the ARA CYA Historical Novel Prize in encouraging writers like myself to bring history to vivid life for young readers, to ensure the lessons of the past are not forgotten.”
About Katipo Joe: Wolf’s Lair
The harrowing and thrilling story of Joseph (Katipo) St George continues. Joe has penetrated the very heart of the Nazi spiderweb, spying on Adolf Hitler and his cronies as the Second World War gains momentum and Germany begins its crucial invasion of the Soviet Union. But British Intelligence wants Hitler dead. Joe must use all his skills and put not only his own life at risk, but the lives of the people he most cares about.
From Hitler’s armoured train, to the secret Nazi headquarters in a swampy East Prussian forest, this is Joe’s story. Set amidst real events and real-life characters in real-world locations, Joe’s adventures will bring the realities of the Second World War to life for young readers.
